Lori Ruff Identified as Kimberly McLean of PA

[llywrch]

Well we all kinda suspected that after Prof Abbot accidentally told the world back in March. I don't think the PA connection is a surprise to anyone!

I'll confess it was a surprise to me.

I'd not assumed LEK had come from anywhere, though, due to lack of solid information. But I figured there was no reason to favor Pennsylvania because that possibility seemed to be based on some faulty reasoning, the phone number from the Notes Page. And I was surprised when Agent Velling, in the follow-up article in the Seattle Times, was quoted as saying there was a promising lead that pointed to Pennsylvania. I thought he was mistaken; now I see he was telling us as much about the case as he reasonably could -- maybe even more.

I only wish it had been made clear when he retired that he was still working on the case. When I heard that he had retired, I couldn't help but feel that LEK's birth name would never be known, & the reason for her radical act -- abandoning her original identity -- would never be known.

 

[Wendy101]

IMO: The step dad hurt Kim and no one in her family believed her - so she ran and never looked back.

 

[Hank36]

Journalist here. She's not lazy, it's a matter of being able to verify facts. Rumoured appearances or events 30 years ago are nearly impossible to factcheck properly. Documentation is lost or missing, key figures are dead or won't speak to media, houses and businesses are no longer standing. It can be done, but would involve a large-scale investigation, over many months, covering several states...nothing even the best of us could do on a weeklong deadline in between other assignments. Let alone on the typical budget publishers give reporters these days.

But she tossed out unverified information that Velling apparently told her, such as the whole stripper claim. She flat out stated in a 2013 Seattle Times online Q & A that she wasn't interested interviewing anybody who knew "Lori" in Texas and/or aftger 1988. What O'Hagen did wasn't reporting--it turned out to simply be "crowdsourcing". She was essentially acting as Velling's press agent.

Again--there are actually people alive out there who can remember 1986 and are not yet facing senility. If Ms. O'Hagen doesn't have time to talk to such people, fine--but she shouldn't be expecting a Pulitzer or anything.

 

[Hank36]

The main element of the article was an in depth informative story regarding exactly how DNA and genealogy connected Lori to her family starting with distant cousins and going to a close relative which led Velling to Pennsylvania.

Maybe ditch McAfee, and go with Avast. 



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

I'm not a DNA expert, so frankly, that aspect of the story didn't make a lot of sense. I gathered from the article that Fitzpatrick had DNA samples from Lori's dauther anf husband, and was somehow able to connect this DNA with a guy named Cassidy out in Pennsylvania--there were other matches to "distant cousins".

OK--call me crazy, but if it is unknown who "Lori's" biological family was, (a) in what context was a match found with a distant cousin, and (b) why would such a match not be significant in and of itself?

More to the point--WHY did Fitzpatrick have DNA samples of a bunch of people named Cassidy in the first place--let alone a sample which ostensibly came from a Michael Cassidy, but contained no further information?

O'Hagen writes, "Then finally, the name of a third cousin came up". Came up HOW? O'Hagen is implying that Fitzpatrick was waiting for something--but WHAT?

Maybe I'm confusing bad reporting with bad writing, I don't know. Either way, as reported, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[SavetheQueen]

I'm not a DNA expert, so frankly, that aspect of the story didn't make a lot of sense. I gathered from the article that Fitzpatrick had DNA samples from Lori's dauther anf husband, and was somehow able to connect this DNA with a guy named Cassidy out in Pennsylvania--there were other matches to "distant cousins".

OK--call me crazy, but if it is unknown who "Lori's" biological family was, (a) in what context was a match found with a distant cousin, and (b) why would such a match not be significant in and of itself?

More to the point--WHY did Fitzpatrick have DNA samples of a bunch of people named Cassidy in the first place--let alone a sample which ostensibly came from a Michael Cassidy, but contained no further information?

O'Hagen writes, "Then finally, the name of a third cousin came up". Came up HOW? O'Hagen is implying that Fitzpatrick was waiting for something--but WHAT?

Maybe I'm confusing bad reporting with bad writing, I don't know. Either way, as reported, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

I don't think any/many of us here are DNA experts. But every single question that you are asking here, and saying that the article doesn't explain, the article actually gives an in depth explanation of. Maybe read it again and try to soak it in. The day it broke was crazy, and everyone was so anxious. Sometimes it's hard to absorb what you're seeing. Or maybe try the FoxNews article. See if that helps to explain it better for you. Sometimes a different writing style can make it click in our minds.

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

 

[Hell's Belle]

King of Prussia does not appear to be a college town from what I've read, although a PA resident is obviously better qualified to answer this than I am.

