Identified! MS - Pascagoula, WhtFem Child 45UFMS "Delta Dawn", 1-3, Dog River @I-10, Dec'82 - Alisha Heinrich

[Elle*Bee]

Body of baby found in 1982 cold case has been identified, mother still missing

Rest In Peace, Alisha Heinrich.

 

[jbsb344]

Alisha's biological father apparently passed away just days before the family found out. According to a relatives FB post.

Actually it was Gwendolyn’s father that passed away right before he found out. My husband was one of the main investigators.

 

[Rubylilly]

The deltas in this area have a tendency to seem to swallow bodies whole and maybe turning up a bone or two years years later. There was a jumper from a local bridge last January. They never found him. Most assumed the mud and silt buried him from the force of his impact. There are a good number of unidentified bodies along the coast that are just tossed off many of the bridges that run a long the coastal areas. Warm water, Alligators, and currents make it an easy dumping area for anyone and the water helps to dispose of other evidence.

I travel the I 10 often and cross the river in which she was found. It was stated that a trucker called in and said a body was floating. There is NO WAY possible to see a body from that bridge. If he saw her, he threw her over. Was the boyfriend that Gwen and Alisha were traveling with driving a truck? They were headed to Florida to start a new life the sheriff’s dept reported. Where were they from Nov 24-Dec 3?

 

[Al Ka]

Here is a heartfelt story related to the case that we thought was worth sharing:
After Saving For Big Birthday Trip, Woman Instead Uses Money To Fund DNA Research Giving Young Murder Victim Her Name Back

How very kind of her to fund this case. Copy pasting here few passages from the article so people don't have to click; for readers from EU who can't access it and also to preserve it in case article link times out in near future:

===
After Saving For Big Birthday Trip, Woman Instead Uses Money To Fund DNA Research Giving Young Murder Victim Her Name Back

Rather than take a blowout vacation for her 40th birthday, Catherine Serbousek decided to use the money to fund research into a 1982 Mississippi cold case victim known as "Delta Dawn."
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A New York City mother who had saved up money to do a blowout vacation for her 40th birthday instead used the money to fund research into an unsolved child murder case, which has led to the identity of previously unidentified remains.

Catherine Serbousek, an audiobook editor and mother of two young children, told Oxygen.com that a particular unsolved crime struck a chord with her while she was growing up in Arkansas. When she was about 8, she was watching the local news and saw a story about a murder that had occurred in the bordering state of Mississippi several years earlier.
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When Serbousek turned 40 last year, Dawn resurfaced in her mind. Serbousek, whose own father died when he was 40, was experiencing some existential dread around her birthday and didn’t feel like taking the big birthday trip she'd saved for. Instead, she decided to use the money to contribute to assisting unsolved crimes. For her, it was no question: Dawn had to be the first case she wanted to see movement in.

So, Serbousek called the local sheriff’s department that investigated Dawn’s death and told them she wanted to help. They then transported Dawn's remains from Mississippi to Othram Labs in Texas, which analyzed them thanks to the funding Serbousek provided.
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While the full mystery of what happened to the mother and child has yet to be revealed, Serbousek is happy that the girl she figured she could have been friends with now has a name.
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Serbousek said she is now starting the process of funding another case: the body of a Black male, aged 18 to 21, who was also pulled from the same body of water as Heinrich in 1982. He has never been identified. Investigators believe that his body was there for six months before Heinrich's, local outlet WLOX reports. She also plans to fund a case of an unidentified kidnapping victim from the 1940s.

 

[Al Ka]

This just popped up on my Websleuths screen, so letting you all know. Announcement by Tricia, owner of websleuths:

Join us tonight as we talk with David Mittelman CEO of Othram Labs about the identification of Delta Dawn.
Click on the link below at 10:00 PM EASTERN and join us on Websleuths YouTube Live
https://tinyurl.com/qqhq3dv

(click on image to enlarge)

https://www.facebook.com/311461642390611/photos/a.374363449433763/1453294988207265/?type=3

 

[victoriarobinson642]

. She also plans to fund a case of an unidentified kidnapping victim from the 1940s.

Interesting! I wonder what this case could be. How kind of her to fund these.

 

[jbsb344]

I travel the I 10 often and cross the river in which she was found. It was stated that a trucker called in and said a body was floating. There is NO WAY possible to see a body from that bridge. If he saw her, he threw her over. Was the boyfriend that Gwen and Alisha were traveling with driving a truck? They were headed to Florida to start a new life the sheriff’s dept reported. Where were they from Nov 24-Dec 3?

