Lori Ruff Identified as Kimberly McLean of PA

[dexter75]

I'm going to get it done. I'm excited to find out who else is out there!

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

Do let us know how it goes😊
IF, you're up for it😉

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[SavetheQueen]

Do let us know how it goes😊
IF, you're up for it😉

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I will! Thank you!

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[dexter75]

You're welcome😊

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[CD82]

Thank you--I, frankly, have never heard of anybody voluntarily uploading their DNA to a public database (and paying for the privilege). To each their own. Obviously, readers of the Seattle Times are considerably more sophisticated than I am about such matters, and do not require such exposition.

My sister and I have the same father, who was adopted and not in our lives. We plan on submitting our DNA because we have no idea-- not one clue-- about his lineage. He died 5 years ago, but probably didn't know anything about his birth parents anyway.


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[Laughing]

My sister and I have the same father, who was adopted and not in our lives. We plan on submitting our DNA because we have no idea-- not one clue-- about his lineage. He died 5 years ago, but probably didn't know anything about his birth parents anyway.


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IF you get any information at all, experienced genealogists can help you!


I wanted to set up a table at Treddyfin Public Library with piccies and ask everyone coming in the door if the recognized the lady! Working really takes time away from WebSleuths....

 

[ElsaMaria]

There should be a rule, whereby if a grown adult is missing for more than, say, 10 years, they should be allowed to be entered for DNA testing. Pretty sure that would clear up a few UIDs. I think in the UK if someone is missing more than 7 years they can be declared dead.

In Italy, 7 years too.

 

[CD82]

IF you get any information at all, experienced genealogists can help you!


I wanted to set up a table at Treddyfin Public Library with piccies and ask everyone coming in the door if the recognized the lady! Working really takes time away from WebSleuths....

If I figure it out I just might do that. Thank you!


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[Gardener1850]

I wanted to set up a table at Treddyfin Public Library with piccies and ask everyone coming in the door if the recognized the lady! Working really takes time away from WebSleuths....

LOL. I think someone should go to the library but to ask if they kept any old check out logs. See if she checked out the books on how to change your identity. Or if she looked at the microfiche rolls with BST's obituary int he newspaper. It's pure curiosity, but I want to see her signature as Kim. And if we found out what she checked out at the library we could figure out how she did it--whether there was an identity broker involved or not, how did she find out BST's exact DOB, etc. Plus, who knows, the librarian from the 80's could still be there and remember her!

 

[Brainy]

You know, I’ve wondered if Lori had come by Becky Sue Turner not in a planned manner. What if she was reading a newspaper and just noticed the names and dates and it just sounded like a good idea? If Lori was still Kim before changing her identity to Beck Sue Turner, then she was Kim between 1986 and 1988. So far, we don’t have any real reason to believe that she had assumed a different identity between 1986-1988. To me, if she wanted to change her name and it was that important to her, she would have accomplished that earlier. It really sounds like she stumbled upon this and decided to take advantage of the situation.
And you know, people talk. If she visited Washington state at any time, she could have had conversation with people or heard the fire story somewhere and then went to look deeper into it. You never know…

 

[Stargazer42]

My sister and I have the same father, who was adopted and not in our lives. We plan on submitting our DNA because we have no idea-- not one clue-- about his lineage. He died 5 years ago, but probably didn't know anything about his birth parents anyway.

I'm planning on submitting my DNA because my father's lineage is unknown. He tried going to churches from the regions his parents came from, but Stalin had them burned so no baptism records exist.

According to my paternal grandmother, her mother was a maid for the Tsarina and her father was a doctor in the Tsar's army but I don't have much reason to believe that is true.

 

[1&2&3]

Wow... possibly sperm donor maybe?


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No, he was older and that wasn't available. My mom would drop hints about girlfriends. . .so who knows?

 

[bugdebbo]

I wonder if the Tourette's Syndrome that they said she may have had was actually the jerky movements of Huntington's? Just a thought, if she had tics maybe that was why.

