Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - #6

[scmom]

I'm wondering if there are any better photographs of the McMinns. What is shown on NAMUS is very difficult to compare to the couple found in Sumter. Also, what is taking so long for the DNA testing?

 

[CarlK90245]

I just noticed another photo of the McMinns in their NamUs casefiles that I hadn't seen before.

Here is a zoom-in of that photo.

 

[Angie4b1g]

That one super looks like them!!

 

[RCaldwell]

What about these two missing people
Nestro Juan Agustín Zurita, abducted at the age of 25, August 1, 1975; María Rosa Zurita, abducted at the age of 21, November 1, 1975

http://www.wunrn.com/news/2010/10_10/10_18_10/101810_argentina.htm[/URL]

 

[PaulR]

I don't think it's the McMinn's.

The circumstances don't fit. They left Hawaii on a Trimaran sailing for Washington State. How did they get from there to South Carolina? If so, where's the boat (since that is missing as well)?

The boat could have been docked on the West Coast and they went hitchhiking across the country (literally!), or they could have managed to get the boat on the East Coast... none of those strike me as particularly likely.

That's a lot of distance for someone to cover for a couple who, as far as we can tell, had no interest in intentionally disappearing or wanting to cross the country instead of just using their boat to travel down the coast.

 

[Tear Drop]

“The circumstances don't fit. They left Hawaii on a Trimaran sailing for Washington State. How did they get from there to South Carolina?”

I agree that the circumstances don’t seem to fit, especially at first glance, but I think there are some interesting similarities.

If you look at it from the McMinn’s perspective, it does not seem to fit, however if you look at it from the Sumter couple’s perspective, the gap from South Carolina to Washington State becomes much shorter. There is an account of a mechanic in York, NE (one of the few places in the US with a Grants Truck Stop, the same as the matches found in John Doe’s pocket) that recalled working on a van that he believes was driven by the Sumter couple. He remembered the van having Washington or Oregon plates. The McMinn’s have a connection to both states. The McMinn’s are from Oregon and they were expected to arrive in Port Angeles, WA at the end of their sailing trip from Hawaii. If the Sumter couple was first seen near the last place the McMinn’s went missing then the distances between the cases are much closer. The mechanics story is backed up by the fact he worked on a van and LE determined that they were taken to the crime scene in a van. Also, if you draw a map from Port Angeles, WA to Sumter, SC, it goes directly through York, NE.

The McMinns were last seen in late July, north of Washington State and the Sumter couple was first seen in early August at the Grants Truck Stop. This is mind bogglingly close together in both time and space. If you factored in the travel times between these two places you would have a near perfect match.

Also, I think it is important to mention that the McMinn’s were not intimidated by traveling long distances in short periods of time. They were both well traveled and experienced sailors. If they sailed from Hawaii to Port Angeles, WA then they would not have any problem traveling from Port Angles to Sumter.

Both circumstances point to foul play. At first, the McMinn’s disappearance seems to be most likely a sailing accident in the Pacific for whatever reason, but once you consider the number and reliability of the sightings near the Port Angles area it seems that the boat had in fact survived the long journey. So IMO one of the following must be true:




Of all of these possibilities I believe the following possibilities are most probable IMO:

1. The McMinns were involved in drug smuggling and were subsequently killed for unknown reasons.

2. The McMinns were high-jacked by a very desperate person, possibly a fugitive, who was waiting for an opportunity to flee into Canada.

3. The McMinns were high-jacked by a very desperate person, possibly a fugitive, and the high-jacker used the navigation charts he had currently available in the boat to travel to Port Angeles and the high-jacker was navigating the boat at the time of the sightings.

As it relates to the Sumter murders I think it is possible that the following is possible:

The McMinns left Hawaii in May of 1976 with a load of contraband. They arrived in Port Angeles in June. They immediately called the person they were instructed to deliver the drugs to. This person had been arrested which caused the McMinns to panic. Fearing that they were being investigated as well and that they would be arrested themselves they immediately fled. They fled without first contacting friends or family, possibly concealing the fact that had arrived in the mainland. In Late July, once the hunt for them intensified, they fled south to Sumter at which time the criminal organization dispatched a hit-man to kill the couple so that the others in the organization would not be compromised by the potentially incriminating information that McMinn’s knew. The boat was probably scuttled by the McMinns, the drug organization, or the high-jackers depending on what scenario you subscribe to.

