Identified! OH - Troy, Miami Co., 'Buckskin Girl' WhtFem 133UFOH, 15-25, Apr'81 - Marcia King

[CarlK90245]

The way that they know that someone has been killed in one place and transported to another is by analyzing the lividity (i.e., discoloration of the skin caused by pooling of blood in the lowest parts of the body after death). and blanching of the skin at the points of contact with whatever was underneath them.

When someone dies in one place and lies in that position for a period of time, and is then transported to another location and is put there in a different position, then there are two separate patterns of lividity and blanching. There might have even been a third pattern for the time that she was transported.

The person would have had to have been dead in the first position for a while for the first lividity pattern to form. The authorities probably know whether her initial position was face down, on her side, or on her back.

If she was placed in the trunk of a car (most likely in a fetal position), she probably would have had the lividity and blanching on her side. If she was transported in a seated position in the passenger seat, the patterns would be seen in her feet and buttocks. Transportation by motorcycle or horse would probably produce a very strange lividity and blanching pattern.

 

[Roselvr]

The way that they know that someone has been killed in one place and transported to another is by analyzing the lividity (i.e., discoloration of the skin caused by pooling of blood in the lowest parts of the body after death). and blanching of the skin at the points of contact with whatever was underneath them.

When someone dies in one place and lies in that position for a period of time, and is then transported to another location and is put there in a different position, then there are two separate patterns of lividity and blanching. There might have even been a third pattern for the time that she was transported.

The person would have had to have been dead in the first position for a while for the first lividity pattern to form. The authorities probably know whether her initial position was face down, on her side, or on her back.

If she was placed in the trunk of a car (most likely in a fetal position), she probably would have had the lividity and blanching on her side. If she was transported in a seated position in the passenger seat, the patterns would be seen in her feet and buttocks. Transportation by motorcycle or horse would probably produce a very strange lividity and blanching pattern.

I spent the morning reading the post. I thought I saw something specific that said she was transported in a truck but I can't find it. All I see is "Evidence indicates that the body was transported to the scene from another location"..

Would be nice to know about the patterns of lividity and blanching which as you say would give indication of laying down verses sitting up. If it was sitting up; car; truck; motorcycle with side car

I also went thru some of the photographers albums this morning; have a few I'll show you off forum; so you can see what I mean about her fitting in the biker community. I saw horses also mentioned; that could be accurate too. The gal I knew back then were into both; horses & Harleys.

Were more of the buckskin pullovers found on ebay? I saw a post on page 2
about it but the others were never posted & I did not see anything more about where they were made except Mexico. IIRC; there is no mention of a tag ever being in BG's pullover.

Old Trading Post CA

On google search for buckskin jacket; her morgue pics as well as your recons come up but too bad they're really far down the page. I didn't see her jacket come up on the search though; so you may want to upload it so that it does & will be seen in the searches. I saved it as buckskin jacket; hopefully google will pick it up

Good point. Her jacket had a lot of fringe around the neck, and long hair would tangle with that, so it would make sense to braid one's hair into a ponytail or pigtails to keep it from tangling in the jacket. There's also the theories posted earlier in this thread that her hair could have been braided to prevent it from becoming windblown while she traveled or to create waves/curls when she unbraided it later. Her hair must have been rather long to hold braids of that length.

This is just my theory, but while she may have been kidnapped shortly before she was murdered, I think she was on her own and free when she braided her hair. Braiding hair is a task that requires time to ensure you're keeping the pigtails at even heights to each other and you're keeping all three sections of hair in each pigtail without ending up with loose hair. She already had at least two hair elastics to secure the ends of the ponytails, and she could have far more easily thrown her hair into a simple, non-braided ponytail with one of those. Braided pigtails wouldn't be a hairstyle you'd choose if you were rushed or panicked because you were being held against your will. Again, just my two cents.

Can anyone tell if she has hair ties near the scalp? The braids look like they were started at different places on each side; right looks higher then left; but they could have loosened up during the day; mine do. I can braid my hair fairly quick

HockeyGirl, it's good to hear from someone local to the area. It sounds likely she could have been researching Native American history, whether it was for a high school senior project, a college assignment or for personal interest. Spring Break would have been a good time to get away for a few days, and she might have hitched a ride if she lacked a car.