I went to college in the suburbs of Philadelphia. There are TON of colleges in the Philadelphia area. KOP by the '80s wasn't really a separate town.

 

[Laughing]

I'm not a DNA expert, so frankly, that aspect of the story didn't make a lot of sense. I gathered from the article that Fitzpatrick had DNA samples from Lori's dauther anf husband, and was somehow able to connect this DNA with a guy named Cassidy out in Pennsylvania--there were other matches to "distant cousins".

OK--call me crazy, but if it is unknown who "Lori's" biological family was, (a) in what context was a match found with a distant cousin, and (b) why would such a match not be significant in and of itself?

More to the point--WHY did Fitzpatrick have DNA samples of a bunch of people named Cassidy in the first place--let alone a sample which ostensibly came from a Michael Cassidy, but contained no further information?

O'Hagen writes, "Then finally, the name of a third cousin came up". Came up HOW? O'Hagen is implying that Fitzpatrick was waiting for something--but WHAT?

Maybe I'm confusing bad reporting with bad writing, I don't know. Either way, as reported, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

Many people reading about Colleen Fitzpatrick are well versed in genealogy research. DNA information is a recent addition to the field. Fitzpatrick wasn't holding DNA samples or reports herself, she uses information held in databases by others, including ancestry and 23andme.

The maternal DNA report from LEKR's daughter indicated a cousin-level relationship with a Micheal Cassidy, as the article states. The user submissions to the database did not include enough information to sort this Michael Cassidy from all available Michael Cassidys in the US.

Later, additional cousins were matched. Fitzpatrick traced the ancestors of these cousins back to Ireland, and then looked for descendants who had reached the Us. The descendants included a Michael Cassidy & relatives with contact information. Veilling was able to contact this family, and members of this family recognized our LEKR and provided her birth name.

We used to do this be reading microfiche & microfilm, writing letters, and placing phone calls. Now it's generally via email.

Make more sense now?

Fun hobby, try your grandparents names at familysearch.org

 

[Gardener1850]

I'm not a DNA expert, so frankly, that aspect of the story didn't make a lot of sense. I gathered from the article that Fitzpatrick had DNA samples from Lori's dauther anf husband, and was somehow able to connect this DNA with a guy named Cassidy out in Pennsylvania--there were other matches to "distant cousins".

OK--call me crazy, but if it is unknown who "Lori's" biological family was, (a) in what context was a match found with a distant cousin, and (b) why would such a match not be significant in and of itself?

More to the point--WHY did Fitzpatrick have DNA samples of a bunch of people named Cassidy in the first place--let alone a sample which ostensibly came from a Michael Cassidy, but contained no further information?

O'Hagen writes, "Then finally, the name of a third cousin came up". Came up HOW? O'Hagen is implying that Fitzpatrick was waiting for something--but WHAT?

Maybe I'm confusing bad reporting with bad writing, I don't know. Either way, as reported, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

She used genealogy websites such as ancestry.com to search for matches to Lori's DNA profile. The cousin matches in the Cassidy family were uploaded by the family members themselves. Anyone can pay to have their DNA tested to see who they may be related to, what their ethnic background is, etc. Read about it here: http://dna.ancestry.com/?s_kwcid=an...55307&o_lid=55307&o_sch=Paid+Search+Non+Brand It's very interesting. The article said they found a match for a 1st cousin. First cousins have grandparents in common and that would have made it really fast to find her possible parents. However, the 1st cousin they found had a really common name and he didn't see their messages to him on the website he had uploaded he DNA to. A lot of people upload DNA just for fun one time and then may never check the website again. Since he had such a common name and could not be reached, they had to look at other DNA connections. They had to go with the more distant cousin (who would have no idea who Lori was from a picture) and trace that person's family tree until they found the first cousin's name in the tree. Once they found that common-name first cousin they automatically had a set of people that could be her parents--any of the first cousin's aunts and uncles. So they contacted that family and asked to speak to someone. The rest about Velling going to PA with the photos is in the article. I hope this makes some more sense to you.