 

[PaulR]

Thanks, Tear Drop! Allow me to play devil's advocate

If you look at it from the McMinn’s perspective, it does not seem to fit, however if you look at it from the Sumter couple’s perspective, the gap from South Carolina to Washington State becomes much shorter. There is an account of a mechanic in York, NE (one of the few places in the US with a Grants Truck Stop, the same as the matches found in John Doe’s pocket) that recalled working on a van that he believes was driven by the Sumter couple. He remembered the van having Washington or Oregon plates. The McMinn’s have a connection to both states. The McMinn’s are from Oregon and they were expected to arrive in Port Angeles, WA at the end of their sailing trip from Hawaii. If the Sumter couple was first seen near the last place the McMinn’s went missing then the distances between the cases are much closer. The mechanics story is backed up by the fact he worked on a van and LE determined that they were taken to the crime scene in a van. Also, if you draw a map from Port Angeles, WA to Sumter, SC, it goes directly through York, NE.

If they got a car with Washington plates, they would have either bought it (and there would be records) or rented it (and the rental company would have reported it stolen, and had their names.)

If the car was their original car in Oregon, it would have been seen as missing. If not - well, same problem with the WA plates.

The McMinns were last seen in late July, north of Washington State and the Sumter couple was first seen in early August at the Grants Truck Stop. This is mind bogglingly close together in both time and space. If you factored in the travel times between these two places you would have a near perfect match.

As far as I can determine, there was no official sighting of them north of Washington State. If they were seen in British Columbia (which is directly north of us), it's not in NAMUS.

Also, I think it is important to mention that the McMinn’s were not intimidated by traveling long distances in short periods of time. They were both well traveled and experienced sailors. If they sailed from Hawaii to Port Angeles, WA then they would not have any problem traveling from Port Angles to Sumter.

I understand, but there is a difference in sailing across the ocean intentionally (I think they went to Hawaii to visit family, right?) and going to South Carolina for seemingly no reason. Perhaps the McMinn's had family in the South but that would be speculation.

Both circumstances point to foul play. At first, the McMinn’s disappearance seems to be most likely a sailing accident in the Pacific for whatever reason, but once you consider the number and reliability of the sightings near the Port Angles area it seems that the boat had in fact survived the long journey. So IMO one of the following must be true:

Where is the source for their sightings in the Port Angeles area? I see a news article about a sighting of a boat similar to the one they had near Victoria, but nothing on the McMinn's themselves; the individual seen on the boat didn't match their description. I realize you touch on this below but the McMinn's were never seen with this boat, which was never verified to be theirs.

Of all of these possibilities I believe the following possibilities are most probable IMO:

1. The McMinns were involved in drug smuggling and were subsequently killed for unknown reasons.

Is there any evidence or suspicion that this couple had anything to do with drug smuggling? I mean no offense but that is a serious accusation.

2. The McMinns were high-jacked by a very desperate person, possibly a fugitive, who was waiting for an opportunity to flee into Canada.

3. The McMinns were high-jacked by a very desperate person, possibly a fugitive, and the high-jacker used the navigation charts he had currently available in the boat to travel to Port Angeles and the high-jacker was navigating the boat at the time of the sightings.

I know Michael's brother does suspect that the boat was hijacked, but if they hijacked it at sea, did the desperate person stop by a harbor to let the McMinn's off? If not, how did they get ashore? If they were forced to be taken to a harbor by a fugitive, why didn't they contact authorities once the hijacker presumably let them go? If the hijacker didn't let them go, does that mean he forced them to accompany him all the way to South Carolina? Why?

As it relates to the Sumter murders I think it is possible that the following is possible:

The McMinns left Hawaii in May of 1976 with a load of contraband. They arrived in Port Angeles in June. They immediately called the person they were instructed to deliver the drugs to. This person had been arrested which caused the McMinns to panic. Fearing that they were being investigated as well and that they would be arrested themselves they immediately fled. They fled without first contacting friends or family, possibly concealing the fact that had arrived in the mainland. In Late July, once the hunt for them intensified, they fled south to Sumter at which time the criminal organization dispatched a hit-man to kill the couple so that the others in the organization would not be compromised by the potentially incriminating information that McMinn’s knew. The boat was probably scuttled by the McMinns, the drug organization, or the high-jackers depending on what scenario you subscribe to.

