NV NV - Elko Co, WhtFem 17-25, UP8358, posed in cross position, scars, Jul'72

[WesternArtist]

There is now a reconstruction available for Starr Valley Jane Doe on NamUs!
https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/8358

This is actually very different from what I had pictured. I had previously imagined much lighter hair and a more petit appearance based on the other info. This should completely redirect the search for PMs for her.

 

[4SAM]

When they say she had curly shoulder length hair, why can't they use that description when doing the reconstruction?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

There's not a lot of info available on this one...you would think it would have gotten more news coverage. I wonder why they think a VW seen in the area in July was involved. It says the poor woman had been dead for a few months, so probably April or May. Maybe the body was moved to that area shortly before they found it?

It's possible the killer returned at least once to check on his victim. I see Bundy has already been mentioned in connection with the Beetle, but he also claimed that he revisited some of his victims and spent time with their bodies long after their deaths.

I think the sighting of the Beetle is a good lead. That's a remote area, and Star Valley Road comes off the I-80 at one junction and rejoins it at another. The road seems to have little purpose other than that, so the idea that a killer pulled off at one junction to kill his victim or dump her body and then simply drove on and back onto the I-80 is not far-fetched. Maybe he travelled I-80 from time to time and pulled off to check on her body more than once, with the sighting being at only one of those visits.

It would be interesting to know who the witness was who reported seeing the Beetle. If the vehicle belonged to a local it's distinctive enough that it would have been associated with that person, especially in so remote an area. The fact that it wasn't suggests to me that whoever it belonged to was not very local. On the other hand, Star Valley Road doesn't look like one that would be known to a complete outsider. An outsider probably wouldn't know, for example, that you could leave I-80 at one junction, drive along the road and easily rejoin the interstate a few miles further on.

 

[theshadow45]

Starr Valley Jane Doe has been unidentified for 46 years today.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

The reconstruction has me puzzled as well it does not coincide with the NAmUS hair description. The descrip of having collar length hair is borderline shoulder length but the recon shows a very short and straight style similiar to Twiggy and Dorothy Hamill.

Hair ColorSandy
Head Hair DescriptionLight brown/blonde, curly.
Body Hair DescriptionReddish-blonde pubic hair

 

[Tuck]

With that reconstruction, I'm leaning heavily towards Ingrid Anderson, missing from California to since 1971.

 

[alucardsdream]

I'm still having problems reconciling the recon with the physical description...Ingrid definitely looks like the recon, which shows very short, very dark hair, but the UID was supposed to have had curly, shoulder length hair much lighter in color. I know that her body wasn't found right away so they didn't have a lot to work with, but the recon just seems off...it's at a weird angle and looks disproportionate.

 

[Tuck]

I'm still having problems reconciling the recon with the physical description...Ingrid definitely looks like the recon, which shows very short, very dark hair, but the UID was supposed to have had curly, shoulder length hair much lighter in color. I know that her body wasn't found right away so they didn't have a lot to work with, but the recon just seems off...it's at a weird angle and looks disproportionate.

I tried to account for that. A monochrome photograph always makes hair seem darker than a natural colour. Also, the curly hair which is not featured in the reconstruction looks to be present in Ingrid. I've tried to potentially account for sun bleaching of the hair during the post-mortem interval, which is a possibility due to the exposure of the remains to direct sunlight for an extended period of time (i.e. months) which could generally lead to a lighter shade of hair colour. This is all speculation of course, but I just thought that the face structures and general specifications of height and weight were adequate matches.

I am in total agreement with you about the reconstruction. It is highly unusual to see the particular angle for a reconstruction shot. My only hypothesis for that is that she sustained such severe damage from the gunshot wounds (left cheek and neck) that a direct facing reconstruction was not an option.

 

[alucardsdream]

I think you might be on to something with Ingrid, there are definitely similarities between the two. It would be awesome to finally be able to give this victim her name back.

 

[carbuff]

The sketch artist was probably working from a post-mortem photo taken during the autopsy, probably to document the wounds or something else of forensic interest. There are some other older sketches with similar weird angles or strange poses.

 

[alucardsdream]

The sketch artist was probably working from a post-mortem photo taken during the autopsy, probably to document the wounds or something else of forensic interest. There are some other older sketches with similar weird angles or strange poses.

That's true. I didn't mean it as an insult to the artist, it's still way better than anything I would be able to do! It just makes it harder to try and do an overlay with any potential matches.

 

[carbuff]

That's true. I didn't mean it as an insult to the artist, it's still way better than anything I would be able to do! It just makes it harder to try and do an overlay with any potential matches.

I didn't think you were insulting the artist, just wanted to add some context that might be helpful.

I remember reading about one case where the coroner, who was just an ordinary doctor who happened to have the job, called in his office nurse and asked her to make the sketch because she had taken an art class in high school. Things have just changed so much.

 

[Tuck]

Just received a reply that these two cases apparently haven't been compared before. Guess we'll have to wait and see on a result. Bearing in mind that Elko Jane Doe only has dentals, I guess there's only manual dental charting comparisons available with any missing persons.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping.

 

[carbuff]

Nadine Timm is still the only exclusion.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Bit of hope]

What about Donna Ann Lass? The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Donna Ann Lass – The Charley Project

Lass was last seen in South Lake Tahoe, California on September 6, 1970. She worked as a registered nurse at the first aid station at the Sahara Hotel-Casino and her last logbook entry was timed at 1:50 a.m.

Her car was found parked near her apartment in Stateline, Nevada, but nobody saw her leave the casino.

It wouldn't fit in with the PMI, but what if she was kidnapped and hold against her will. For instance by Philipp Garrido, who lived in Reno at the time.

 

[theshadow45]

Starr Valley Jane Doe has been unidentified for 47 years today.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping.

 

[Bit of hope]

This woman doesn't fit in the stats, but in the timeline and because of her looks I post her here. Christine Betty Moore – The Charley Project missing from California MCFarland, 5-1-1971. This source says 1-1-1971. Christine Betty Moore also known as Christine Lowe. If I found the right one (she was just divorced in 1970)

 

[carbuff]

This woman doesn't fit in the stats, but in the timeline and because of her looks I post her here. Christine Betty Moore – The Charley Project missing from California MCFarland, 5-1-1971. This source says 1-1-1971. Christine Betty Moore also known as Christine Lowe. If I found the right one (she was just divorced in 1970)

The resemblance is certainly startling. Wow!