CO CO - Gilpin Co., WhtFem, 25-30, burned, off Hwy 119, overbite, Sep'52

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Hey again Mysteries! Here is the email that I wanna send to the case manager over at NamUs, thought I'd check in before sending it and get your opinion or anything that you might like to add?

Hello Jessica,

I’m a part of the Websleuths forum that investigates missing persons, unidentified decedents and cold cases. Recently, I’ve been extremely interested in the case of Ione Rehwinkle, a 23-year-old woman who disappeared (approximately) in 1952 from Rochester, Minnesota. There are few details available in her case but when using NamUs to try to find a potential match, I came across the case of an unidentified decedent who was found in Black Hawk, Colorado on September 30th 1952. The reconstruction that is provided with the unidentified’s case bears a striking resemblance to that of Ione Rehwinkle, in my opinion. I’ve already submitted a match between the two on the Doe Network but so far, I’ve had no response. Below I’ll present my reasons as to why I believe they are a match.


• The reconstruction of the unidentified matches Ione’s facial structure/features.

• Ione was 23-years-old when she disappeared and the unidentified was determined to be pre-30-years-old.

• Ione disappeared sometime in 1952 but it is unsure exactly when, so the September 30th 1952 discovery of the unidentified matches with Ione’s timeline.

• Doe Network gives the death date for the unidentified as 20 days to a month prior, which matches.

• Ione was a Caucasian female and the unidentified is depicted as a Caucasian female in her reconstruction.

• Both Ione and the unidentified are female.

• Height of the unidentified was approximately 5’7’’, according to the Doe Network, and the height of Ione was approximately 5’4’’, which is only 3 off and is quite close.

• Ione’s hair colour was brown and the unidentified’s is given as brown on the Doe Network.

• The hairstyle depicted in the unidentified’s reconstruction is very similar to that of Ione Rehwinkle in the photo inputted for her case.

• The possible reason why Ione hasn’t been found yet may be because her body was transported across state lines, a possibility being Colorado, quite a while away from Minnesota.

• A Denver tramway token was found near the unidentified’s body. Ione Rehwinkle could have purposefully travelled to Denver, Colorado.

• Ione Rehwinkle’s sister-in-law’s husband worked for the Olmsted County Highway Department as a welder from 1951 onwards and perhaps coincidentally, the unidentified was found only 100 yards from Highway 119 and with fire damage.


Ione Rehwinkle is endangered missing/presumed deceased as she disappeared with a 1-year-old son left behind. Her son and grandsons are still alive and it would be amazing if they could get closure after 66-years of no answers.

I hope that there is a match between the two and that you consider this comparison

This was sent to me by the member who submitted the match to doe. The doe network has not responded in a long time so the match has now been submitted to namus!
 
"Maria" has zero (0) missing person exclusions as of February 14, 2020.

Bumping "Maria"'s thread. Here are some newspaper articles on her case:

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Fort Collins Coloradoan (October 5, 1952)
- Along with the third earring and the bloody stick, a small piece of partly-burned leather was found near "Maria"'s body

img

Greeley Daily Tribune (October 1, 1952)
- Only recognizable parts of body were legs, one breast, and teeth; rest were damaged beyond recognition due to being burned
- Initial height estimation was 5'2" - 5'3"
- Specifically, "Maria"'s hair was brown and curly.

img

The Daily Sentinel (October 6, 1952)
- Lists hair as "long and wavy," and pegs height at about 5'6"
- Probably of Spanish descent

img

The Daily Sentinel (October 4, 1952)
- "Maria" was initially thought to be Mrs. Betty Dennis, a formerly missing woman from Greeley, CO. However, she was found alive and well near Ontario, CA.

img

Fort Collins Coloradoan (October 2, 1952)
- At one point, police attempted to lift fingerprints from one of her hands.
- "Teeth are being checked for a possible lead"
 
Last edited:
Potential Matches to "Gilpin County Jane Doe/Maria/Pyre Case Victim"