In this scenario: once the McMinn's found out an arrest had been made, why wouldn't they just hop back on the boat and sail away (maybe to Canada or Mexico where it would have been harder for them to be arrested)? If they acquired a vehicle, how? Why would a hit man want to take them out? Why would the murder weapon be given/sold to a man in North Carolina instead of destroyed? If a hit man tracked them across the country, why would he just dump the bodies besides a road where they would be found by LE instead of a nearby lake or the ocean? If it was meant to be a warning message, how come the bodies were stripped of ID? If the story of the KOA employee is correct, why did the McMinn's backtrack from Florida and go to the very same campground knowing a hitman was tracking them?

This is an incredible series of events to happen to lead to the McMinn's ending up in South Carolina. A criminal organization hiring a hit man to take out a drug-smuggling couple on a cross-country chase sounds more like movie material IMHO.

 

[Boomeroreo]

piece of jewelry the rings look like Turquoise, its fake turquoise, you can get alot of this at the fairs or the amusement parks have them too

 

[Boomeroreo]

Does anyone have a picture of the watch? I didn't see that on the DOE network. I like to see it

 

[Roselvr]

Does anyone have a picture of the watch? I didn't see that on the DOE network. I like to see it

WS post Jewelry

 

[Hexe]

I've found in the net a ring similar to one of the rings Jane Doe owned. Not identical, though.

http://pinterest.com/pin/487936940848174059/

 

[Hexe]

This one is even more similar, down to the jagged edge of the setting of the both stones and three tiny metal spheres. It's Navajo ring.

http://http://wanelo.com/p/1676243/ring-size-7-1-4-sterling-silver-navajo-sterling-ring-turquoise-red-coral-blue-southwest-jewelery

 

[UncoolNegated]

Delores Stanton, Missing 1976, Florida - Cold Case Investigations

I found this link. It mentions a 21-year old girl named Delores Jean Stanton who went missing in Gainesville, FL in 1976. Unfortunately there is no photo of her, but it says that she possibly hitchhiked. Her physical description is very close to Jane Doe except for the eye color.

Yeah well eye color's important.

 

[Roselvr]

This one is even more similar, down to the jagged edge of the setting of the both stones and three tiny metal spheres. It's Navajo ring.

http://http://wanelo.com/p/1676243/ring-size-7-1-4-sterling-silver-navajo-sterling-ring-turquoise-red-coral-blue-southwest-jewelery

Correct URL link

I had (& may still have) a similar ring that was bought between 77 & 80. They were pretty common at silver shops in flea markets in NJ

Janes ring

 

[Roselvr]

The McMinns are now in NamUs

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/19259/0
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/19254/0

Wonder what's going on with John's DNA.

Cordelia McMinn - DNA Status: Samples submitted - Tests not complete
John McMinn - DNA Status: Initial inquiry underway

John McMinn - DNA Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete
Cordelia McMinn - DNA Status: Sample submitted - Tests complete

.

 

[websurfer]

http://doenetwork.org/cases/55dmtx.html

this man would be Mystery guy?
But I know guys! Way off...:floorlaugh:

 

[scmom]

Has anyone looked at Jan Andre Cotta yet?
http://www.nampn.org/cases/cotta_jan.html

 

[Mysterylover]

Has anyone looked at Jan Andre Cotta yet?
http://www.nampn.org/cases/cotta_jan.html...

SCMom, Good find, the mole is a big coincidence....
Jane Doe had a mole beside her mouth also..not many young females have a MOLE on their face...this young lady should be considered.

 

[scmom]

I think Maxwell Allen Graham should be submitted if he has not. According to the information on the Charley Project his birthdate must be wrong. BD is Jan. 1, 1950 and he was 26 in August 08, 1978 when he was reported missing. The dates are messed up.
His height, weight and age are right. The photo on the Charley Project is similar to the unidentified male.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/graham_maxwell.html

 

[Tear Drop]

I think Maxwell Allen Graham should be submitted if he has not. According to the information on the Charley Project his birthdate must be wrong. BD is Jan. 1, 1950 and he was 26 in August 08, 1978 when he was reported missing. The dates are messed up.
His height, weight and age are right. The photo on the Charley Project is similar to the unidentified male.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/graham_maxwell.html

Maxie Graham went missing 2 years AFTER the couple was found, DEFINITELY not Maxie.