 

[1&2&3]

Now that we have her real name, it's time to go back to track the two missing years that we could not find for Lori. Guess she was still using her name Kimberly.

Some of you who are such great sleuthers should find this interesting so the pieces can be completed in Lori-Kim's puzzle. I don't have the knowledge or access that a few of you do who amaze me with the information you come up with.

 

[mrseeker]

LOL. I think someone should go to the library but to ask if they kept any old check out logs. See if she checked out the books on how to change your identity. Or if she looked at the microfiche rolls with BST's obituary int he newspaper. It's pure curiosity, but I want to see her signature as Kim. And if we found out what she checked out at the library we could figure out how she did it--whether there was an identity broker involved or not, how did she find out BST's exact DOB, etc. Plus, who knows, the librarian from the 80's could still be there and remember her!

I wonder if that movie Positive ID played in her town in 1987. I think it was released in November. Of course there were other books out there with similar information she could have found earlier. She might have been out west by november 87 i guess. I did find the step brother's comments that she was "painfully shy" interesting. It was not what I expected. I thought we would hear she was a rebellious teen who was causing all kinds of chaos. Maybe looking at that Idaho ID where she seems so happy makes even more sense. She was trying to reinvent herself. I would like to ask if there was a boyfriend in this time frame. I just can't get my head around a shy, wallflower catholic school girl, becomes worldly, exotic dancer, on the west coast, or Dallas. She also lied about her ID to a judge. That takes guts or worse. She really took major risks. If caught she would have gone to jail at least.

 

[BigCityAccountant]

I wonder if that movie Positive ID played in her town in 1987. I think it was released in November. Of course there were other books out there with similar information she could have found earlier. She might have been out west by november 87 i guess. I did find the step brother's comments that she was "painfully shy" interesting. It was not what I expected. I thought we would hear she was a rebellious teen who was causing all kinds of chaos. Maybe looking at that Idaho ID where she seems so happy makes even more sense. She was trying to reinvent herself. I would like to ask if there was a boyfriend in this time frame. I just can't get my head around a shy, wallflower catholic school girl, becomes worldly, exotic dancer, on the west coast, or Dallas. She also lied about her ID to a judge. That takes guts or worse. She really took major risks. If caught she would have gone to jail at least.

It happens. I had been saying all along I believed she was a runaway. My best friend and I went to Catholic School and she ran away. She had the same copy of the reference letter Lori had from Thailand~~I had posted that in previous threads. She also became an exotic dancer at one point in her life. Yes, runaways take many risks, they almost have to~~to survive. The alternative is drugs and being pimped, sadly.

 

[mrseeker]

It happens. I had been saying all along I believed she was a runaway. My best friend and I went to Catholic School and she ran away. She had the same copy of the reference letter Lori had from Thailand~~I had posted that in previous threads. She also became an exotic dancer at one point in her life. Yes, runaways take many risks, they almost have to~~to survive. The alternative is drugs and being pimped, sadly.

Really? She had the same letter? Now that is a clue. Are you about the same age, same area of the country as Kimberly? Where did your friend get the letter? Was it past around your school?

 

[SavetheQueen]

I wonder if that movie Positive ID played in her town in 1987. I think it was released in November. Of course there were other books out there with similar information she could have found earlier. She might have been out west by november 87 i guess. I did find the step brother's comments that she was "painfully shy" interesting. It was not what I expected. I thought we would hear she was a rebellious teen who was causing all kinds of chaos. Maybe looking at that Idaho ID where she seems so happy makes even more sense. She was trying to reinvent herself. I would like to ask if there was a boyfriend in this time frame. I just can't get my head around a shy, wallflower catholic school girl, becomes worldly, exotic dancer, on the west coast, or Dallas. She also lied about her ID to a judge. That takes guts or worse. She really took major risks. If caught she would have gone to jail at least.

