mtrooper, many, many thanks for helping to return Ms. Hoffman to her family.
The Doe Network case files for
the unidentified (
792UFMI) and
the missing person, Ms. Hoffman (
1690DFMI), are still up and the NamUs entries (
UP # 8380,
MP # 821) are still in Google cache. List of some differences, which are exceedingly common, especially in older cases:
UID (792UFMI):
Estimated age: 45-56 years old
MP (Ruth Sharon Hoffman, 1690DFMI):
Age: 44 years old
UID:
Approximate height: 5' 3" (63 inches)
MP:
Height: 5' 6" (66 inches)
[Doe Network], 5' 7" (67 inches)
[NamUs]
UID:
Hair: brown
MP:
Hair: blonde
[Doe Network], blond/strawberry (sometimes worn red)
[NamUs]
UID:
Clothing: "Clothing associated with the body included a black silk tank top with 'GOLDEN EAGLE BAR' Sumpter, MI printed on it. She also had black with grey pinstriped jogging shorts on and a pair of flat black strappy sandles with ankle straps."
MP:
Clothing: "Red, small sized half top, cropped with bare midriff, Gloria Vanderbilt blue jeans (size 9), White Nike tennis shoes, Brown leather coat; mid-length. She was also carrying a brown leather purse, with a saddle bag style flap over center zipper."
UID:
Other: "Staining on the palate of the denture is consistent with excessive smoking."
MP:
Other: "Ruth is a nonsmoker; she very rarely drank alcohol." [
Doe Network; but note in the
missing person Websleuths thread for Ms. Hoffman, her daughter states that Ms. Hoffman
did smoke daily and drank occasionally.]
The things that matched — timing of disappearance vs. remains recovery, the upper dentures, possible orofacial injury, approximate age, etc. — were more significant than the discrepancies, as mtrooper obviously knew.
Ms. Hoffman's missing person thread, started by her daughter, is long but worth a look. It's unfortunately a pretty clear reminder of the roadblocks that family and friends of missing persons face.
Ms. Hoffman's daughter had to refile long after her mother's disappearance and states that she was told at one point that her mother had closed her
own missing persons report in 2004.
Found Deceased MI - Ruth Hoffman: My Mom!, 44, River Rouge, 7 July 1986 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community