Redwood146
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I think they look similar - curiously there is a Marla Mullins on myspace who has look similar too but must be too young surely.
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She could have been a foster child, a throwaway, or simply a member of a small family who doesn't have anyone left to look for her. But also, we don't know that no one is looking for her. We know there are hundreds of families trying to find a missing loved one from that era; many of them are on WS.
I can't see a foster child traveling the county in a semi with a foster parent.
If she was 16 or 17, why wasn't she enrolled in school? Did she dropout to travel the country with her father?
Had this murder occurred in the last 15 years, I'm confident it would have made national news. Every dentist's office in the country would have been asked about it, and someone would probably have remembered her.
Arizona Daily Sun
Monday
February 15, 1982
DETECTIVE PROBE DEATH
Williams / Detectives from the Coconino County Sheriff's Department are trying to make a determination on the cause of death of a young female discovered near here Sunday morning.
The body of a white female believed to be between 17 and 25 years old was discovered nine miles west of Williams about 25 feet north of Interstate 40 under a Cedar tree by a Highway Patrolman who had stopped to help a stranded motorist.
Sgt. Jack Judd of the sheriff's Department estimated the woman had been dead about five days.
An autopsy conducted Sunday night produced inconclusive results on the cause of death.
Arizona Daily Sun
Wednesday
February 17, 1982
DEPUTIES SEEK ID CLUES ON WOMAN
Coconino County Sheriff's Department Detectives still are puzzled as to the identification and cause of death of a young woman whose body was discovered near Williams Sunday.
The body of the woman, who was believed to be 17-19 years old, was discovered at about 11:45, Sunday, by a highway patrolman who had stopped to help a stranded motorist about nine miles west of Williams.
The body was discovered about 25 feet off the interstate 40 under a cedar tree. Sgt. Jack Judd of the sheriff's department said the girl had been dead for about two to three weeks.
"We're trying to obtain an ID through dental records right now," Judd said. "It's amazing how many 5-foot-5, 125-pound blonde females there are missing across the U.S. right now. It's unreal."
Judd said dental records may provide a positive clue to making that determination, however, as the girl discovered Sunday had a root canal started about a week before her death.
"It had been drilled out and allowed to drain, but it hadn't been filled yet," Judd said.
Arizona Daily Sun
Friday
February 19, 1982
ARTIST SKETCHES VICTIM
Coconino County Sheriff's Department detectives are seeking information concerning a black and white male truck driving team that might have information about the death of a young woman discovered near Williams Sunday.
The body of a woman, who was believed to be 17-19 years old, was discovered at about 11:45 a.m. by a highway patrolman who had stopped to help a stranded motorist about nine miles west of Williams. The body was discovered about 25 feet off Interstate 40, beneath a cedar tree.
Based on an artist's drawing of the girl, a waitress at the Monte Carlo Truck Stop near Ash Fork said the girl was in the truck stop at 3 a.m. February 5, and was complaining of a toothache.
The body of the girl discovered Sunday had had a root canal started about a week before her death, said Sgt. Jack Judd.
"It had been drilled out and allowed to drain, but it hadn't been filled yet." Judd said.
"Based on the information we've been able to obtain, we believe the time of death to be between 4 and 6 that morning," said Lt. Tom Brawley, "She was probably in the company of two males, one was a white male about 60-65 years old and the other was a black male.
"Our opinion at this time is that she had been riding with two guys, probably a truck driver and his partner."
February 14, 1982
Seven to nine miles outside the city of Williams, on Interstate 40, an Arizona highway patrolman, searching the right-of-way for a tire lost off a passenger vehicle, spotted her as she lay against the fence.
She had been dead for three to four days before his discovery. And an autopsy failed to find a conclusive cause of death.
Cops nicknamed her "Valentine Sally", because she was found on Valentines Day. She is believed to have been between the ages of 19 and 25, being 5’4" to 5’8" tall, weighing 120 to 130 pounds, had blonde shoulder length hair and pierced ears. About a week before her death, she had undergone a root canal, but had not returned to her dentist to have it filled.
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.
Coconino Sheriff’s detectives were seeking two men, a white and black truck-driving team, which might be able to give some further information.
The victim may have been seen wearing a white pullover sweater with maroon stripes, designer jean, "Seasons" brand, size 8, and was barefoot.
In 1987, she was exhumed and examined by anthropologists in the hopes they could discover further information to identify her.
She can be found resting in the Williams Cemetery listed as " Melody E. "Sally Valentine" Cutlip. She remains unidentified.
Here's a collection of news articles from Newspapers.com: http://imgur.com/a/HBCZM
Most of the articles are about the misidentification of 'Sally' as Melody Cutlip. She looks super similar to Carl's most recent reconstruction of Sally's face; I could see her being posted here as a potential match if she were still missing.
If Melody had never come home to her parents, but rather had stayed away and lived a normal life, I bet Valentine Sally would still be considered to be Melody E. Cutlip. I wonder if that has happened in any other cases.
That's an interesting lead that I had not seen before. She was picked up hitchhiking by a Univ of Northern Arizona student, who said she was from Phoenix, and she had been living with friends and working as a dish washer. He says he dropped her off in Cordes Junction. She told the driver that she had family problems, and was heading for New Jersey.
This leads to many questions.
Did they ask dentists in the Phoenix area if they recognized the girl from the sketch?
Has anyone checked yearbooks from the Phoenix area from the late 70s/early 80s?
Where were her "friends?" Shouldn't they have made sure she would called them upon reaching New Jersey?
Why do current investigators believe she may have been traveling with her father? Shouldn't they have had access to the information we are just now learning?
What was the motive for the truck driver to kill her? Did she refuse his advances? Was it robbery?
Princess Doe was murdered in New Jersey a few months later and recent forensics have shown that she spent time in Arizona. The chances of these cases being related is very small, but those facts are quite a coincidence.
That's an interesting lead that I had not seen before. She was picked up hitchhiking by a Univ of Northern Arizona student, who said she was from Phoenix, and she had been living with friends and working as a dish washer. He says he dropped her off in Cordes Junction. She told the driver that she had family problems, and was heading for New Jersey.
I don't know why he would speculate that the male was possibly her father, if they have a prior witness saying that he picked her up hitchhiking. That is why I am wondering if perhaps the hitchhiking story didn't pan out.
I remember the detective saying that they were unable to determine the cause of death, and they weren't even sure that she was murdered. It is possible that she died of septicemia from her infected tooth, and he just disposed of her body, rather than reporting the death.
I also remember him saying that the rear belt loop on her jeans was broken, and they figured that the perp grabbed her by the belt loop to throw her body from the truck.
I don't know why he would speculate that the male was possibly her father, if they have a prior witness saying that he picked her up hitchhiking. That is why I am wondering if perhaps the hitchhiking story didn't pan out.
I remember the detective saying that they were unable to determine the cause of death, and they weren't even sure that she was murdered. It is possible that she died of septicemia from her infected tooth, and he just disposed of her body, rather than reporting the death.
I also remember him saying that the rear belt loop on her jeans was broken, and they figured that the perp grabbed her by the belt loop to throw her body from the truck.