Identified! MI - Coopersville, "Matilda", Wht/Hisp/NativFem 35-45, UP9900, Nov'94 - Shelly Rae Kephart (Christian)

[PastTense]

"Matilda was a female whose skeletal remains were found at 32nd Avenue where it dead-ends at I-96 in Wright Township. She was found on Nov. 6, 1994, along with her clothing, in the wooded area. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death is unknown. The detectives do have dental records and DNA for Matilda, but she still was never identified.

“In 1994 there were a lot of prostitutes being killed in the Grand Rapids area, and then their bodies were being discarded in various areas,” Fillman said.

Because Matilda was found in a wooded area, there aren’t any location-based clues to help identify her. State police created a clay reconstruction of her face and a drawing of what they believe she would have looked like based on her bone structure, but it’s just a rough estimate.

“What we came up with as an answer for her is that she’s 35-50 years old, somewhere between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches with brown hair,” Fillman said. “If this was someone that was involved in the drug world or prostitution, they often don’t get listed as missing because their habit is to disappear or be missing.”"
'Somebody knows something': Cold case team highlights unsolved Ottawa County murders

 

[iulia]

Her Doe Network page

260UFMI

Date of Discovery: November 6, 1994
Location of Discovery: Coopersville, Ottawa County, Michigan
Estimated Date of Death: August or September 1994
State of Remains: Skeletal
Cause of Death: Homicide

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 30-45 years old
Race: White, Hispanic and/or Native American
Sex: Female
Height: 5'6" to 5'10"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Hair Color: Red or dark brown, wavy.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Most likely slightly built, but may have been of medium or robust build. Severe arthritis in left leg and/or knee area, possibly from a prior surgery to the left knee, performed as early as 1980, possibly caused the victim to limp. Healed fracture to lower back. Extra or "Sixth" Lumbar vertebra.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. 16 missing teeth. At least one remaining tooth had a filling.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Clothing found at scene, but unknown if related to case, small Stefano black stretch pants, pink panties with blue stripes, blue Cornerstone Gloria high heeled shoes.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
On November 6, 1994 two hunters located human remains in a cornfield under brush in the area of 32nd Avenue and Arthur Street in Coopersville, MI.

Police theorize she may be the second of twelve victims of a serial killer who preyed on prostitutes in the area at the time she died.

She is known to investigators as "Matilda."

 

[PastTense]

Police theorize she may be the second of twelve victims of a serial killer who preyed on prostitutes in the area at the time she died.

Is there a thread for this serial killer?

 

[madamx]

The Doe Network: Case File 60DFMI

Case File 60DFMI

Left and center: Brownlee, circa 1982; Right: Age-progressed to age 41 (circa 2005)

Kellie Marie Brownlee
Missing since May 20, 1982 from Novi, Oakland County, Michigan.
Classification: Lost, Injured, Missing




Vital Statistics

• • Date Of Birth: November 5, 1964
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 17 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'7; 135 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes.
  • Marks: She has double-pierced ears.
  • Clothing: She wore a long sleeved peach blouse, white painter pants
    and Nina brand, burgundy high heels at the time of disappearance.
  • Dentals: Available. Brownlee's left front tooth is capped.
  • DNA: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Brownlee was last seen at the Twelve Oaks Mall in Bloomfield, MI around 11.00 on May 20, 1982. On the morning of May 20, 1982, Kellie and her boyfriend took the bus to school, but Kellie didn't attend class. At 09.00, she hitchhiked to Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi to apply for a job. At 11.00, Kellie ran into a friend's mom who offered Kellie a ride, but Kellie wanted to put in more applications before heading home. That was the last time anyone saw her.
Kellie was a "Wall Tuckian," the nickname for the big-haired girls in blue jeans, high heels and army jackets who hung around Walled Lake in the early 1980s. She listened to Ozzy Osbourne and smoked Marlboro Reds.
Kellie was staying with her boyfriend and his family in their apartment in Walled Lake, Michigan in May 1982. She had moved out of her family's West Bloomfield, Michigan home after telling friends that her stepfather abused her. Her friends stated that they had seen bruises on Kellie's body before she vanished.
The boyfriend reported that Kellie was missing when she did not return to his family's apartment or call him by 21:00. A search was initiated soon after, but little evidence was located. The boyfriend was ruled out as a suspect early on in the investigation. Speculation began to center around the stepfather, who claimed that he was visiting his father-in-law's grave and going to the gym on the day Kellie disappeared. He also denied abusing Kellie in any way and maintained he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Foul play is suspected in this case.

 

[madamx]

The Doe Network: Case File 2095DFMI


The Doe Network:
Case File 2095DFMI

Jan Pattison
Missing since August 26, 1993 from Greenland, Ontonagon County, Michigan
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

• • Age at Time of Disappearance: 38 years old
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair.
  • Marks, Scars: She had back surgery not long before her disappearance.
  • Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Jan Pattison had gone to to the Rosseau Bar (a bar seven miles south of Mass City) earlier in the evening. She reportedly met two elderly men she knew there and accepted an invitation to take a tour of one of the men’s new cabin.
After leaving the cabin around 10:30 that night, Jan Pattison was never seen again.

