Identified! AZ - Kingman, Mohave Co, WhtFem 35-40, UP85987, Found on private ranch in a canvas sack with rope, Jan'71 - Colleen Audrey Rice

[cocomod]

After 52 years, Mohave County Jane Doe (1971) is Identified

Mohave County Sheriff's Office and Othram Team to Identify 1971 Jane Doe

dnasolves.com

Colleen Audrey Rice was born on 3-17-31 in Portsmouth, Ohio, the daughter of James C. Rice and Flossie Truitt. She went to Portsmouth High School, from which an early photo of her was obtained (the main photo used in this story). She married William Davis in 1946 in Ohio. She was estranged from her family, so little is known of her life or how she came to be in Arizona. It is unknown if she had children as no records could be found. The investigation is ongoing into the suspect and/or suspects responsible for her death. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office continues to seek the public’s assistance with providing any information they may have on the later years of the victim’s life.

So, she was estranged from her family. She got married when she was just 15; and she was found in 1971 (she would have been 40). I hope that more is found out about her life. Rest peacefully Colleen

 

[silvernblack]

Per familysearch.org she was born on 17 March 1929, which is supported by the 1930 census, and she was 18 years old when she married William Davis on 24 May 1947. FamilySearch.org

 

[fred&edna]

Per this report she had family ties to eastern Kentucky... I wonder where exactly.

1971 AZ Jane Doe identified as Portsmouth woman

PORTSMOUTH, OH (WOWK) – Investigators have made a major break in an Arizona cold case from over 50 years ago by identifying the victim as a woman who was originally from Scioto County, Ohio. …

www.wowktv.com

 

[Susikatze]

So, she was estranged from her family. She got married when she was just 15; and she was found in 1971 (she would have been 40). I hope that more is found out about her life. Rest peacefully Colleen

It was not terribly unusual back then in rural US to marry young - but was 15 ever even legal? Sounds like an older husband who groomed her and made her cut ties with family

Edit i trust the records of her marrying at 18 much more. The whole scenario may be different but still she was estranged from family. What happened to the husband?

Jmoo

 

[MarziPanda]

It was not terribly unusual back then in rural US to marry young - but was 15 ever even legal? Sounds like an older husband who groomed her and made her cut ties with family

Edit i trust the records of her marrying at 18 much more. The whole scenario may be different but still she was estranged from family. What happened to the husband?

Jmoo

15 is still legal in many states as long as there is parental permission. Child marriage is a huge issue in the US. Only 7 states have banned underage (below 18) marriage. From what I can find, Ohio (where the marriage happened) only recently changed their laws so that the minimum is 18 (but 17 year olds can get married with permission). Prior to that, children of any age could get married as long as there was permission from the parents and the court. Between 2000-2015, 59 girls under the age of 15 married in Ohio. Including a 14-year-old pregnant girl to her 48-year-old 'boyfriend'. Which the courts approved. There are still ten states with no minimum age. 300,000 children were married in the US 2000-2018, some as young as ten. 86% were girls marrying adult men. Of course, there are some blurred lines, such as a 17-year-old marrying an 18-year-old, but there are still a lot of cases with children marrying much older men.

We like to think that child marriage is something that happens abroad and doesn't happen in 'Western' countries, but the US is actually one of the worst for it.

 

[Susikatze]

15 is still legal in many states as long as there is parental permission. Child marriage is a huge issue in the US. Only 7 states have banned underage (below 18) marriage. From what I can find, Ohio (where the marriage happened) only recently changed their laws so that the minimum is 18 (but 17 year olds can get married with permission). Prior to that, children of any age could get married as long as there was permission from the parents and the court. Between 2000-2015, 59 girls under the age of 15 married in Ohio. Including a 14-year-old pregnant girl to her 48-year-old 'boyfriend'. Which the courts approved. There are still ten states with no minimum age. 300,000 children were married in the US 2000-2018, some as young as ten. 86% were girls marrying adult men. Of course, there are some blurred lines, such as a 17-year-old marrying an 18-year-old, but there are still a lot of cases with children marrying much older men.

We like to think that child marriage is something that happens abroad and doesn't happen in 'Western' countries, but the US is actually one of the worst for it.

As a European where the legal age for marriage is 18 and 16 with parental consent, that is very shocking to read.
In fact, plenty of countries have recently upped the age limit to 18.

 

[MarziPanda]

As a European where the legal age for marriage is 18 and 16 with parental consent, that is very shocking to read.
In fact, plenty of countries have recently upped the age limit to 18.

I was horrified when I first learned about it. Some people in the US bring up child marriage as some sort of 'gottem' when talking about less developed countries, but they don't realise it's happening right outside their front door. Legally. My own country (UK) recently changed the marriage age from 16 with parental permission to 18 only (England and Wales, anyway).

What's worse is that in the US, under-18s can't file for divorce. So they can get married to an abusive older man at 14, but they can't divorce him. They can't escape. Many domestic violence shelters don't admit under-18s and because they're children, technically, if they run away they can be brought right back because their husband is their legal guardian. They're trapped with their groomer and it's completely legal. In some states marriage emancipates you (makes you legally an adult) but not everywhere.

For Colleen, I believe she would have had to have parental consent and the consent of a court (though this may have been different in the 40s). It's possible she was pregnant and that's why it was allowed (she may have then miscarried or had a live birth). Or the courts may have thought she was 'mature'. I wonder if she was estranged from her family partly because they allowed this marriage, and/or because he isolated her from everyone.

 

[silvernblack]

She was 18. These lazy writers just repeat original posting without research.
As far as being young; there have always been people who married in what is considered really young nowadays. Go do some genealogical research. It was considered normal ...especially when you were going to die before you turned 40. NOt only that they started having kids, and lots of them, because so many died. Before judging folks go read the reality of their lives.

 

[wary]

I was horrified when I first learned about it. Some people in the US bring up child marriage as some sort of 'gottem' when talking about less developed countries, but they don't realise it's happening right outside their front door. Legally. My own country (UK) recently changed the marriage age from 16 with parental permission to 18 only (England and Wales, anyway).

What's worse is that in the US, under-18s can't file for divorce. So they can get married to an abusive older man at 14, but they can't divorce him. They can't escape. Many domestic violence shelters don't admit under-18s and because they're children, technically, if they run away they can be brought right back because their husband is their legal guardian. They're trapped with their groomer and it's completely legal. In some states marriage emancipates you (makes you legally an adult) but not everywhere.

For Colleen, I believe she would have had to have parental consent and the consent of a court (though this may have been different in the 40s). It's possible she was pregnant and that's why it was allowed (she may have then miscarried or had a live birth). Or the courts may have thought she was 'mature'. I wonder if she was estranged from her family partly because they allowed this marriage, and/or because he isolated her from everyone.

Obviously, I don’t know how the system works in all states, but with all due respect, I’d like to see links showing that someone would be “trapped with their husband as their legal guardian.”

 

[MarziPanda]

Obviously, I don’t know how the system works in all states, but with all due respect, I’d like to see links showing that someone would be “trapped with their husband as their legal guardian.”

It's an older link, but this is an example. Talks about how in some states, an underage girl fleeing an abusive marriage is legally a runaway. This source discusses children who are married being unable to divorce or seek shelter. Even in states that emancipate underage brides, there may still be barriers such as various institutions not allowing under-18s.

Massachusetts, for example, does not automatically emancipate a minor who marries.

Of course a child can always go to the police if they're being mistreated, just as if their parents mistreated them, but we all know domestic violence isn't that simple to escape.

 

[Beekarina]

Another thing to consider is years ago, I think in many instances/locations, officials likely took people at their word when it came to something like age as well. For example, I found the marriage license and records for relatives where it notes the woman was 16. She was not. At the time of the marriage, she was barely 15. Her husband was almost 30. He is noted as 28. They were married a decade or so before this case, and in a different state, but just to show what was possible. Am also reminded of how many people claim they were able to have jobs at ridiculous ages, like 12, even after laws were in place not allowing this.

 

[blooboyy77]

I'm wondering if Colleen was in a relationship with or married to someone in organized crime. She was nicely dressed and was noted to have had extensive, and undoubtedly expensive, dental work. LE was spot on in their estimation of her age. I'm thinking maybe she was with a "goodfella" who took care of her for a while, then conveniently disposed of her when he wanted a younger woman. Any thoughts?

