KY PROJECT KENTUCKY - Unidentified Persons Cold Cases

[MadMcGoo]

Several members have shown interest in collaborating on a small side venture I set out on a few weeks ago - focusing largely on the unidentified person cases from Kentucky.

I wanted to create a place for general discussion about the cases and State (rather, Commonwealth, as I’ve since learned it to be) so as not to create confusion on the dedicated threads. i.e. several cases share commonalities that we’ve discussed on certain individual threads, in turn potentially confusing a reader who is unfamiliar with our “Kentucky project”.

I did not anticipate so many people wanting to do this but it’s been wonderful to witness! We’ve even managed to get an M.D. from the Medical Examiner’s Office onboard!! Which is a huge deal if you’ve worked long enough, or know what it’s like trying to match unidentified decedents with missing persons.

That being said, I want to thank each of you who has helped me here on Websleuths and everyone who has taken an interest in helping KENTUCKY! Maybe this Kentucky project is just the start of a beautiful thing! I’m certain that together we can make a difference here!

 

[MadMcGoo]

What we’ve got so far:

Kentucky Cold Cases

*KENTUCKY UNIDENTIFIED* Newspapers

*KENTUCKY UNIDENTIFIED* ViCAP

Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office
Contact Person: Amy Burrows-Beckham, M.D.
Phone Number: (502) 489-5209
Email Address: amy.burrows@ky.gov

 

[MadMcGoo]

Case in point -

I'm actually pretty low-level at maps. We have people who can do magical things with pins and tags and information and everything. I'm pretty much limited to routes and locations. But someday I will learn to do more.

Hm, maybe I should learn some of that stuff and put together a map of Kentucky with all that information in it.

(Sorry not sorry carbuff )

Are you familiar with Zee Maps? Like what Sarah Klader created for DDP? Or maybe not for them, but it’s what they have linked on their FB page...
Jane Does map

 

[carbuff]

Case in point -


(Sorry not sorry carbuff )

Are you familiar with Zee Maps? Like what Sarah Klader created for DDP? Or maybe not for them, but it’s what they have linked on their FB page...
Jane Does map

No that's a new one on me. It looks like exactly what I was thinking...*backs away from expanding rabbit hole*

ETA: appears to cost, though

 

[MadMcGoo]

No that's a new one on me. It looks like exactly what I was thinking...*backs away from expanding rabbit hole*

ETA: appears to cost, though

No! I actually tried my hand at it and it’s relatively simple! I did just find out that once you set up an “account” (create a username and password), you can only create 5 maps before the ol’ “to create additional maps, please....yada yada yada...pay....blah blah blah”!

Here’s one I started and apparently I thought of creating one for KY, but I see no pins , so it was a fleeting thought...

Non-Family Child Abductions / Suspicious Child Disappearances map

 

[carbuff]

No! I actually tried my hand at it and it’s relatively simple! I did just find out that once you set up an “account” (create a username and password), you can only create 5 maps before the ol’ “to create additional maps, please....yada yada yada...pay....blah blah blah”!

Here’s one I started and apparently I thought of creating one for KY, but I see no pins , so it was a fleeting thought...

Non-Family Child Abductions / Suspicious Child Disappearances map

Yes there are free maps, but it appears to be limited to 100 views over the life of the map. Hopefully we'll need a lot more than that.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Yes there are free maps, but it appears to be limited to 100 views over the life of the map. Hopefully we'll need a lot more than that.

Ohh!! See, I hadn’t read that far. Oh wow I just saw the $$. Well, maybe there’s something similar available at no cost...

I upgraded desktops and have yet to install Google Earth Pro (I know it’s free, or the version I had anyway) If you’re into maps, I’d definitely recommend that! It’s easy to use and a lot of fun...I just don’t know about “crowd sharing”... when it comes to GEP, but it’s easy to create pins. I may see if I can access mine in the meantime.

 

[carbuff]

Ohh!! See, I hadn’t read that far. Oh wow I just saw the $$. Well, maybe there’s something similar available at no cost...

I upgraded desktops and have yet to install Google Earth Pro (I know it’s free, or the version I had anyway) If you’re into maps, I’d definitely recommend that! It’s easy to use and a lot of fun...I just don’t know about “crowd sharing”... when it comes to GEP, but it’s easy to create pins. I may see if I can access mine in the meantime.

