CA CA - Lancaster, WhtFem 1205UFCA , 30-50, in desert, homemade coffin, Dec'68

[Ms. Sleuth]

If you look upthread, you'll find Madeline's sister's posts regarding this possibility...

thank you

 

[carbuff]

No new ruleouts. Here's the updated Namus link: Unidentified Person Case

No new exclusions. The Namus link has pretty much no information at all

 

[John/Jane Doe]

CASE NUMBER - 1205UFCA

 

[DD Byrd]

My take on the slats is that they were to distribute the weight of whatever was put over the coffin. Wood would eventually collapse and IMO this coffin maker needed the outside elements to hold until the remains were dust, for his/her own peace of mind. With such great care given to the whole thing, I believe whoever did this didn't want to think of a collapse. It's possible this wasn't the only location considered, and large rocks or soil would've been even heavier. Especially if the location chosen had been somewhere wetter and therefore quicker to rot the wood.

Red is a powerful color and would be chosen intentionally. There are myriad reasons for red, from ethnic to spiritual to symbolic, but again someone put in the effort.

As for being so close to the road, the coffin presumably had to be carried by humans. So a 'good' spot would be far enough away from the road, but not too far to carry. If the intent was to visit in the future, it had to be accessible but not strangely far out. Someone coming upon the 'visit' might just see someone at the side of the road who stopped to check a tire, take a bio break, etc.

As for the visual, if she was found with the bag over her head from a self-inflicted gunshot, the person who found her likely didn't want to look and left the bag in place. The same scenario would hold with an assisted or mercy killing, or even a murder. If she was found after hours had passed, that bag might have been 'held' to her head with congealed blood. Either way, the finder or shooter was probably a) in shock even if not surprised, and b) wanted to "fix it" quickly.

LE probably knows more info based on graphic tells, i.e. an xray showing hair pins means this was a mess. I'd bet there were other things in the coffin that are being held from the public. But the goal is to first find out who she is.

 

[Romulus]

Just for the sake of accuracy, the burial site isn't in Lancaster. It's actually east of Palmdale in a community called Llano. There is a golf course (Crystalaire) about 2 miles directly west of the burial site. It's pretty much open desert with a few scattered houses in between the two. It's in Los Angeles county, but very close to the San Bernardino Co line. (Approx. 8 - 10 miles)

Link me the map point please? @othram case for you! However I'll have my say: I think it could be a murder, in 1993 a film was released (The Vanishing) with Sandra Bullock and Kiefer Sutherland where a girl (Bullock) was kidnapped, put to sleep and buried in a coffin buried by a mad professor (Jeff Bridges); and Sutherland looked for her throughout the film and then discovered the bitter truth...I think there are many crazy people around the world, so this could have happened; I know perfectly well that a movie is not reality, but it could be reality some times.

 

[DD Byrd]

in 1993 a film was released (The Vanishing) with Sandra Bullock and Kiefer Sutherland where a girl (Bullock) was kidnapped, put to sleep and buried in a coffin buried by a mad professor (Jeff Bridges); and Sutherland looked for her throughout the film and then discovered the bitter truth

You might find the heavier focus on the mind of the killer in the original interesting: The Vanishing (1988) "Spoorloos"