Original
Original
1083UFCO1_LARGE.jpg
1083UFCO2_LARGE.jpg


NamUs #UP14826 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs))

DoeNetwork Profile 1083UFCO (1083UFCO)

==========================================================

1. Lillian Eileen DeMaris (submitted to investigators previously) — NamUs #MP18613 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 31 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Mason City, Iowa, since August 14, 1952

2. Ione Rehwinkle (submitted to investigators previously) — NamUs #MP28574 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 23 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Rochester, Minnesota, since January 1, 1952 (approximate)

3. Mabel May Chambers — NamUs #MP11013 (The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)) — 31 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Wilmington, Delaware, since January 1, 1952 (approximate)

4. JMD* (see note at bottom of post) — Not on NamUs — 15 years old at time of disappearance, missing from Greeley, Colorado, since July 27, 1952?

* = I found a newspaper article about JMD, who, as far as I know, is on no public databases, still being missing nearly 1 month after she was initially reported missing. I cannot find any follow-up showing that she was found, so I feel that I should list JMD here.​
 
Annie Hannah appeared in my search as well. I personally doubt it because of the location and circumstances (how someone would go missing going to a Walgreen's in NY and end up in fairly sparsely populated Colorado, as it seems, is beyond me).
 
GJKJR said:
Annie Hannah appeared in my search as well. I personally doubt it because of the location and circumstances (how someone would go missing going to a Walgreen's in NY and end up in fairly sparsely populated Colorado, as it seems, is beyond me).
Click to expand...

April to August/September is enough time to get to most anyplace in the US. Syracuse to Denver is a pretty direct route, even in the 1950s, and Blackhawk isn't far outside of Denver.

There are so few details it's hard to know what her options for travel were, but if she had some money she could have taken a bus. If she had more money, she could have flown--Denver was a major travel hub by then. The train was probably an option. If she didn't have money, she could have hitched rides. She could have left with a friend or a boyfriend. She might have left in search of a better job, or to get away from a bad relationship, or who knows.

The facial resemblance seems pretty strong, as much as you can tell from that blurry photo. Similar hairstyle, hairline, overall shape.

I think she's a definite possibility.
 
*Bump*

For some reason, I keep imagining that Maria and a companion were travelling across the US, ala On the Road (which was release several years later), and that her companion became so annoyed at her for some reason, that they lashed out and then tried to cover their tracks by setting the body on fire, in hopes of destroying evidence. I could be completely wrong, of course, but theories are pretty much all we have for now. I assume (records of) her last resting place still has not been located, so any attempts to extract DNA can not be done.

I'm reposting the link from the first post in this thread since I had problems opening it now (thank you, Wayback machine!):

Woman's charred skeleton found under funeral pyre near Black Hawk
 
I contacted investigators a few years ago regarding this case and they informed me that there is no material available for DNA analysis. Bummer :(
 
In September 1952, the charred body of a woman was found in Gilpin County “under a seven-foot charred log in an unused gravel pit in the woods,” according to The Doe Network entry. The Doe Network reported a stick with blood on it was found nearby along with a third earring presumably not belonging to the victim. An autopsy showed she suffered blunt force trauma to the head, but it was unclear at what point the fire to her body had been set and whether the fire contributed to her death. The Doe Network noted her case was called the “Pyre Case” and she was sometimes referred to as “Maria.”

These cases join roughly 1,800 other cold cases currently being tracked and updated by the CBI in a searchable online database. The Denver Police Department keeps a page on the city website that tracks cold cases by year, and hundreds of entries are logged on it. The page says, “the Cold Case Unit’s motto ‘We Will Never Forget’ is a daily reminder to pursue justice for victims and their families long thought forgotten.”
www.lawweekcolorado.com

A Look at Some of Colorado's Unsolved Cases - Law Week Colorado

Denver Police have closed 19 of 748 cold cases dating back to the 1970s with recent DNA breakthroughs, but some of the state’s most notorious cold cases are still missing victim identification.
www.lawweekcolorado.com www.lawweekcolorado.com
 
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