We live here and drive over that bridge almost daily. It is absolutely possible to see in the water, especially in a big rig truck. Even in my small SUV I can see into the water on the long bridge, and on the smaller bridge she was found near. Also, the investigators drove that multiple times to make sure it was possible in 1982 and just recently as well.
I can take pictures and post them tomorrow if you would like to see.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

P

We live here and drive over that bridge almost daily. It is absolutely possible to see in the water, especially in a big rig truck. Even in my small SUV I can see into the water on the long bridge, and on the smaller bridge she was found near. Also, the investigators drove that multiple times to make sure it was possible in 1982 and just recently as well.
I can take pictures and post them tomorrow if you would like to see.

Yes it is ..... we passed over Thanksgiving weekend I easily could see into the marsh/swamp in a truck. An 18 wheelers view would even be more visible

 

[Al Ka]

I was also apart of the genealogy team and am the personal caretaker for Alisha’s gravesite. Thank you everyone for keeping her in your hearts over these many years.

Thank You for all your work too, for taking care of her gravesite and also putting flowers there x

 

[Bit of hope]

Godspeed little one. Thanks to all of the lovely people who worked so hard to give Alisha her name back and taken care of her in so many ways.

 

[Truthsleuth99]

It warms my heart to see Alisha finally have her name back. Such a beautiful child.
however one thing still bothers me. In one msm article it stated the lead investigator considered the truck driver who made the initial 911 call a poi. As many years later he drastically changed his story. So I suppose I’m wondering is the truck driver & the BF one in the same?

 

[Goecke]

Wow. I'm so grateful that Alisha got her name back. Thank you so much to everyone who helped identify her. Her family is in my thoughts... RIP Alisha.

 

[Earth]

The one thing that bothers me is what happened to the mother and what they were doing for 9 days? Did Gwendolyn meet someone and decide to leave with them, but she and her lover got into an argument and he killed her, then killed Alisha because he didn't know what to do with her? That's the best explanation I can come up with.

 

[weepingangel]

RIP Alisha
It’s just stunning to see these older cases being identified.

 

[othram]

RIP Alisha
It’s just stunning to see these older cases being identified.

Keep an eye out for NCMEC. They are doing an amazing job connecting resources and teams to help name many of the unidentified children like Delta Dawn. Expect to see lots more in the new year

 

[aThousandYearsWide]

I travel the I 10 often and cross the river in which she was found. It was stated that a trucker called in and said a body was floating. There is NO WAY possible to see a body from that bridge. If he saw her, he threw her over. Was the boyfriend that Gwen and Alisha were traveling with driving a truck? They were headed to Florida to start a new life the sheriff’s dept reported. Where were they from Nov 24-Dec 3?

I find the sighting fishy as well. A point I've made is how descriptive her clothing was. Wet clothing isn't easily identifiable and also a flannel and Jeans is pretty unisex. How did they know the body was female?

 

[Susikatze]

Her little pic from the 80’s with the classic yellow tint. It’s making me feel all kinds of emotions. Darn.....

Yes, such a sweet and pretty little baby. I have a 2 year old girl and it breaks my heart to see the picture.

 

[othram]

Seems like she's going to fund the other John Doe that was found while searching for Clemmons.

Catherine is very kind.

 

[MarziPanda]

The one thing that bothers me is what happened to the mother and what they were doing for 9 days? Did Gwendolyn meet someone and decide to leave with them, but she and her lover got into an argument and he killed her, then killed Alisha because he didn't know what to do with her? That's the best explanation I can come up with.

My personal theory is that she left with her boyfriend, but they argued, and he threw her out of the car with baby Alisha, and drove off. This left Gwendolyn all by herself in an unfamiliar area... likely no money, no way of getting anywhere, and no options. I think at this point, distressed and alone, she decided life wasn't going to get any better, and she jumped with Alisha into the river. This theory explains the sightings of the woman and child before Alisha was found, the woman in the water, and fits with the new information we have about the situation.

MOO of course

 

[landis]

Actually it was Gwendolyn’s father that passed away right before he found out. My husband was one of the main investigators.

Either way, Gwen's family must have known or at least assumed that she's no longer alive, because she was listed in her father's obituary as a daughter who preceded him in death.
EDIT:
Ok, kind of stupid on my side, now that I gave it more thought, the family could've already been informed about Alisha's indentificetion by the time Gwen's father died.