Pattison’s car was found on September 1 just off a two-track ORV trail close to the Vista Drive Road. Her keys, purse and other personal items were still in the vehicle, which apparently became stuck after going off the trail. The items included her cigarettes, which she would have never gone anywhere without.

An extensive search was done in the area with Michigan State Police, Ontonagon County Sheriff and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Some footprints found on the banks of the Ontonagon River appeared to offer a clue on the whereabouts of the missing woman. Pattison was a nurse and she usually wore the kind of shoes nurses do.

The two elderly men who last saw Pattison — both whom have since died — were quickly cleared as suspects. The area where Pattison’s car was found is very isolated.

There were reports she had been spotted in the Houghton area and on Forest Highway 16 a few days after August 26. The sightings were never confirmed.

 

[PastTense]

Madamx: Coopersville and Novi/Bloomfield are 160 miles from each other, so I think it is questionable. Greenland, Michigan is over 400 miles away (being in Upper Michigan north of Wisconsin) so that is even worse.

 

[iulia]

Is there a thread for this serial killer?

I couldn’t find a thead for the serial killer, but I saw these murders being discussed a bit starting with post #7 on this thread MI - MI - Jeffrey Willis - Suspected SK in Muskegon County, MI

I just skimmed a little bit over a few posts, so I don’t know how much info is there.

Here’s an article from that thread discussing the “possible serial killer”
Task Force Hunts Possible Serial Killer of 11 Women

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The phone calls, sometimes collect, are more frequent these days at Rose Haven Ministry, a harbor for women seeking to kick a life of prostitution.

Authorities are puzzled by the slayings of 11 women in the region, including nine with links to the sex trade. The callers don’t want to join the list.

 

[mclifford973]

I'm new here but I'm following Matilda from the original post. She is now on The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). Also ME/C case number A-94-501.

 

[TheBlackParade]

Missing SO many teeth she must have been a drifter or a prostitute. If it's likely the clothes in the area were hers, it would match this assumption. She deserves her name back just as much as anybody else...

 

[doggybag2355]

The DNA Doe project has taken on this case.

 

[madamx]

Madamx: Coopersville and Novi/Bloomfield are 160 miles from each other, so I think it is questionable. Greenland, Michigan is over 400 miles away (being in Upper Michigan north of Wisconsin) so that is even worse.

oh I don’t know. Supposedly this woman was a homicide. I would not put it past anybody to go far far away or even cross state lines to get rid of a body. Especially if they don’t want to be connected to that body.

 

[madamx]

The DNA Doe project has taken on this case.

oh that is great news!

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Highest match of 119.5 cM for Matilda Doe.

 

[snowgoose]

Great news, I think you uploaded the wrong screenshot though!

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Great news, I think you uploaded the wrong screenshot though!

Whoops - here's the right one.

 

[Al Ka]

'Finally optimistic': two Ottawa County cold cases closer to justice thanks to new technology

Two long-time cold cases in Ottawa County are finally heating up.

More than seven decades combined have gone by since two women were murdered in the lakeshore county and still have yet to be identified.

But now, with advances in technology and DNA testing, the two unknown women have a chance at justice.
---
The other unidentified victim is "Matilda," another nickname dubbed by detectives. In November of 1994, hunters found the skeletonized remains of an adult female in Wright Township (Marne). She was nude and covered with brush and sticks.

No cause of death was evident, but medical examiners did conclude it was a homicide. "Matilda" was approximately, 5' 7" with a robust build and reddish-brown hair. She was believed to be 30-40 years old.

"The first step is to try to positively identify the victims and bring closure for the families," said Capt. Sparks.

"Part of the issue is that the DNA with the age of these cases it's so completely degraded in some senses," he added.

So to help, in March of 2020, the sheriff's office turned to the DNA Doe Project out of California. It's a group that can provide specialized testing in forensic genealogy.
---
"This is really the first time in quite some time that we've had some optimism that we'll be able to identify these victims," said Capt. Sparks.
---
"In the coming weeks, that cold case team will be traveling out of the state to follow up on some leads generated by the DNA Doe Project," said Capt. Sparks, "and we're hoping to possibly even come to an identification of one or both of these cases."

'Finally optimistic': two Ottawa County cold cases closer to justice thanks to new technology | wzzm13.com

 

[mtlupy]

Wow, her reconstruction looks eerily like my mother, who's alive and well, but I wonder if we might be related. My DNA is in GEDmatch, so I guess time will tell. I hope her name is returned to her soon.

 

[djanga]

She was confirmed to be tentatively identified as a 29 years old missing woman from Minnesota

The woman was 29 when she disappeared. She was last seen in October 1993 in Minneapolis.

Detectives interviewed her relatives in Minnesota who told them she had been diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter’s disease, which led to repeated surgeries on her left knee

Ottawa County body known only as ‘Matilda’ may finally have a name | WOODTV.com

 

[Grungster]

If any of you come across the name of the tentatively identified person, please remember to not share it. I can't imagine how her family is feeling right now

 

[doggybag2355]

If any of you come across the name of the tentatively identified person, please remember to not share it. I can't imagine how her family is feeling right now

It needs to be officially verified too.