I'm pretty sure I can do everything I want with any of the ordinary mapping programs, it's just a matter of sitting down with it and doing the work. Can you say laaaaazy?

 

[MadMcGoo]

Not only can I say it, I have mastered the art!

 

[MadMcGoo]

@carbuff would it help if I added semi-accurate coordinates to the spreadsheet? I can hide them in the cell comments for each “location”.... for instance, coordinates are pretty definitive when it comes to The McAlpine Locks.

 

[carbuff]

@carbuff would it help if I added semi-accurate coordinates to the spreadsheet? I can hide them in the cell comments for each “location”.... for instance, coordinates are pretty definitive when it comes to The McAlpine Locks.

Nah, I should be able to find all that without any problem. It's just setting it up.

 

[GJKJR]

Have y'all tried Google My Maps? It's a pretty good way to make maps. I made a map for Economy Jane Doe 2014 with the data I compiled (2014 Beaver Doe - An Attempt to Compile Information - Google My Maps). If you need any help with maps, I've had a lot of free time lately so I think I could do something.

And, on a side note, I think what you're doing for these Kentucky UIDs is a really good idea. I started on a bit of a Pennsylvania UID spreadsheet today, chronologically from oldest case to newest. A lot of cases to work through (around 300 if I recall correctly?)!

 

[Warwick1991]

Kentucky certainly deserves a special effort with so many haunting cases of UIDs.

 

[carbuff]

Have y'all tried Google My Maps? It's a pretty good way to make maps. I made a map for Economy Jane Doe 2014 with the data I compiled (2014 Beaver Doe - An Attempt to Compile Information - Google My Maps). If you need any help with maps, I've had a lot of free time lately so I think I could do something.

And, on a side note, I think what you're doing for these Kentucky UIDs is a really good idea. I started on a bit of a Pennsylvania UID spreadsheet today, chronologically from oldest case to newest. A lot of cases to work through (around 300 if I recall correctly?)!

Google My Maps is what I was planning to look at first, but if you want to start, be my guest. I was going to do one for men and one for women, just to simplify it somewhat.

You might want to talk to @Richrd for your Pennsylvania project. He keeps a lot of information about Pennsylvania missing, UID, and crimes.

 

[GJKJR]

Google My Maps is what I was planning to look at first, but if you want to start, be my guest. I was going to do one for men and one for women, just to simplify it somewhat.

You might want to talk to @Richrd for your Pennsylvania project. He keeps a lot of information about Pennsylvania missing, UID, and crimes.

Alright. I can probably start working on right now. One for men and one for women is a pretty good idea as well, I think either would work, but that WOULD make it less crowded.

I have seen him active on a lot of PA threads, so I'll consider asking him later on in the making of this spreadsheet. Right now it's in its really early stages (like, 1950s-1960s era cases with a dearth of information-early), so I don't know if I'd want to do too much in that vein just yet.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Hey! That’s neat!! I had never seen the Google My Maps before!

And awesome that you’re working in PA! I think we’re under 100 cases for KY, I can’t imagine 300!

 

[MadMcGoo]

Okay, I’m working on an email to send to Amy, and need help remembering our most pressing questions...
1. “James Bond”’s watch - any details on the specifics
2. “Skipper”’s race/ethnicity
3. ——————- (this is where I got lost)

 

[MadMcGoo]

I doubt that Mac’s cause of death could or would be answered, but I can ask if we think it’s possible...

 

[ClaireNC]

I love getting involved in projects like this, but unfortunately don’t have much spare time these days. Google MyMaps is the tool I typically use. There is a way to set it so others can edit, so it can be done as a collaborative effort. I also like the idea of separate maps for males and females.

Am I right in assuming that the list you are working from is the Cold Case spreadsheet? It looks like you’ve bolded the IUD’s? The next step I’d do is copy the spreadsheet and delete out the cold cases that are not IUD’s. Then sort that by males vs female and create 2 smaller lists to work from.

If the IUDs have threads here, it would be great to add links to the list.

 

[JovanSrna]

Speaking of Kentucky, there is a John Doe from Utah who used the name of the state as an alias.
He perished in 1990 when a fire swallowed the place he was staying at.
According to his acquaintances who survived the fire, his first name may have been Charles or Chuck.
He was from Louisville, Kentucky apparently.