Found Deceased CA - Judy Gifford, 11, San Francisco, 1 Jan 1974

[Suglo]

@Wi11s Thank you so much for sharing Judy’s story and your family’s story with us. Most of the time when a Doe is identified, we only learn the name and maybe see a couple of photos of what the person looked like before being found deceased. I hope knowing where she is brings peace to your family especially your Aunt Ogee. She sounds like a truly wonderful person.

 

[Cubby]

Thank you so much for all this info Will. I am so sorry for your family's loss. May Judy rest in peace.

 

[Al Ka]

Thank you Will for wonderfull write up and for all the infromation and photos. My deepest condolences to you and your family. May Judy Rest in Peace.

Article just came out today, so posting it here

NJ-Based Aunt, Cops Help ID Remains of Child in Decades-Old Cold Case

After nearly half a century, New Jersey State Police used newly gathered DNA evidence from a hopeful aunt to help investigators in San Francisco identify the remains of a murdered 14-year-old girl.

The unfortunate story began to unravel when a man walking his dog on Oct. 1, 1976 “discovered a hand protruding from the sand behind a pumping station in Lake Merced, San Francisco,” according to New Jersey State Police.

California detectives subsequently determined that the victim was a young Asian girl whose body was found with distinctive jewelry, including a gold chain and owl necklace found in her pocket.

The young girl’s death was ultimately ruled a homicide.

Years later, a man named William Shin told police in San Francisco that he remembered having a sister when he was a child who went missing at the age of 14 and that nobody in his family had "seen or heard from her since 1976," according to NJSP.
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As a result, San Francisco police began to think that the remains discovered in 1976 were that of Judy Gifford and found a paternal aunt of Judy's, Ogee Gifford, in Southampton, New Jersey. That's when they contacted New Jersey State Police for help.

It turned out Ogee never changed her phone number as she held on to the hope that her missing niece would call, NJSP said.
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New Jersey Sate Police Missing Persons Unit met with with the aunt in June and collected a DNA sample, dental records and photographs - including photographs of Judy wearing a gold chain and an owl pendant necklace, the same as the jewelry found on the unidentified teen girl decades ago.
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After 43 years of not having a name, on Nov. 14, the California Department of Justice announced that the remains of the Jane Doe found in 1976 were positively identified as that of Judy Gifford.

New Jersey-Based Aunt, Cops Help ID Remains of Child in Decades-Old San Francisco Cold Case

 

[cvaldez1975]

I'm so sorry for your family's loss Wi11s. May she rest in peace.

 

[LadyL]

@Wi11s

Thank you for sharing your familys' story. I was enthralled reading it. I hope you are someday able to close it with the solving of your sister's demise.

 

[smarties]

I just read about this story and looked it up on Doe Network. Your family's story and the photos are really amazing. Judy was just a few years older than I was and looked like any girl I went to school with. Whenever someone is identified, we all wish we knew more about them. I guess it's because I was a journalist, I never stop thinking like one! I always wish i knew more and I want to solve the mystery. So sorry about her tragic end, I hope there can be some answers about what happened to her.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Police thanked the New Jersey State Police as well as Anne Arundel County Police Department for their help in solving the 43-year-old cold case.

SFPD said they combed through missing persons cases when an investigator came across a missing person report made in 2017 regarding Gifford's disappearance. Gifford went missing in the time frame of a 1976 homicide.

The victim was found in fall of 1976 by a man who was walking his dog near Lake Merced. There, his dog discovered a hand protruding from the sand behind a pumping station, authorities said. At the time, the girl's death was ruled a homicide, but the remains were unidentified.

During SFPD's investigation, police learned that Judy had a paternal aunt living in Southhampton, N.J. In summer of 2019, they contacted New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit detectives to assist with the investigation, N.J. State Police said.

The aunt submitted a swab of DNA from her cheek to police. They also collected photos and dental records. One of the photos shows Judy with a gold-chained, owl-pendant necklace, which matched jewelry found on the victim in 1976.

