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

[Redwood146]

I think they look similar - curiously there is a Marla Mullins on myspace who has look similar too but must be too young surely.

 

[carbuff]

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.

They may have tried to report her missing and been refused by LE. The report might have been lost or ignored. If she was a minor, it might have been purged when she reached 18 or 21. They might be looking for her in a different part of the country or a different time frame. They might have trusted LE to look, not realizing they need to do it themselves. The connection might not have been made because of a mistake in the report. We've had cases where the person was found shortly after they disappeared but the connection wasn't made because of the lack of central reporting or other jurisdictional factors.

 

[Vital Forces]

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.

 

[carbuff]

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.

I didn't mean she was traveling with a foster parent. I mean that if she came from a background like that, there would be fewer people who would have been interested in what became of her after she left them.

 

[Vital Forces]

I was able to find these 4 news articles concerning Valentine Sally, but they are all from another forum and I was unable to directly source them. I'm assuming the last article listed here was run on an anniversary of her discovery but someone listed it as being run on February 4, 1982 (it must have been run in 1988 or later, as it references events from 1987).

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.

This is the first I've ever heard of her traveling with two truck drivers instead of one. Wouldn't the cab have been too crowded?

I also assumed the sketch was based on an interview with the waitress, but it sounds as it was completed first and then the waitress came forward.

 

[CarlK90245]

I decided to upgrade my Valentine Sally to a new and improved version.

The detective described her as very attractive (based on the waitress's description), and had a look that would "turn heads".

So accordingly, here is my prettied up (and more lifelike) version.

 

[carbuff]

She really was pretty, wasn't she? Poor girl.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gourami Watcher]

I did some sleuthing today after Carl released his updated recon and I found a suitable match worth listing:

Stacy Arass, 14, missing since July 1981. She was the same height and weight , had the same colored eyes and hair and, like Valentine Sally, was a very pretty girl.

It does appear that Stacy might have gotten lost and died of exposure (or may have been abducted, since her camera lens was found broken off, possibly indicating a struggle) in Yosemite National Park, where she disappeared, but this isn't definate. She had braces and wore retainers, according to her Charley Project page and Sally did not have any known orthodontic treatment. Stacy also smoked and there isn't any evidence that Sally did.

 

[anonymess]

{ignore}

I wouldnt mind seeing her ruled out for Walker county jane doe as well. The ford truck hat picture looks most similar to that case. Good find!

 

[BayouGypsy]

I suggested Stacy for WCJD on the WCJD Facebook page but the idea was thrown out because of the time frame. :/

 

[Migmuu]

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.

 

[Springrain]

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.

I had always wondered what the mysterious Melody Cutlip looked like. Thanks for the link! She does look similar to Carl's recon. May she RIP too (Melody died in 1998 in a car crash).

I noticed the article said she was beaten to death (she was strangled to death). Sad to see that a sloppy job was done that led to mis-identification. 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.

 

[CarlK90245]

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.

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.

I'm sure it has. I wonder how many persons listed in Charley, NamUs, et.al., are actually buried in graves under a different name. I know of a few instances where that happened, and it was discovered that a missing person had been buried all along under an alias.

 

[Vital Forces]

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.

 

[CarlK90245]

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.

Good questions - I don't know the answer.

I started just browsing through just one yearbook, and was surprised at how many girls looked alot like my recon. A couple of them I was able to quickly find on facebook. If I was really ambitious, I could put together a montage of all of the girls in 1980 and 81 Phoenix area yearbooks who had blonde hair, broad cheekbones, and had the same general facial shape as my recon, and then look up each one. But I'm not sure I have the few weeks to do nothing but that. LOL. Not all of the Phoenix area schools have the 80 and/or 81 books in Classmates, and some of these girls have very common names that would be difficult to look up online without a DOB.

It could be that the investigators later learned that the driver was talking about the wrong girl. They say the girl was heading for Flagstaff from Phoenix. Looking at the map, the simplest route from Phoenix to Flagstaff doesn't really go through Ash Fork.

 

[Migmuu]

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 looked at the album again and realized I hadn't posted the second page of that particular article. Page 2 has some seemingly important info that I'm not sure you guys know about already. There's something there about her possibly contacting a dentist on February 4th or 5th for some pain medication, which is interesting because she was last confirmed alive on the 4th. There's also a description of two men seen with her at a truck stop in Monte Carlo.

Full article: http://imgur.com/a/UWmhr

ETA: Interesting how the older white man who was with her seemed "very concerned" about Sally's condition. I wonder if she was in pain and/or drugged up? The painkillers they give you after you have dental work (or any minor surgery) are so strong, I wouldn't be surprised if they left Sally high or gave her a drugged appearance.

 

[CarlK90245]

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.

 

[Springrain]

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.

Wait, I'm pretty sure that I read that she was strangled. Was that false info? Is my memory faltering?

 

[carbuff]

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 suggested this a couple of weeks ago and was told in no uncertain terms that it was known she was murdered by strangulation.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6985/313/