NJ NJ - Jan Cotta, 19, Wall Township, 26 June 1973

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Cotta,

I have a couple questions:

Do you know who the person in the car was, and if so, do you think it's someone she would have left with willingly?

Did she ever discuss her pregnancy, was she happy about it or did she express that she didn't want the baby? Or did she try to hide it?

How long before she went missing did she give the horses away?

When she was seen in the barn that night, was she busy doing something, or was she just sitting, possibly thinking or waiting for someone?


I'm just trying to get an idea of how likely it is that she harmed herself...


edited to add one more question: This is a long shot, I'm sure... but I'm curious if the 'baby' was under 18 when they took his DNA? The reason I ask, is that I think it's too much of a coincidence that this baby appeared at the same friend's house (the friend Jan gave the horses to) just as Jan was supposed to have her baby - if the child was under 18, perhaps that child wasn't actually the baby, but was a birth child or someone that the 'adopted' family presented DNA for, out of fear that your family might want custody of the real baby...

I know that's far-fetched but my gut is telling me that baby had to be hers...
 
This reminds me of a similar case-a girl named Edna (forgot her last name) disappeared in the Philly area in the late 70s. She was also preggers and loved horses.
 
Cotta, were there ever any searches done? I know that Wall was pretty rural then (and parts of it still are) but there are tons of trails in the woods there. I heard rumors in the mid 90's that people had drowned in the Wall Wash at the end of Rue de la Port cul-de-sac across from Wall High, but have never been able to track down any actual news about it. Kinda far fetched, I know. But it's a thought.
 
Cotta, just as Odyssey said, I have to wonder if the baby was connected somehow. If you don't mind more questions, when the DNA test was performed, was the DNA from the child and Jan's relatives taken in the presence of law enforcement?

Without revealing personal details, was the baby raised by someone locally? You mention your family saw her years later and she did not resemble Jan.

Was Jan receiving prenatal care and was the due date of her child yet known? Five to seven months is a significant time gap.

I pray you don't take offense to the following, but some theories crossed my mind and I hesitated to share them until now. If someone left a baby in Jan's friend's mailbox, she would have been certain the child would be discovered, but she wouldn't have had any way of knowing whether anyone would check the mailbox in time to rescue her. I'm not saying Jan's friend is guilty of wrongdoing, but the mailbox story is a little suspicious IMHO.

There have been some news stories of an abandoned baby being found, but investigation later shows that the person who found the baby was actually trying to seek help for it and the baby had never been left or abandoned at all. Do you think it's at all possible that the friend, who had already been entrusted with Jan's beloved horses, was given the child by Jan herself or someone close to her? Or could Jan have possibly gone to stay with the friend but succumbed to her other health problems during childbirth and the friend was left, overwhelmed, with a newborn?

Again, I hope that these theories didn't offend you, but from reading this 2007 article about her disappearance, it sounds like LE was leaving open the possibility that she left voluntarily without foul play:

http://starnewsgroup.com/weekly/2007/03.29.07/pdf/03.29.07.pdf
 
Something puzzles me. Does anyone know why Jan's teeth were in poor condition but she had never had dental work? At first I thought that, with a family of 8 children, maybe the parents couldn't afford dental care, but I see she attended riding classes and a riding academy, which would have cost money. Was she scared of the dentist? Was the poor condition of her teeth due to the chemicals in an asthma inhaler? Some of those will damage your teeth, I've heard. Keeping riding horses takes money and also the jewelry she was wearing wasn't cheap costume jewelry so I have to assume there was money for dental care but she chose not to have it done or else her medical condition kept causing decay of the teeth.

Also, I think she planned to leave that evening with someone because she was carrying a purse at the barn. Who carries a purse down to the barn? I think she was waiting for her ride. Whoever picked her up (baby's father???) is likely responsible for whatever happened to her next. Maybe he harmed her himself. Maybe he took her someplace to have mid to late term abortion attempted and something went wrong.

As to the baby in the mailbox, I tend to think this was the concealed pregnancy of some other girl in the community who thought she could put the baby in Jan's friend's mailbox and have folks assume the baby was Jan's. She had no way of knowing the future and that DNA testing would prove the baby not to be related.

It appears the family knew she was approximately 5-7 months pregnant, but were evidently unaware of the father's identity. Was she known to have dated any men? Did she casually date several and so her family had no idea who the father was because she wouldn't tell? Concealment of his identity hints that he was a married man or someone in authority who could not have it known he was the father.
 
dogperson said:
Something puzzles me. Does anyone know why Jan's teeth were in poor condition but she had never had dental work? At first I thought that, with a family of 8 children, maybe the parents couldn't afford dental care, but I see she attended riding classes and a riding academy, which would have cost money. Was she scared of the dentist? Was the poor condition of her teeth due to the chemicals in an asthma inhaler? Some of those will damage your teeth, I've heard. Keeping riding horses takes money and also the jewelry she was wearing wasn't cheap costume jewelry so I have to assume there was money for dental care but she chose not to have it done or else her medical condition kept causing decay of the teeth.

Also, I think she planned to leave that evening with someone because she was carrying a purse at the barn. Who carries a purse down to the barn? I think she was waiting for her ride. Whoever picked her up (baby's father???) is likely responsible for whatever happened to her next. Maybe he harmed her himself. Maybe he took her someplace to have mid to late term abortion attempted and something went wrong.

