cyberpanda
Researching the Missing/JDs in St. Louis area
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2021
- Messages
- 110
- Reaction score
- 347
Hello! I grew up on Rend Lake. The head was found right before I turned 6. I clearly remember seeing it on the news and it has fascinated me since. If the head was thrown from I-57 it would 100% have to be the southbound lanes. It is highly unlikely she was thrown from the interstate because the interstate is not close enough for that to be possible. For awhile I was convinced that Ina Jane Doe was from the small Mennonite community a bit east of the park. If she had left the community by choice she would have been cut off from family and friends. They would not know to report her missing. After learning she had received expensive dental care I know I am wrong. It is possible that the body was dismembered then consumed by wildlife. I recently decided to start researching this case again, and I stumbled upon the serial killer Gary Michael Hiton. He decapitated his victims and left them in national forest. At some point after being caught he says something to the effect that he did not start killing at the age of 61. Rend Lake is out of his murder zone, but I am not convinced he did not kill Ina Jane Doe.
Hello fellow Southern Illinois native! I spent a lot of time at Rend Lake, and travel frequently on I-57. I agree that Gary Michael Hilton is a likely suspect. From what I found he committed 4 known murders in 2007 and 2008. It seems very possible that he could've been in the Illinois/midwest area in the early 90s, murdered Ina Jane Doe and stopped off of 57 to dispose of the head. Since I-57 is one of the direct routes to Chicago, it wouldn't surprise me if her killer was from that area too.