On November 22, 2019, detectives notified Judy's aunt that a positive identification was made from the DNA and the photographs she shared.

"Ms. Gifford, who has never changed her phone number in case her niece ever called, was brought some closure as a result of the joint effort," N.J. State Police wrote on Facebook.

The homicide case remains an active investigation by SFPD.
Jane Doe from 43-year-old San Francisco cold-case homicide identified

 

[JerseyGirl]

CA - CA - San Francisco, AsianFem 1273UFCA, 15-25, buried at Lake Merced, Oct'76 - Judy Gifford

 

[jaejae]

Here is another report about this case:

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...jane-doe-killed-in-san-francisco-43-years-ago

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Gifford's half-brother, William Shin, formally reported her missing to the San Francisco Police Department in 2017, telling them that he and his family had not seen or heard from her since she was 14 years old. As a result, police linked Gifford to the homicide investigation. Shin had remembered having a sister when he was a child and decided to investigate on his own, consulting family before he made the report, police said.

San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In June, New Jersey authorities met with Gifford's aunt, Ogee Gifford, to obtain a DNA sample and gather photographs and dental records. One of the photographs showed Gifford wearing the necklace that was found with her remains, police said.

Ogee Gifford did not change her phone number for more than four decadesin case her niece ever called, police said.

San Francisco Police are now trying to determine who killed her, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Remains of teen murdered in 1976 identified as missing 14-year-old by California investigators

 

[Kapua]

My apologies with some of the poor grammar above. Probably around 2am, I started dozing off as I was trying to finish my thoughts. Allow me to finish here by picking up on the last sentence.

***

Until then, at least my family has closure in knowing that she did decease. We just did not expect to hear that her death was so close in time to when she had just arrived in 1976 and so close in location of just a mile or two from our house in Park Merced.

My Aunt is still in shock and is still trying to process everything.

Actually, we all are.

My younger sister, Susan, has suddenly felt grief and loss over a half-sister that she has no memory of ever meeting or knowing. Up to this point, she had no feelings or thoughts about Judy because of that lack of memory or any emotional connection. But she was sharing with me that after the face-to-face interview with the SFPD detectives a couple of weeks ago, she felt a new degree of sadness over Judy's death and all the backdrop story leading up to it.

We both realized that this is the kind of tragic story that we read about in books and the Bible, we watch in movies, or we hear about on the news regarding other people's lives. So to hear that such an event unfolded within our own immediate family, it brings about a new reality of life that we never personally experienced - death. And not just any sort of death that is impersonal (e.g. earthquake, cancer, military war, etc.), but this one is deeply personal - death of one of our immediate family members by the hands of someone else.

We thank God for His kindness in finally revealing all this to us, after 43 years. As well, we are... and personally I am... deeply indebted and grateful to the excellent work by SFPD, particularly Sergeant Christopher Long, Sergeant Andrea Creed, and Detective Dedit (retired). After talking with Detective Dedit, I know that he is still actively working the case from his angle of "whodunit." If solving this from that angle is possible, that would be absolutely great, as that would close out the final chapter to Judy's story. But if not, my family has closure and peace in knowing Judy's situation.

Thank you for taking the time in reading my ramblings. I hope my ramblings make some sense.

Warmly,
Will

I just found this thread today and first want to send my heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the loss of your sister. Thank you for sharing your story. I wish your sister could have found her way back home to your aunt all those years ago.

 

[Marklhc1988]

I just learned of Judy's story today. I'm happy that the family at least knows now. As I read through several of the news stories and the info here this question just kept sticking with me: why was she not reported by her biological father when she went missing? This makes no sense nobody reported her missing in 1976. Is there something I am missing here?

 

[digitective]

I just learned of Judy's story today. I'm happy that the family at least knows now. As I read through several of the news stories and the info here this question just kept sticking with me: why was she not reported by her biological father when she went missing? This makes no sense nobody reported her missing in 1976. Is there something I am missing here?

I had the same question. It sounds like everyone assumed she ran away back to the east coast and Aunt Ogee, but couldn't they easily have called or written Ogee and asked her if Judy was with her? Did anyone report her missing at the time?
Thank you for sharing your family's story, @Wi11s. Judy was a beautiful girl.