 

[eekasaur]

She used genealogy websites such as ancestry.com to search for matches to Lori's DNA profile. The cousin matches in the Cassidy family were uploaded by the family members themselves. Anyone can pay to have their DNA tested to see who they may be related to, what their ethnic background is, etc. Read about it here: http://dna.ancestry.com/?s_kwcid=an...55307&o_lid=55307&o_sch=Paid+Search+Non+Brand It's very interesting. The article said they found a match for a 1st cousin. First cousins have grandparents in common and that would have made it really fast to find her possible parents. However, the 1st cousin they found had a really common name and he didn't see their messages to him on the website he had uploaded he DNA to. A lot of people upload DNA just for fun one time and then may never check the website again. Since he had such a common name and could not be reached, they had to look at other DNA connections. They had to go with the more distant cousin (who would have no idea who Lori was from a picture) and trace that person's family tree until they found the first cousin's name in the tree. Once they found that common-name first cousin they automatically had a set of people that could be her parents--any of the first cousin's aunts and uncles. So they contacted that family and asked to speak to someone. The rest about Velling going to PA with the photos is in the article. I hope this makes some more sense to you.

I, too, was confused. Thanks for the great explanation, Gardener!

 

[Hell's Belle]

I couldn't help but feel that LEK's birth name would never be known, & the reason for her radical act -- abandoning her original identity -- would never be known.

We now know the former. I don't know how much closer we are to determining the latter.

 

[Hank36]

She used genealogy websites such as ancestry.com to search for matches to Lori's DNA profile. The cousin matches in the Cassidy family were uploaded by the family members themselves. Anyone can pay to have their DNA tested to see who they may be related to, what their ethnic background is, etc. Read about it here: http://dna.ancestry.com/?s_kwcid=an...55307&o_lid=55307&o_sch=Paid+Search+Non+Brand It's very interesting. The article said they found a match for a 1st cousin. First cousins have grandparents in common and that would have made it really fast to find her possible parents. However, the 1st cousin they found had a really common name and he didn't see their messages to him on the website he had uploaded he DNA to. A lot of people upload DNA just for fun one time and then may never check the website again. Since he had such a common name and could not be reached, they had to look at other DNA connections. They had to go with the more distant cousin (who would have no idea who Lori was from a picture) and trace that person's family tree until they found the first cousin's name in the tree. Once they found that common-name first cousin they automatically had a set of people that could be her parents--any of the first cousin's aunts and uncles. So they contacted that family and asked to speak to someone. The rest about Velling going to PA with the photos is in the article. I hope this makes some more sense to you.

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.

 

[Hank36]

I don't think any/many of us here are DNA experts. But every single question that you are asking here, and saying that the article doesn't explain, the article actually gives an in depth explanation of. Maybe read it again and try to soak it in. The day it broke was crazy, and everyone was so anxious. Sometimes it's hard to absorb what you're seeing. Or maybe try the FoxNews article. See if that helps to explain it better for you. Sometimes a different writing style can make it click in our minds.

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

If anybody's idea of "in-depth" is an article from Fox News...[insert punchline here].

 

[SavetheQueen]

If anybody's idea of "in-depth" is an article from Fox News...[insert punchline here].

Well..ya know.... just trying to help! [emoji23]

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

 

[Gardener1850]

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.

It's a trend that has gained in popularity only in the last few years. I first heard about it around 2009. There are several popular services that offer DNA testing. Ancestry is just one. 23andMe is the name of another popular testing website. The reasons people upload their DNA vary. Sometimes people want to know if their family stories of being descended from royalty is true. Or they may hope to be connected with famous historical figures. Sometimes people are looking for long lost relatives or trying to find their birth parents if they are adopted. The service is marketed primarily for people to discover their ethnic origins. When you get your results back it tells you where in the world your ancestors came from and presents the percent of your genetic make up on a pie chart. A LOT of families in the US have stories about being related to Native Americans. They may test to prove they belong to a particular tribe (although, AFAIK, no tribes in the US accept membership based on DNA testing alone). Many African Americans want to know where in Africa their family came from--it's a BIG continent and Ancestry DNA can narrow down to the region with specific countries. American descendants of slaves can also use DNA to prove "relationships" between their black ancestors and white slave owners. There was a show on PBS called "Finding Your Roots" in which they traced ancestry and also did DNA testing for famous people to find their roots. I'm not sure if it will come back on the air or not but you can see some clips from the show here: http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/

 

[1&2&3]

I agree with Gardener that having your DNA tested and recorded is becoming a more popular thing to do by people of all ages. People are just not talking about it to each other unless something abnormal shows up. And then, they can really be baffled with the results that do show up.

A friend's sister did the test. The results that came back showed she had 3-5 extra brothers and sisters! Shocker!! She and her brothers, that she grew up with, did some searching and discovered the additional family members. It happens their father had an extra family on the side. Can you imagine? No, they did not contact them. To them, their parents had an idealistic marriage.

For the future, I feel it will provide valuable information that we may not even be aware of today. I am thinking of having it done myself. I am just not sure I am ready should any shocker news come back! LOL.

