Identified! NC - Durham Co., UP15960, 25-35, in plastic storage container, Oct'16 - Melissa “Missy” Ann Poitra

[Romulus]

NamUs UP 15960

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/15960

Unidentified White Female

Found October 22, 2016 in Durham County, NC
Body Condition: Not recognizable - near complete or complete skeleton
Probable year of death: to

Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 25-35
Approximate Height: 63 estimate.
Approximate Weight: cannot estimate.
Hair Color: Brown; six to seven inches in lenght
Eye Color: Unknown
Scars and marks: nothing
Clothing & Accessories

Clothing: 36 Width, 32 Length jeans and two white socks; Nike shoes
Jewerly: Nothing.
Footwear: nothing
Accessories: Yellow metal Pulsar watch and 3 keys.

Identifiers
Fingerprints: Fingerprint not available
Dentals: Dental information / charting is available and entered
DNA: Sample available - Not yet submitted

Case History: Skeletal remains found in a storage unit inside a plastic, storage container. Unknown how long the remains had been there, but the unit hasn't changed ownership since 2010.​

 

[margarita25]

How far from Sara Graham? First thing that pops in my mind, could be anyone....

Fairmont...checking....

Hope whoever this is she is id'd.

 

[margarita25]

NamUs UP 15960

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/15960

Unidentified White Female

Found October 22, 2016 in Durham County, NC
Body Condition: Not recognizable - near complete or complete skeleton
Probable year of death: to

Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 25-35
Approximate Height: 63 estimate.
Approximate Weight: cannot estimate.
Hair Color: Brown; six to seven inches in lenght
Eye Color: Unknown
Scars and marks: nothing
Clothing & Accessories

Clothing: 36 Width, 32 Length jeans and two white socks; Nike shoes
Jewerly: Nothing.
Footwear: nothing
Accessories: Yellow metal Pulsar watch and 3 keys.

Identifiers
Fingerprints: Fingerprint not available
Dentals: Dental information / charting is available and entered
DNA: Sample available - Not yet submitted

Case History: Skeletal remains found in a storage unit inside a plastic, storage container. Unknown how long the remains had been there, but the unit hasn't changed ownership since 2010.​

Circumstances

Location Found
GPS coordinates
Address 11725 Carpenter Fletcher Road
Address 2
City Durham
State North Carolina
Zip code 27713
County Durham

Who owns the storage unit?

 

[margarita25]

Los just posted this new thread:

NC - Betsy Claro-Diaz, 15, & her 4 month old son, Durham, late August 2016
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...p-her-4-month-old-son-Durham-late-August-2016

 

[JadeSLeuth]

Los just posted this new thread:

NC - Betsy Claro-Diaz, 15, & her 4 month old son, Durham, late August 2016
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...p-her-4-month-old-son-Durham-late-August-2016

The 36" pants would be awfully big for 115lb Betsy...

 

[Hoosier952]

How far from Sara Graham? First thing that pops in my mind, could be anyone....

Fairmont...checking....

Hope whoever this is she is id'd.

Seems it's approximately 2 hours drive from Fairmont, NC where Sara went missing to Durham, NC where the UID was found.

 

[KJ's Mamu]

The Namus profile reflects and address of 1725 Carpenter Fletcher Road, Durham, NC. It appears that Ample Storage is located at this address.

http://www.amplestoragecenter.com/locations/north-carolina/durham/ample-storage-center-carpenter-fletcher-road/

Per public tax records, this property is currently owned by The 1953 Company, LLC.
http://property.spatialest.com/nc/durham/property/157175/land

The deed was transferred in September 2009
http://rodweb.co.durham.nc.us/PA3Preview/RealEstate/SearchDetail.aspx?bk=6316&pg=999&type=BkPg

Based on Electrical Inspections going back to 2007, it appears the building already existed when the deed was transferred.
http://ldo.durhamnc.gov/durham/ldo_web/ldo_main.aspx

My logic: If the storage unit was already existing in 2009 when the deed was transferred and the new owners simply took over management of the storage unit, then the remains could be older than 2010?

I've not had any luck figuring out who owns The 1953 Company, LLC. Will keep looking.

 

[Gardener1850]

Stephanie Rodgers went missing from Mebane, NC 28 April 2015. Mebane is only 30 minutes drive from the storage location:

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/28951/

 

[eeyorelrn]

Oh man, I drove by this place on the regular when I lived in Apex.... creepy thought, especially since we don't know how long the remains have been in there.

 

[sallye818]

Any chance this could be Jennifer Rivkin? Height is close, Caucasian white female with brown hair. Jeans seem the wrong size for 130 lb woman though. Gastonia is just a couple hours south of Durham on I-85.