 

[LucyOso]

Will, condolences to your family. Thank you for sharing your story. Rest In Peace, Judy.

 

[jaejae]

Here is another report about this case:

For 43 years, slain girl found near SF's Lake Merced was Jane Doe #40. Now, police know her name

 

[Fede]

For me, I was told that "Cousin" Judy flew back to Aunt Ogee. My parents never told me that Judy was my half-sister. In 1988, when I was 18yo, I visited Aunt Ogee. It was the first time we had seen each other since 1976. I asked her where was "Cousin" Judy, her daughter? That is when she told me the story of Judy Gifford. But she thought Judy had ran away.

I wonder what happened in the first days after Judy disappeared. Was any search done?
If they thought she had gone back to Aunt Ogee.... did they think she went hitchhiking?

 

[j_in_c]

Late to the party, but came over after seeing an article on CNN.

W1ll if you are still reading here, my sincerest condolences to you and your family and thank you for putting in the time and effort to officially report Judy missing which led to her getting her name back. Also thank you for taking the time to share Judy's story. Speaking only for myself, I am always comforted to know that a john/jane doe was loved and missed.

To fellow websleuthers, I hope everyone on here can be respectful of this family and not apply the common sense of today to the 1970s - there are many reasons why people were not reported missing back then and in many instances we find out someone did talk to police, but were brushed off or a report was lost, etc.

I am glad to hear that W1ll's interactions with SFPD were positive and that the right people are looking for justice for Judy.

 

[Wi11s]

Thank you, everybody, for your kind and warm posts. I have released a trilogy in memory of Judy Gifford. The videos are, from what I think to be, Judy telling us her story.

• The first video is her telling us how she wanted to reconnect with her biological father, Mike Shin, but the reality of seeing a dysfunctional family would squash that dream.
• The second video is of her settling into the Gifford house. It was perfect for her to be part of a stable family, and perfect for the Gifford family as they had always wanted a daughter.
• The final video is of what I can imagine may have been going on in her heart in her final days. Based on what I remember at age 6 of Judy sobbing on the phone and pleading to return back to the Gifford house, I wanted to visualize what may have been her final thoughts: remembering her happy years at the Gifford house.

Warmly, and in memory of Judy Gifford,

Will

 

[azure]

Thank you, everybody, for your kind and warm posts. I have released a trilogy in memory of Judy Gifford. The videos are, from what I think to be, Judy telling us her story.

• The first video is her telling us how she wanted to reconnect with her biological father, Mike Shin, but the reality of seeing a dysfunctional family would squash that dream.
• The second video is of her settling into the Gifford house. It was perfect for her to be part of a stable family, and perfect for the Gifford family as they had always wanted a daughter.
• The final video is of what I can imagine may have been going on in her heart in her final days. Based on what I remember at age 6 of Judy sobbing on the phone and pleading to return back to the Gifford house, I wanted to visualize what may have been her final thoughts: remembering her happy years at the Gifford house.

Warmly, and in memory of Judy Gifford,

Will

Picking my jaw up off the floor. Did you write and arrange those songs? Those are amazing!

 

[Owutatangledweb]

Thank you, everybody, for your kind and warm posts. I have released a trilogy in memory of Judy Gifford. The videos are, from what I think to be, Judy telling us her story.

• The first video is her telling us how she wanted to reconnect with her biological father, Mike Shin, but the reality of seeing a dysfunctional family would squash that dream.
• The second video is of her settling into the Gifford house. It was perfect for her to be part of a stable family, and perfect for the Gifford family as they had always wanted a daughter.
• The final video is of what I can imagine may have been going on in her heart in her final days. Based on what I remember at age 6 of Judy sobbing on the phone and pleading to return back to the Gifford house, I wanted to visualize what may have been her final thoughts: remembering her happy years at the Gifford house.

Warmly, and in memory of Judy Gifford,

Will

So beautiful. Thank you for sharing.