Her complexion was noted as "freckled and ruddy" (ruddy means reddened) and it wasn't believed she was on the road for long, so I wonder if the redness was from the wind and/or sun exposure and from being outside for longer than she was used to.

Or from riding on a motorcycle?

 

[LucyOso]

As a motorcycle enthusiast (biker) myself, I find it unlikely she was transported while dead on a bike. Now, she may have caught rides on a bike or have been affiliated with some riders hence the braids and suede jacket with fringes. Bikes in the day were not really conducive to body transport and side cars were not that common. Now an ol' lady in a sweep vehicle behind the group is possible, but the reality is if it was biker related, they would have been more cautious with where the body was dumped.

I am more apt to look at her hairstyle and the jacket she was wearing and assume she was like many people of the time who started identifying with Native Americans (yes, everyone's grandmother was a Cherokee princess won in a poker match). The American Indian Movement (AIM) was still fairly big in 1981 and many people identified with that as the new age movement progressed.

My overall feeling on her is she was either in jail or a mental facility for a few years and was discharged into the world in the clothes she came in with. The clothing is a bit dated, from what I can tell for 1981. But, that is just my thoughts.

 

[deca]

I am not reading too much into the jacket. There are a bunch of pics of my folks and their friends wearing jackets (handmade or store bought) like that in the early 70s. So I think maybe she just had a jacket like that lying around in a closet somewhere and brought it out to wear- maybe it was the right weight for the weather that day or something. Sometimes people dress "different" for no reason at all- they don't care about current fashion- they just have their own sense of style/comfort.

 

[jlentine]

New to this so bear with me. How do these two match up.

Barbara Cotton missing since April 11, 1981. Has a mole on right breast.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2921/1/

Buckskin girl also has a mole on right side of breast.

<modsnip>

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4790

I know moles don't identify it all, but maybe someone with more knowledge on this can rule her out. Thanks.

 

[dotr]

New to this so bear with me. How do these two match up.

Barbara Cotton missing since April 11, 1981. Has a mole on right breast.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2921/1/

Buckskin girl also has a mole on right side of breast.

<modsnip>

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4790

I know moles don't identify it all, but maybe someone with more knowledge on this can rule her out. Thanks.

This bit of info from your link may be very helpful if not for Buckskin G. then for another UID,thanks!

"Barbara's left ear is noticeably lower than her right ear."

 

[Brightbird]

Hi, I've only recently read through this thread so please forgive me if this has been mentioned or is way off the mark. I was wondering about a country music connection. I just saw a Willie Nelson film clip and immediately thought of this girl. In February 1981, Willie Nelson released an album 'Somewhere over the rainbow' on the cover of which he is wearing braids (from Wikipedia). And buckskin jackets and country music seem to go together, albeit much earlier than 1981. I admit I know next to nothing about country music and it's fashion/history. But I'm wondering about festivals or concerts in that area, big or small? And I suppose it's not much of a clue, but something resonated so I thought I'd throw it out there. Just thinking.

 

[Forensic fan]

There are 2 festivals that I know of where people dress like this, The Heritage Festival outside Piqua, OH on Labor Day weekend and The Fort Rowdy Gathering in Covington, OH, I believe this is also in the fall. These are both in Miami County and both have mountain men and Indian encampments and re-enactments.

 

[ebonydarkness]

http://www.setlist.fm/search?query=city:(OH)+date:[1981-01-01+TO+1981-04-24]

Here are some concerts in Ohio in the year 1981 up to the day she was discovered. You can expand the date and location parameters if you want. I have no idea whether any of these artists cater to a crowd that dresses like her, however.

 

[kpdx]

New to this so bear with me. How do these two match up.

Barbara Cotton missing since April 11, 1981. Has a mole on right breast.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2921/1/

Buckskin girl also has a mole on right side of breast.

<modsnip>

I know moles don't identify it all, but maybe someone with more knowledge on this can rule her out. Thanks.

Welcome to the Buckskin thread, jlentine, and to Websleuths Unidentified forum!

FYI, I submitted this match in 8/2011. I was briefly in contact with Barbara's sister, and they were waiting on DNA processing.

CarlK (our handy moderator for UIDs and sleuth superstar), I know you had speculated back in page 8 of the thread that you thought Barbara had been ruled out. Did you ever ask LE if there was a more comprehensive rule out list?

 

[CarlK90245]

CarlK (our handy moderator for UIDs and sleuth superstar), I know you had speculated back in page 8 of the thread that you thought Barbara had been ruled out. Did you ever ask LE if there was a more comprehensive rule out list?

No, I didn't. But I really don't see Barbara as being BG. The timeline is right, and there are a couple of coincidences, such as the mole on the breast. But there are too many discrepancies (e.g., scoliosis, uneven ears, height, age, hair color, her complexion is not freckly, etc.), and looking at the photos, I can see that Barbara's head is more broad at the temples. There is more width between her temples and the outside corners of her eyes.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

BG has both nuclear and mtDNA in Namus, and Barbara has DNA in Namus as well, so I think this would be a rule out by default.

 

[nerosleuth]

Carl, I happen to notice that the morgue photos of Buckskin Girl were black and white photos.

I was wondering if back in 1981 there have been both black and white photos and also color photos of an unid body taken?

Is it usally a policy for the ME to only release black and white photos to the news media rather than color photos of an unid body on account that it would be less gruesome to the public?

Say if a color photo had been released, do you think it would have been any help at all in trying to identify who Buckskin Girl could be?

Also, was any info regarding Buckskin Girl's tox report ever released to the public that you know of?

 

[CarlK90245]

Carl, I happen to notice that the morgue photos of Buckskin Girl were black and white photos.

I was wondering if back in 1981 there have been both black and white photos and also color photos of an unid body taken?

Is it usally a policy for the ME to only release black and white photos to the news media rather than color photos of an unid body on account that it would be less gruesome to the public?

Say if a color photo had been released, do you think it would have been any help at all in trying to identify who Buckskin Girl could be?

There are probably color photos available, and yes they do make a difference. But B&W photos are much less gruesome, especially with injuries, such as BG's.

One example of where a color photo made a difference is the 1988 Mount Vernon NY Jane Doe, there was only a B&W available for quite awhile. They finally posted a color version of her in NamUs, and I had a much different impression of how she looked.

Also, was any info regarding Buckskin Girl's tox report ever released to the public that you know of?

None that I'm aware of.

 

[jlentine]

Welcome to the Buckskin thread, jlentine, and to Websleuths Unidentified forum!

FYI, I submitted this match in 8/2011. I was briefly in contact with Barbara's sister, and they were waiting on DNA processing.

CarlK (our handy moderator for UIDs and sleuth superstar), I know you had speculated back in page 8 of the thread that you thought Barbara had been ruled out. Did you ever ask LE if there was a more comprehensive rule out list?

Sorry I must of missed the 2011 part of the thread. I saw that she wasn't on the ruled out list and figured it was a fall school photo, so maybe she gained a few pounds. :blushing:

 

[nerosleuth]

Thirty two years ago today, on April 24, 1981, the body of Buckskin Girl was found in a ditch in rural Miami County, Ohio.

And to this day, she still has not been identified.


Last month an online article was written regarding the Buckskin Girl case.


http://www.examiner.com/article/buckskin-jacket-key-to-solving-cold-case


The online article provided details regarding the exact location of where her body was found and the approximate time she had been deceased prior to her body being found.

 

[nerosleuth]

Thirty two years ago today, on April 24, 1981, the body of Buckskin Girl was found in a ditch in rural Miami County, Ohio.

And to this day, she still has not been identified.


Last month an online article was written regarding the Buckskin Girl case.


http://www.examiner.com/article/buckskin-jacket-key-to-solving-cold-case


The online article provided details regarding the exact location of where her body was found and the approximate time she had been deceased prior to her body being found.

 

[annemc2]

Huh. I don't remember reading about the purple satin lining of the poncho before. They really stressed that it was handmade, too. Interesting.

 

[fiberoptick]

Carl's reconstruction of her has been added to NamUs.

 

[CarlK90245]

Carl's reconstruction of her has been added to NamUs.

It says that it was an "age regression; attempting to show the UP as a younger girl.".

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4790

LOL. Maybe she does look younger than I intended, but that wasn't my intent. But it's great to see the image there anyway.