Here's her thread on WS:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...Jennifer-Ramsey-Rivkin-42-Gastonia-4-May-2008

 

[sallye818]

I also noticed Lea Ziegler. White Caucasian female, brown hair, height is off at 68-70" but this fits more with the jeans length of 32". That's pretty long for a female, and Lea was a tall woman.But I'm wondering if this 63" and 130 pounds is a correct profile, why did this UID have on size 36-32 jeans? Redressed? Homeless?

Lea was From Guilford County, High Point area. (Approx an hour drive down I-85 from Durham). Last seen in '08. Her NAMUS entry:

www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/13531/85

 

[KJ's Mamu]

I'm wondering what triggered someone to look in the unit and find the body? Lack of payment on the storage unit? Could the person who was paying the for the unit be in prison, on the run or perhaps deceased so the unit was sold in an auction like "Storage Wars"? There must be some record of who rented the storage unit right?

I hope LE is putting forth an effort to identify the renter of the unit and the identity of the victim.

 

[Pavel]

I find it very odd that the body was placed to the container fully clothed from the waist down (jeans, socks and shoes) but there is no mention of a shirt of any kind. So was the person topless while killed and disposed, or did the killer (or killers, or somebody who didn't quite kill the victim but wanted to hide the body anyway) take his/her shirt for some reason. Maybe a shirt that was especially easy to recognize (a custom design with the victims name, a very recgnizable picture etc, or name embroidered on), maybe the disposer took it as a trophy, or maybe there was evidence (the killer's blood?) spilled on it?
If the victim was topless while killed, what comes to mind is either chilling (or tanning) at home or own yard (especially if female), or doing sports or fixing something dirty, like a car or a bike (if male).

# EDIT: sorry, I got confused for some reason. The victim is supposed to be female.

 

[U2forever]

I find it very odd that the body was placed to the container fully clothed from the waist down (jeans, socks and shoes) but there is no mention of a shirt of any kind. So was the person topless while killed and disposed, or did the killer (or killers, or somebody who didn't quite kill the victim but wanted to hide the body anyway) take his/her shirt for some reason. Maybe a shirt that was especially easy to recognize (a custom design with the victims name, a very recgnizable picture etc, or name embroidered on), maybe the disposer took it as a trophy, or maybe there was evidence (the killer's blood?) spilled on it?
If the victim was topless while killed, what comes to mind is either chilling (or tanning) at home or own yard (especially if female), or doing sports or fixing something dirty, like a car or a bike (if male).

# EDIT: sorry, I got confused for some reason. The victim is supposed to be female.

Pavel,

:confetti: WELCOME TO WEBSLEUTHS :confetti:




:goodpost:



:daisy:
​

 

[pointer3]

I live in Durham and I haven't seen any updates on this case in the news. Two thoughts: 1. Since the remains were found in a storage unit, LE should be able to trace the owner of that unit. Unless the owner gave false information when renting the unit. 2. I did a search on the Pulsar watch. If it has a serial number and was registered by the owner, it could provide the identity. What are the chances?
I hope she's identified.

 

[Tbone144]

Relatively new to forum and reading through some of these cases. If it helps, that's the size jean I wore in High School. I'm just over 5'5 and I believe I was about 160-170 pounds at the time, I did wear them just a little baggy.

 

[Equestrianista]

This seems so solvable. I wish they would post photos of the watch and shoes. seeing those items may help us narrow down when she may have died, based on when those items were manufactured/or last sold.

 

[KJ's Mamu]

Stephanie Rodgers went missing from Mebane, NC 28 April 2015. Mebane is only 30 minutes drive from the storage location:

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/28951/

Gardener, did you send an inquiry to contacts for Stephanie Rodgers? It appears that a DNA inquiry for Stephanie "is underway". Wondering what triggered this inquiry?

 

[hec60504]

Did you submit her? On NamUs is says for Stephanie that for her DNA:
'Initial inquiry underway' - so if you haven't submitted her for a Rule-Out, you should.

 

[tatertot]

"...The unit hasn't changed ownership since 2010." I took that to mean the individual storage unit had been rented (and not technically "owned") by the same individual since 2010.

Like KJ's Mamu said, why can't the renter explain how this container got inside his storage unit? If he himself was innocent of placing the container in there, you'd think he'd want to give LE a list of any other "keyholders," i.e. anyone he had ever allowed to store things in the unit.

It's also odd that there don't seem to be any news articles about this, no pleas for the public's help in identifying the victim. Maybe this is one of those "placeholder" entries in NamUs where LE has a pretty good idea of the victim's ID but is awaiting DNA tests? There have been NamUs entries for very recent UIDs found in burned buildings with a note that the homeowner is missing, so maybe this is along the same lines. But if that's the case, the perp hopefully is dead or incarcerated, not enjoying his freedom.