As to the baby in the mailbox, I tend to think this was the concealed pregnancy of some other girl in the community who thought she could put the baby in Jan's friend's mailbox and have folks assume the baby was Jan's. She had no way of knowing the future and that DNA testing would prove the baby not to be related.

It appears the family knew she was approximately 5-7 months pregnant, but were evidently unaware of the father's identity. Was she known to have dated any men? Did she casually date several and so her family had no idea who the father was because she wouldn't tell? Concealment of his identity hints that he was a married man or someone in authority who could not have it known he was the father.
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Great thoughts! I wonder if the fact she was pregnant out of wed-lock was a great concern for her and the father of the child? I know back in those days this was a big deal. Nowadays, it's not uncommon to see a lot of teen moms walking down the high school hallways. Back then, you rarely saw it because they would not go to school anymore. I think figuring out the identity of her child's father is a huge piece to this whole mystery. Did any of her friends mention Jan having any kind of relationship or fling with anyone? Did she meet someone through a riding academy?
 
I have a feeling the reason the father's identity was not told by Jan was that he was married or maybe a teacher or instructor. As you said, amber1, maybe a riding instructor. There was some reason it had to be kept hush hush. Maybe she thought he was about to run away with her when he picked her up that evening, but he harmed her instead.

Where I grew up, unmarried teens having children was still uncommon in the 1980s when I was in high school. I can only recall one unmarried girl who got pregnant and they made her have a home teacher once she started showing. It was very scandalous to us at the time, but then we were country girls in the Bible belt and we just didn't hear a lot about that kind of thing then. The father of that baby was a mystery also, but only because the girl wasn't sure herself. I wouldn't dare suggest this was the case for Jan though. I find it more likely the father was a grown man who needed to keep it secret because he had a wife or some type of job he feared losing.

You would expect that close girlfriends of Jan's might have had their suspicions. Maybe there was a certain man she was seen talking to a number of times, etc. It had to be someone she was in contact with often enough to have developed a relationship that included sex, and there would have had to be opportunities for them to be alone together.
 
Here is an article from July 7th, 2014 stating that police are looking for an Eric Shore who knew Jan. He is considered a person of interest. http://nj1015.com/reward-in-1973-nj-missing-persons-case/

When I googled the name Eric Shore I came across this article http://bethelsnj.org/about-beth-el/presidents-message/

Here is the section of the article that caught my eye:

"Josh and Beth Brodkin and Eric and Kelly Shore have a super fun night planned with casino games, simulated horse races,great food and drink all at an affordable price and we are all set for a great night of fun on Saturday evening October 12th. Please plan to bring all of your friends and to be there."

It's probably nothing but to see that name tied to NJ and horses is somewhat off-putting for me.
 
Eric Shore would be approximately 70 years old now based on this article.

snip

Between the years 2004 – 2006, investigators conducted about 250 interviews in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Florida. However, investigators are determined to identify anyone else who may have knowledge about Cotta during the time of her disappearance. In addition, investigators are still trying to identify a subject by the name of Eric Shore (proper spelling unknown). Shore was reported to be approximately 40 years old at the time of her disappearance and from Staten Island or Long Island. It was also reported that his girlfriend at the time was employed as a hairdresser in Deal, New Jersey.

http://www.wallpolice.org/missing-person-jan-cotta
 
Without being specific, were young guys on Ridgewood, last initials T, L or V eliminated? thanks

cotta said:
To my knowledge we found that baby, years later one look at her and we could tell it was not Jan's. Also DNA testing was done and found not a match. My family has traveled up and down the east coast with possible leads but nothing was found.

She vanished, no one would talk about what they knew or didn't know.

My theory doesn’t matter because it can't be proved. Although I'm fairly certain she did not have the baby my best guess is that something happened to her before that. I'm just hoping to get the word out in case someone knows something or found something that sounds like her.
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Mica said:
Eric Shore would be approximately 70 years old now based on this article.

snip

Between the years 2004 – 2006, investigators conducted about 250 interviews in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Florida. However, investigators are determined to identify anyone else who may have knowledge about Cotta during the time of her disappearance. In addition, investigators are still trying to identify a subject by the name of Eric Shore (proper spelling unknown). Shore was reported to be approximately 40 years old at the time of her disappearance and from Staten Island or Long Island. It was also reported that his girlfriend at the time was employed as a hairdresser in Deal, New Jersey.

http://www.wallpolice.org/missing-person-jan-cotta
Click to expand...

He'd be more like 80, no?
 
Yikes, I haven't been back to this thread in so long. No, I didn't submit this. Who would I submit this to? Any help would be appreciated! :)
 
meggilyweggily said:
She had just turned 19 when she disappeared from Wall Township, NJ in 1973. Pretty girl. I wonder if they looked at Ted Bundy for this? NJ is a bit out of his territory but I know he killed girls pretty much wherever he went -- they suspect him in a few Vermont murders, for example. And Jan certainly looks like his type.

Jan's NCMEC poster

Jan's 1973 photo

Jan's age-progression photo (APed to age 50)

Anybody have any other info on this case, I'd like to know. My usual research routes are blocked right now as I'm on spring break and at home without my computer.

Here's to hoping that Jan's family gets answers.
Click to expand...

I know this is late, but wanted to share this information. From the official timeline, from the Multiagency Taskforce, Ted was in Washington

(00:00)
(00:00)
(00:00)
06-25-73
06-27-73
BUNDY IN OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
BUNDY BOUGHT GAS DRIVING WASHINGTON IBH-521
TUMWATER, WASHINGTON
BUNDY IN SEATTLE & OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
 
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