Identified! AZ - Coconino Co, 'Valentine Sally' WhtFem 585UFAZ, 14-19, along I-40, Feb'82 -Carolyn Celeste Eaton

[Donjeta]

No she's not, Elizabeth's remains were found south of San Francisco, not in AZ.

 

[KateB]

Ah OK. I missed the obvious! Sorry to derail the thread. But the update for Elisabeth is still exciting to share.

 

[Vital Forces]

Has Diane Dye been considered as a possible identity?

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dye_diane.html
http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMC/927849/1

 

[carbuff]

Has Diane Dye been considered as a possible identity?

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dye_diane.html
http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMC/927849/1

I don't think so. But Valentine Sally has her DNA in the system now, so it's probably a ruleout by default.

 

[Vital Forces]

Marla Mullins of Mineola, Texas.
There's no information on her height or weight, but her teeth look a lot like the 1982 sketch of Valentine Sally, among other similarities.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mullins_marla.html

 

[STANDREID]

No lower underwear but that was not uncommon at that time. They are investigating as a homicide but no cause of death?

 

[carbuff]

I thought the suggestion of Judith O'Donnell was a good one, she looks strikingly similar.

I think there's too much height discrepancy. Judy was nearly six feet tall.

 

[Vital Forces]

Marla was involved with the "wrong crowd" at the time of her disappearance.

I've always suspected Valentine Sally was killed because she knew something incriminating (or at least embarrassing) about someone.

I've also always though she and her companion may have been traveling from California to Texas.

 

[Houston Mom]

Marla Mullins of Mineola, Texas.
There's no information on her height or weight, but her teeth look a lot like the 1982 sketch of Valentine Sally, among other similarities.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mullins_marla.html

Marla has no NamUs profile. She has a surviving sister who could submit DNA.

 

[leilarose68]

Marla has no NamUs profile. She has a surviving sister who could submit DNA.

And from a quick google search Marla Mullins' sister Missy is still bringing awareness to the case and looking for closure so I imagine she'd be very open to it

 

[Springrain]

I've always suspected Valentine Sally was killed because she knew something incriminating (or at least embarrassing) about someone.

I've also always though she and her companion may have been traveling from California to Texas.

Do you have a complete theory? If so I would love to hear it. I have no idea with Valentine Sally...it's one cold case. But I always love hearing people's thoughts.

 

[Vital Forces]

Do you have a complete theory? If so I would love to hear it. I have no idea with Valentine Sally...it's one cold case. But I always love hearing people's thoughts.

My speculations...

Murderer & Motive: She knew her killer. She wasn't a hitchhiker. She wasn't raped. She was probably murdered because she knew something incriminating. Her boyfriend and friends were not good people. They may be involved in drug dealing. Her clothes were left at the dump site which tells me a) again, she wasn't raped and b) her killer wasn't too bright and this was not the work of a serial killer.

Geographic Origin: She is not from Arizona or she would likely have been identified. She's likely from California but Texas is also very possible. She could be from a surrounding state, but I doubt New Mexico.

Age: She's at least 20 years old and could be as old as 24. I don't think she was a teenage girl murdered by her father - it's difficult to come up with a plausible motive in that scenario.

Who is looking for her?: Very few people, if any, are looking for her.

 

[Vital Forces]

I can't get this one off my mind.

Marla's forehead is slightly higher than the reconstructions, but the chin appears to be an exact match.

The teeth in the second picture look like they could be the basis for the teeth in the sketch.

Keep in mind that VS had decomposed for 10 to 14 days before discovery. Features such as the nose could look slightly different.

Marla was last seen December 12, 1981. If she left town with her "rough crowd" friends and they headed west, then she is a very plausible candidate.

 

[Springrain]

I can't get this one off my mind.

Marla's forehead is slightly higher than the reconstructions, but the chin appears to be an exact match.

The teeth in the second picture look like they could be the basis for the teeth in the sketch.

Keep in mind that VS had decomposed for 10 to 14 days before discovery. Features such as the nose could look slightly different.

Marla was last seen December 12, 1981. If she left town with her "rough crowd" friends and they headed west, then she is a very plausible candidate.

Especially considering that the root canal was done right before her death, it most likely wouldn't be entered in missing person dental records. So she most likely couldn't be ruled out on those alone. I see the resemblance. And yeah, like you said, she was pretty decomposed so the forehead height wouldn't necessarily be exact.

 

[Jake479]

Today marks 34 years since her body was found. RIP Valentine Sally
You are not forgotten.

 

[Springrain]

RIP Valentine Sally. I hope you get your name back, and soon :rose: 34 years is 34 years too long to be nameless!

 

[Vital Forces]

This is the case I'd like to see solved the most, but almost certainly never will.

I'm concurring with the theory that her father or uncle killed her.

I think our only hope is if they perform isotope testing and they could somehow narrow down places she may have lived. Since she was likely killed by a family member who is probably dead himself by now, I can't see them performing such expensive and complicated tests.

May God provide justice which no one in this world could.

 

[carbuff]

Could she have died from an infection spreading from the tooth? Would that have shown up on autopsy?

 

[Vital Forces]

To carbuff, it was determined that she was murdered by suffocation or strangulation.

I found this description of the male at the truck stop on another forum. It sounds like it came from a newspaper article but it wasn't sourced, and the post got a lot of other details on the case wrong.

At 3 a.m. on February 5th, at the Monte Carlo Truck Stop, she may have been in the company of a white male, 60 to 65 years of age, 5’8" to 5’10" tall, medium weight, wearing a two-tone brown checked leather vest—the kind made in Mexico and a felt cowboy hat adorned with peacock feathers.

If the age range is correct, this man would have been over 40 when Valentine Sally was born (most likely 1965 or 1966).

I don't seek to offend anyone or be pretentious, but from a statistical perspective, generally, those who have children later in life are those who have completed higher levels of formal education. One would not "expect" a truck driver to have one child and for that one child to be born after they had turned 40. It's not impossible by any means, but it isn't what an impartial observer would expect, especially in that era.

If he was in fact that old, I suspect he was her uncle. Both her mother and father were dead.

I've always had a feeling that her father or uncles(s) may have been killed in the Vietnam War. There must some explanation as to why there are so few relatives to notice her disappearance (again family sizes were larger back then), and Vietnam casualties would help explain the low number of relatives. That's highly speculative on my part, but it is plausible.

 

[Redwood146]

My speculations...

Murderer & Motive: She knew her killer. She wasn't a hitchhiker. She wasn't raped. She was probably murdered because she knew something incriminating. Her boyfriend and friends were not good people. They may be involved in drug dealing. Her clothes were left at the dump site which tells me a) again, she wasn't raped and b) her killer wasn't too bright and this was not the work of a serial killer.

Geographic Origin: She is not from Arizona or she would likely have been identified. She's likely from California but Texas is also very possible. She could be from a surrounding state, but I doubt New Mexico.

Age: She's at least 20 years old and could be as old as 24. I don't think she was a teenage girl murdered by her father - it's difficult to come up with a plausible motive in that scenario.

Who is looking for her?: Very few people, if any, are looking for her.

I think this very plausible - and unsettling why are so few people looking for this UID?