Identified! Mystery couple murdered in South Carolina, 1976 - #7 Pam Buckley & James P Freund

[Claireishere]

Lonnie George Henry has to remain the prime suspect since he was found with the alleged murder weapon. I have to consider the possibility that the ballistics analysis was in error or faked, which is why I can't completely rule out LE.

A lot of ballistic science was and is considered junk

 

[Triss]

Today at 11 a.m. local time we will find who they are (the press conference is scheduled for today). I have also checked the missing people sites and could not find anyone who can be them.

With all these missing persons reports being lost/not taken seriously by the police (especially in cases involving hitchhikers), it wouldn't surprise me if their families were in fact looking for them all these years. When your loved one goes missing, you're usually looking for a living person, not a Doe.

 

[Susikatze]

Even today if an adult is missing, very little is actually done.
And back then it was the era of "runaways" and hitchhiking, if a young adult or teen "ran away", it was filed as "they will reappear anyways". And nothing was done.

 

[Ajaygee11]

I've known about this case for at least 25 years. And I live in Canada! I think the mystery moved beyond the border because 1) there was a suggestion they may have been French Canadian or a least resided in Quebec and 2) it has all the earmarks of a great mystery.

And to be fair to the parents and/or family members of missing persons back in the 60s and 70s, there was really no way to register a missing person. I mean, the logistics of when they went missing matters. People traveled, a lot, during that time, sporadically getting in touch with family members through postcards and collect calls. So just because the last time you spoke or got a postcard from your child in Wisconsin doesn't mean that's where they went missing.

It used to be a joke that, so a parent wouldn't have to pay for a collect call from, let's say California or England, they'd give a code name so that when the operator asked if you'd accept a collect call from Maggie Muggs or some other fake name, they wouldn't accept the call but were assured that their child had arrived at their destination.

Also, having matches from a truck stop doesn't mean they had a vehicle. It just might mean that's where they were dropped off by someone who picked them up hitchhiking.

I've known about this case for at least 25 years. And I live in Canada! I think the mystery moved beyond the border because 1) there was a suggestion they may have been French Canadian or a least resided in Quebec and 2) it has all the earmarks of a great mystery.

And to be fair to the parents and/or family members of missing persons back in the 60s and 70s, there was really no way to register a missing person. I mean, the logistics of when they went missing matters. People traveled, a lot, during that time, sporadically getting in touch with family members through postcards and collect calls. So just because the last time you spoke or got a postcard from your child in Wisconsin doesn't mean that's where they went missing.

It used to be a joke that, so a parent wouldn't have to pay for a collect call from, let's say California or England, they'd give a code name so that when the operator asked if you'd accept a collect call from Maggie Muggs or some other fake name, they wouldn't accept the call but were assured that their child had arrived at their destination.

Also, having matches from a truck stop doesn't mean they had a vehicle. It just might mean that's where they were dropped off by someone who picked them up hitchhiking.

Just reading back through the thread to catch up on it, that is a weird coincidence that you used Wisconsin in your postcard example there in light of the fact that is where Jane Doe was actually from.

 

[dotr]

Sumter County shooting victims identified after 44 years
•Jan 19, 2021

 

[Andreee]

Today at 11 a.m. local time we will find who they are (the press conference is scheduled for today). I have also checked the missing people sites and could not find anyone who can be them.

I looked too lol, no prospects.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Considering Jock’s shirt there’s a good chance that their vehicle was a motorcycle.

Interesting hypothesis, considering that she was wearing a skirt and was going commando. I don’t think that would have worked out well, and her footwear was not something you’d wear when riding. Anything is possible, though.....

 

[Bit of hope]

I think they are the couple missing from Québec in 1973.

MOO JMO

It seems that he is from Pennsylvania and she is from Wisconsin.

 

[KaJo87]

Does anyone have a link for the presser? Will it be on channel 19?

 

[Bit of hope]

I'm soooo happy they are finally identified! I saw it yesterday evening....my heart started glowing....I made a little song and dance. I would love to see a picture of their real faces, still full of life.