 

[SavetheQueen]

I agree with Gardener that having your DNA tested and recorded is becoming a more popular thing to do by people of all ages. People are just not talking about it to each other unless something abnormal shows up. And then, they can really be baffled with the results that do show up.

A friend's sister did the test. The results that came back showed she had 3-5 extra brothers and sisters! Shocker!! She and her brothers, that she grew up with, did some searching and discovered the additional family members. It happens their father had an extra family on the side. Can you imagine? No, they did not contact them. To them, their parents had an idealistic marriage.

For the future, I feel it will provide valuable information that we may not even be aware of today. I am thinking of having it done myself. I am just not sure I am ready should any shocker news come back! LOL.

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. *

 

[rascal32]

I agree with Gardener that having your DNA tested and recorded is becoming a more popular thing to do by people of all ages. People are just not talking about it to each other unless something abnormal shows up. And then, they can really be baffled with the results that do show up.

A friend's sister did the test. The results that came back showed she had 3-5 extra brothers and sisters! Shocker!! She and her brothers, that she grew up with, did some searching and discovered the additional family members. It happens their father had an extra family on the side. Can you imagine? No, they did not contact them. To them, their parents had an idealistic marriage.

For the future, I feel it will provide valuable information that we may not even be aware of today. I am thinking of having it done myself. I am just not sure I am ready should any shocker news come back! LOL.

Wow... possibly sperm donor maybe?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Brainy]

Wow… where do I even start…

I had been very interested in Lori’s case for a while and when it was finally clear who she was… I couldn’t believe it!!! May she rest in peace!

Of course, all the crazy and off the charts theories that had been suggested… it was really the simplest thing and the most straightforward way that she went away and stayed hidden all these years. No ridiculous stories that Lori was a criminal, a sex slave or a cult member. Something significant happened in her life and she decided to change her life and told the family to never come after her. We may never understand the motives behind her story and her decision. I did read some people saying that we shouldn’t be looking at her family or discussing her family affairs… at may be true, but if we are trying to gain any measure of understanding as to why Lori went to such an extreme way of hiding from her family. Not getting along with her stepfather or not liking the new rules are NOT legitimate reasons. Every kid/teen/young adult of that age faces such problems if not worse but not many go to such lengths to completely pull apart from their family… and make every effort to not be found ever again. There has got to be something that happened in her life… I’m not sure if anybody out there knows of anything in particular because Lori appeared to be a very private and quiet person.

I also noticed that some folks here were wondering how Lori was never recognized by anybody who knew her as a teenager/ young adult. Well, to me it’s not that fascinating. She was a small town Pennsylvania girl who went away one day to never be heard of again. It doesn’t sound like she had any close friends or any close ties with anybody anyway. Who would be looking for her? People move on with their lives. I can tell you that I haven’t opened my yearbook once since graduating high school. There are some people I remember by name and their face but most of the people just remain vague faces in my memory.

She had already told her family not to look for her. She went away and it was her decision no matter what the reasons are behind it. Even if some of her acquaintances or relatives got curious over the years to look her up in databases… nothing could show up because she had already taken another identity. They might have just assumed that she kept an extremely low profile and didn’t want to be contacted by anyone.

I think of cases like these may be more common than we think. Had Lori lived a longer life and died of natural causes and possessed absolutely no evidence about the false identity, she would always remain Lori Erica Kennedy/Ruff and no one had to have a reason to doubt that.

I am glad that she is identified, on the other hand… this woman went to such great effort to change her identity and move away from it and not to ever be known as Kimberly McLean again. I wonder how Lori felt about her new identity and what was going on in her mind as years passed and she just buried her past. I am so sorry! She must have been very isolated, sad and hurt. I am only prayerful that this will bring peace to her families.

 

[BigCityAccountant]

Wow... possibly sperm donor maybe?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not necessarily. My ex had the same thing happen. His father was married and had 2 children during that marriage. The kids, lets say were not exactly the law biding type. His mother didn't want to associate with them, but on occasion his father did. He didn't find out about this other family until he was 18 and the dad who has the same name as the son received a letter from "himself" in another state. He was devastated to find out his parents had kept this secret all his life and always wondered what else they were hiding from him. To say the least, it causes severe trust issues.

 

[linda2011]

So glad Lori has been identified. I hope she is at peace. I am satisfied with all the information I have learned. I like everyone else have more questions than answers. I am content, I hope her family can get through this ordeal in peace and the media will leave them alone. Best wishes to both of her families. I feel like it's done it's complete and time to move on. I don't post a lot but I will be following other cases. Hope to see you all on other cases. Moving on......:seeya: