Okay, next ruminations... the purse contained no driver's license, no wallet, no lipstick, no chapstick, in fact, hardly anything.
She could have, especially if she was sufficiently impoverished, simply not had any of those things. There's also the possibility that she might have purposefully disposed of possessions prior to her suicide.
Was the map provided to Dana Jane Doe at the Hampton Inn, and was it a hotel clerk who wrote on the map the tourist spots and notes?
The Doe Network states that it was a map which looked like it was for tourists, so it's pretty safe to assume that the locations of tourist spots and notes about them were printed on the map itself. I have no idea where she got the map at, but it's probable that such maps were pretty widely available. I'm not in a particularly huge area, but I know I can easily find tourist maps of my local area without a problem. Do you have the same sort of experience in your area?
It seems that all the handwriting is assumed to belong to our Jane Doe.
So, those little questions lead me to one bigger one: Why find out about tourist spots and attractions, while suicidal? These seem to be contradictory, unless this was a sort of "bucket list" for the poor girl.
As sad as it sounds, she may in fact have just been scouting locations.
Of course it's also possible that she did in fact have a bucket list of sorts. That wouldn't be unheard of either.
This man is known to have spent the day at Disneyland before he committed suicide.
This man locked himself inside a motel room with a Super Nintendo and three of his favorite role-playing games. He apparently played through them before killing himself.
Her story breaks my heart. If she was picked up by the cabbie at Hampton Inn, to ostensibly transport her to Laguna Beach (Ritz Carlton, correct?), then the stop on the distant side street in Dana Point (I live here) is odd. It is definitely not on the main road, and is far removed from civilization (in 1987). Was this in some way her request of the cabbie? Take me to as close to the ocean as I can get?
It breaks my heart too. Well, it scared the hell out of me when I was little and Unsolved Mysteries basically twisted it into, "Beware, mysterious strangers might throw you off cliffs!" (I'm still angry about how they handled this case.) But now it just breaks my heart. I wish she could be here to see that people still care about her.
I have no way of knowing for certain, but it's probably safe to assume that she directed the cab driver toward the cliffs. You're obviously far more familiar with the location than I am, and I'll tend to trust you if you say there's no other sensible reason to go that way.
Last thought before I head out: She had two pierced earring holes in one ear, one in the other. Usually there would be earrings on a young girl. And yet she had no jewelry, no earrings or necklace or watch.... Maybe she sold them along the way for cash? Just more for me to think over... any thoughts on these idiosyncrasies? TIA
From where did you get the idea that she wasn't wearing her earrings? I don't think I've ever seen anything which says either way, and I just always took that to mean the actual jewelry was there. I'm definitely interested in picking up new information, so please inform me if I'm off base.
I personally don't have my ears pierced, and I don't wear any jewelry or even a watch. Yes, I'm the weirdo who is living proof that it's possible to escape all of that. She might have had these things and sold them, or she might have been a true iconoclast like me who just decided she was too darn good for you lousy watch-wearers.
But seriously, that is something new for me to consider. I'd never really taken that into consideration since it was completely irrelevant to what I do. I love it when there's a new thought process.
