Identified! CO - Boulder Co., WhtFem 'Boulder Jane Doe, 17-20, Mar'54 - Dorothy Howard

[knitrocks]

Boulder Jane had good teeth. I remember reading that the pathologist stated that she was raised with fluoride in the water.

Fluoride is either found in certain ground waters' wells or added to city water. Couldn't have been too many cities that added fluoride to their water back then. I bet you could find a graphic map of where in US fluoride is found in high concentrations naturally in the water. Might be some point to start looking for her home town.

 

[Silvia]

Thanks for your interest in Katharine. We do know some things about her, and we know a lot about her late husband. Here are the basics. She and Jimmie Dyer married in Prescott AZ in 1949 while he was a student at what is now NAU in Flagstaff AZ where Katharine worked as a waitress at at truck stop on Route 66. On her marriage affidavit, she gave her maiden name as Katharine E. Farrand, born in San Antonio TX on 14 Oct 1926. (However, we have not ruled out that she could have briefly been married to a man named Farrand.) The 1926 date is suspect, as her landlady said she was 24 when she went missing in Denver in 1954. Whatever the date, there are no birth, census, city directory, etc. records in TX (or anywhere else) that fit.
The first place she showed up (as Katharine Farrand) was in the 1948 Denver city directory. She worked at a soda fountain. In 1949, she was in AZ with her new husband, and in 1950-1953, she and Jimmie were in Denver where she worked as an elevator operator, and he worked for Public Service. According to correspondence written by Jimmie, they separated in 1953, but no divorce records have been found. Katharine was boarding in the landlady's home when she disappeared, 10 days before Jane Doe's body was found. As to her hair, the newspaper quoted the landlady as saying that she tinted her hair. Jane Doe's autopsy called it "light brown almost blonde with a slight reddish tinge." Jimmie married his second wife a year later and mentioned once that he had been married before, but he never even told wife #2 Katharine's name. He is not considered a suspect, but it's believed that he just moved on with his life (and then to wives #3 and #4 who never knew Katharine's name, either.) And, yes, she had good teeth, but the fluoride in the water was just speculation, nothing more. (I didn't have a cavity until I was 35...). Again, see www.boulderjanedoe.com for more info as it becomes available. Silvia

 

[MaryLiz]

Silvia - Any idea when the Boulder Sheriff's office press release will be available on the recent casting of BJD's skull with the photo of Katharine Dyer?

 

[Silvia]

There are some indications that the press release might be tomorrow (April 17th). I sure hope so. In the meantime, see www.boulderjanedoe.com Thanks, Silvia

 

[MaryLiz]

There are some indications that the press release might be tomorrow (April 17th). I sure hope so. In the meantime, see www.boulderjanedoe.com Thanks, Silvia

I went to the website looking for it..I'll check back tomorrow. I'm anxious to see what they say about it. Thanks!!

 

[WholeLottaRosie]

So am I. I really hope that the photo will spark someone's memory.

 

[gaia227]

Medusa and Silvia - thank you for your replies and information.

 

[MaryLiz]

Update on the BJD site today with photo of Katharine Dyer.

http://www.boulderjanedoe.com/index.cfm?go=Photos

 

[WholeLottaRosie]

Thanks for posting that Liz. I really do see the resemblance after studying this.

 

[MaryLiz]

Thanks for posting that Liz. I really do see the resemblance after studying this.

I do too...I didn't at first. But the more I studied the photo, I could see a resemblance, especially the nose and eyes.

 

[Silvia]

Finally, here's the press release on Boulder Jane Doe (Katharine Dyer):

http://www.bouldercounty.org/newsroom/templates/?a=1132&z=2

 

[Silvia]

Please see http://www.9news.com/news/top-article.aspx?storyid=90261 and click on the video. Thanks, Silvia Pettem

 

[MaryLiz]

Thanks for posting the link to the Sheriff's release and the video, Silvia. I sure hope someone recognizes her from the photo and comes forward with info on her family so you can get DNA!

 

[Dave F.]

This is an excellent question. When we were attempting to duplicate the original investigation, a lot of effort was invested in this possibility.

In 1954 very few communities added flouride, but few had actually tested for flouride levels. either. Current groundwater maps and community water test reports reveal that many water systems in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain States have naturally high flouridation. Nearly all of the potential candidates for Boulder Jane Doe's identity qualified, screening out literally no one.

 

[windrower]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif]Results for: [/FONT]
Katharine Farrand, Birth, 1924 - 1928
Exact Spelling: Off
javascript:DoView('../gedcom/') U.S. Social Security Death Index - 1 1. Kathryn FARRAND - U.S. Social Security Death Index
Birth: 14 Apr 1924 State Where Number was Issued: Texas Death: Sep 1973
prev | next Prepare selected records for download Return to top of page
This is probably too far-fetched, but I'm posting it anyway.

 

[Silvia]

Thanks for looking for Katharines! This one, however, "Kathryn Farrand," we have ruled out. She was listed in the SSDI as born 14 April 1924, died Sept 1973. She actually was born as "Ruby Cathrin Powell," in Williamson Co. TX same date (14 April 1924). She had married John Arthur Farrand, and they had at least one child, Carolyn Ann Farrand, born in Travis Co. TX, 19 Nov 1949. Thanks again, Silvia

 

[UMfanforever]

Did you ever try to talk to Jimmie Dyer before his death in 2002? Surely he would have known something about his ex wife's parents. You don't get married to someone and travel with them without telling them about yourself.. She also went to a college, right? Does this still exist, do colleges ever keep really old paperwork?

 

[Silvia]

I was not aware of Katharine Dyer until 2004, two years after Jimmie Dyer died. Too bad, as he would have been able to give me the answers. He married his second wife, however, in 1955, a year after Katharine disappeared, and he never even told his 2nd wife of his first wife's name. I've discussed this with her, and she thinks Jimmie and Katharine went their separate ways, and he just decided to move on (without any record of a divorce). Jimmie graduated from what's now Northern AZ Univ. in Flagstaff AZ, but Katharine was NOT a student. Yes, colleges keep their paperwork, and we have official confirmation from the Univ. that Jimmie's spouse was "Katharine E. Farrand Dyer." While he was in class, she worked as a waitress at a truck stop on Route 66.

 

[UMfanforever]

Did she live alone at this boarding house in Denver? You mentioned in an article this Emily Adams person being a friend, how did you find out about her? Did you talk to her? Wonder if Katharine was the type that would frequent a lonely hearts club, per reading about an article on Glatman.

 

[UMfanforever]

I was not aware of Katharine Dyer until 2004, two years after Jimmie Dyer died. Too bad, as he would have been able to give me the answers. He married his second wife, however, in 1955, a year after Katharine disappeared, and he never even told his 2nd wife of his first wife's name. I've discussed this with her, and she thinks Jimmie and Katharine went their separate ways, and he just decided to move on (without any record of a divorce). Jimmie graduated from what's now Northern AZ Univ. in Flagstaff AZ, but Katharine was NOT a student. Yes, colleges keep their paperwork, and we have official confirmation from the Univ. that Jimmie's spouse was "Katharine E. Farrand Dyer." While he was in class, she worked as a waitress at a truck stop on Route 66.

I was reading your comments in another article, and it does seem like she didn't want to be found.