 

[Susikatze]

People did all sorts of things in the 1970's! It was the dawn of the feminist movement of the 1980s and the air smelled like freedom and eternity. If you went bra less, so why not commando and unshaved.... ok I am exaggerating but still, it was indeed a bit different from today (i was born in the 80s, so no personal experience, though).

Or. . On a more sinister foot, she may have been sexually assaulted (even if LE did not note it it may have been the case) and someone may have taken the undies as a sick souvenir. Or they were not found by LE but were around the scene. I think this sadly is the most likely scenario.

Or she may have traveled with just a few pairs and they may have gotten soiled and she may have washed them and not put them back on yet.

Interesting hypothesis, considering that she was wearing a skirt and was going commando. I don’t think that would have worked out well, and her footwear was not something you’d wear when riding. Anything is possible, though.....

 

[Susikatze]

And I think the "Argentinian Dirty War" theory is dead for good now (personally I never believed it) and so is the French Canada version. I am very curious which parts of the witnesses stories were actually true.
Looking forward to the press conference so much.

 

[djanga]

Interesting hypothesis, considering that she was wearing a skirt and was going commando. I don’t think that would have worked out well, and her footwear was not something you’d wear when riding. Anything is possible, though.....

I think according to the reports she was wearing denim shirts ( namus):
She wore blue denim cut-off shorts (Daisy Dukes), so I guess still possible to ride a motobike safely (though I do not support this theory as it was said they met while hitchhiking)

 

[PatLaurel]

It seems that he is from Pennsylvania and she is from Wisconsin.

Yes. Just read it on FB.
The scars of Jock Doe, that indicated frequent participation in contact sports and, the fact that, in the late '60s and early '70s, there was a light heavyweight boxer from Asbestos, Québec, (with the same name as the MP GC from Trois-Rivières, Quebéc) always made me believe they were the same person.
Apparently I was wrong!

MOO JMO

 

[Triss]

I read a post by someone who claimed they knew Jane and that her real name was Mercedes. I can't remember if I read it on Facebook or Reddit, but I wonder if it'll turn out to be true.

 

[Ajaygee11]

I read a post by someone who claimed they knew Jane and that her real name was Mercedes. I can't remember if I read it on Facebook or Reddit, but I wonder if it'll turn out to be true.

Are you sure you are not confusing her with Eldorado Jane Doe, who I think also used that name as an alias ?

 

[Magnum P.E.]

I think according to the reports she was wearing denim shirts ( namus):
She wore blue denim cut-off shorts (Daisy Dukes), so I guess still possible to ride a motobike safely (though I do not support this theory as it was said they met while hitchhiking)

Saw the picture of them before they were moved and it looked like a short skirt. I stand corrected.

 

[Triss]

Are you sure you are not confusing her with Eldorado Jane Doe, who I think also used that name as an alias ?

I'm sure, and Eldorado Jane Doe came to my mind too when I read that post, but we will find out soon enough if the poster was telling the truth or if they were just trolling. I can't wait for the press conference!

 

[Jordan72]

Do we know exactly what time and where the press conference will be?

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Well, this is the point where it all becomes instructive. Years ago I was on this board a lot more, and called the outlandish theories on this and other cases “mustarding”. As in, “Colonel Mustard did it in the hallway with a candlestick”, in the game of Clue.
Please try to remember and apply Occam’s Razor: the simplest explanation is the most likely one. Argentine Death Squads (who killed people in rural South Carolina and left the murder weapon with a local hood) are not necessary to account for the known facts. They were likely hitchhiking, were picked up by the wrong person, and were not on any missing lists because no one put them on one.

Please, let’s all resist the temptation to write entire soap operas about unidentified victims. And saying that an unidentified person left the Pennsylvania Dutch or some similar group for Rumspringa and never went back seems to be the default theory at the bottom of the flow chart and is AUTOMATIC MUSTARDING!