I agree. I can see where she would be described as reserved, or reclusive, etc. But shy? It takes confidence and balls to pull off what she did. But maybe I don't really understand what being shy entails.

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[Fukiyama]

I don't remember if it was here or in the FB group, but someone noted that people who are introverted are not necessarily shy, they're just introverted. Often though, that comes off as shy.

I can definitely see how Lori as that type of person could find being taken out of the life she had known and stuck with a new family when her mom got remarried as a traumatic event that eventually led to her wanting out of the situation. Perhaps she was the introvert who thinks, plans, and acts methodically, explaining how she crafted her plan to change her identity. That would certainly explain her love of genealogy and research later in life when she was busy with the Ruff family tree. Just speculation of course, but it would be great to hear from a friend, particularly one from before the divorce, who could speak to her personality and interests.

 

[llywrch]

I did find the step brother's comments that she was "painfully shy" interesting. It was not what I expected. I thought we would hear she was a rebellious teen who was causing all kinds of chaos. Maybe looking at that Idaho ID where she seems so happy makes even more sense. She was trying to reinvent herself. I would like to ask if there was a boyfriend in this time frame. I just can't get my head around a shy, wallflower catholic school girl, becomes worldly, exotic dancer, on the west coast, or Dallas. She also lied about her ID to a judge. That takes guts or worse. She really took major risks. If caught she would have gone to jail at least.

I wonder if "painfully shy" wasn't simply a conclusion drawn from her actions, & these symptoms she presented actually could be diagnosed by an expert as some kind of other mild form of a personality disorder.

Note: I'm just throwing out a thought that has bothered me about how a number of people who knew her described her. Think of it as a caveat. And I'm willing to accept that until someone happens on new evidence. And if we assume she was "painfully shy", much of her known behavior makes sense: her lack of known friends, her reluctance to talk about herself to her inlaws, her refusal to have her marriage to B announced in the local newspaper. And adopting at least two different names in order to hide herself from other people. However, it doesn't explain in an obvious way two things we've been told about her.

The first is the rumor that she was a "dancer" as a "gentleman's club". I have problems believing that a shy person stripping; people have enough problems with their self-image as it is. And as for a "painfully shy" person... I just can't see it. She might starve to death before doing something like that. However, sometimes people who are aware of their weaknesses will do something completely opposite their nature, that is overcompensate, as an act of self-enabling. So maybe KM/LEK did try this for a few years -- but I doubt it. Which is why I consider that story a rumor.

Second, & far better documented, is the fact she was active in a Woman's Business club for several months. While the Texas Business Women of Bonham and Fannin Counties group is by no means a high-profile group, my sense is that while a shy person could participate in something like this a "painfully shy" person would not. Maybe KM/LEK got over a good chunk of her shyness to join this group, or her step-brother knew her during an untypical period of her life (a parent's divorce, a new family, & moving to an entirely new school & neighborhood are significant stressors). Or she was suffering from a mild form of mental illness that was confused with extreme shyness.

Beyond expressing that one misgiving, I don't have any new serious theory to propose about KM/LEK. Real life is messy, & no matter how well documented a person's life is, there will always be something inexplicable about that person. As I said, I'm willing to accept that her shyness led KM/LEK to do much of what she is known to have done: cut all ties with her family, move to Dallas, change her identity. Her privacy was important enough to her to take some risks with the law, & alienate many -- although not all -- around her. And even accepting that explanation -- with reservations -- still makes her an intriguing figure, because she took an idea many of us have considered at one time & pushed it to the extreme.

 

[Brainy]

All the observations from you all that I read are quite thoughtful, just wanted to jump in to say that it appears that much of her behavior seems consistent throughout her life. I just have the impression that whatever she contended with didn't appear overnight. There were major issues that were very possibly lifelong. It still doesn't explain why she left home and never came back, and why her going away was so unexpected for her family. Also, it seems like that Lori's divorce also played a major role in her mental breakdown. Perhaps she felt that her marriage was one of the things in her life that was keeping it together...