 

[WingsOverTX]

Who owned/owns the "private ranch" where she was found? Are there any records of investigation, like interviewing the property owners or others in the vicinity? Maybe she lived in the area or was married to someone who was "suddenly single." Due to the stomach scar, she likely had one or more children. Where are they?

Just because her family lost contact doesn't mean someone doesn't know her "story" & missed her when she disappeared. Too bad so many years passed before she was ID'd. Friends/witnesses/exes have likely died in the interim.

Maybe we will never know but she died so young, someone knew her & was bereaved IMO. And there's a killer or body abandoner unidentified, too.

 

[summergirl1]

This link shows her apparently ex-husband who died in 1984 in Florida and who had remarried to a woman much older than him. I'm surprised they can't find his divorce record from Colleen? Or why they can't find any record of her having a child or children? If they were born during her marriage to him, I'm not sure that she would have had them ( or maybe just one) adopted out. Maybe if she had children or just one child, they were born in another relationship (or relationships) and thus adopted out? I wonder if his obit lists any children, if it is not very brief. Colleen A “Audrey” Rice Davis (1929-1971) - Find...

 

[silvernblack]

Another thing to consider is years ago, I think in many instances/locations, officials likely took people at their word when it came to something like age as well. For example, I found the marriage license and records for relatives where it notes the woman was 16. She was not. At the time of the marriage, she was barely 15. Her husband was almost 30. He is noted as 28. They were married a decade or so before this case, and in a different state, but just to show what was possible. Am also reminded of how many people claim they were able to have jobs at ridiculous ages, like 12, even after laws were in place not allowing this.

Wrong. She was 18. Go see her birth certificate and other info on familysearch dot org. Should really stop spreading misinformation by repeating unverified "stories'. You also need to go read up on Genealogy and the history of marriage and child bearing. Folks got married young and had several offspring because they would die young. Not for you to judge.

 

[Friday Fan]

Colleen A “Audrey” Rice Davis (1929-1971) - Find...

Source: Mohave County Sheriff's Office, Kingman, AZ SIU COLD CASE INVESTIGATION- In October 2021, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office Special Investigation Unit (SIU) requested the public's assistance with identifying a previously unidentified female victim from a 1971 Homicide case. On January...

www.findagrave.com

She was very likely divorced in 1956
It appears she was born in 1929 and the initial media reports gave her birthdate as 1931.


Per Family Search:

• Census records from 1930 and 1940 indicates she was born in 1929.
• She was married in Ohio in May 1947
• 1950 census shows her married to her husband and living in Dade County, Florida
• Aug 1956 - someone with the same names as her and her husband's were divorced in Miami-Dade, Florida

 

[Friday Fan]

Per this report she had family ties to eastern Kentucky... I wonder where exactly.

1971 AZ Jane Doe identified as Portsmouth woman

PORTSMOUTH, OH (WOWK) – Investigators have made a major break in an Arizona cold case from over 50 years ago by identifying the victim as a woman who was originally from Scioto County, Ohio. …

www.wowktv.com

According to Family Search, her mom was born in KY

 

[silvernblack]

Chased down that 1950 census for Dade County Florida. IF she was lady living in FLorida married to William O. Davis, then they had a 1 year old son named William M. Davis in 1950. Can't be sure since the lady uses her married name in the census.

 

[summergirl1]

If that is her son, it is surprising this record was never found and looked into. He may or may not be living and that is a common name and so he would probably be hard to find, but still. She seems to have had more than one child. None of her children, or their descendants (if any) are in the DNA databases used to identify her, though, as she wasn't identified that way.

 

[Friday Fan]

If that is her son, it is surprising this record was never found and looked into. He may or may not be living and that is a common name and so he would probably be hard to find, but still. She seems to have had more than one child. None of her children, or their descendants (if any) are in the DNA databases used to identify her, though, as she wasn't identified that way.

It's the census, which isn't the same as a birth record.

My dad was listed as a girl with a different name..LOL

They could have been babysitting or some kind of wink-wink going on that they didn't want to elaborate on.