Hi everyone,
I posted this in Reddit, but wanted to post in on Websleuths since it seems to be more active. This is my first post here, so forgive me if I am not doing things correctly.
I have always followed the BG case, as I find it impossible to believe such a clear image of a person's face will forever go unrecognized. It's one of those things where you feel like someone HAS to recognize her, it's only a matter of time, right?
I periodically google BG to see if anyone has posted anything new, and the other day I came across a picture of Patricia Salamandyk that someone had posted on BG's facebook page and was immediately struck by the similarities in appearance. I started doing some research and found out the following (for those of you who are unfamiliar):
Apparently, Patricia went missing from her home in Spruce Grove (right outside Edmunton) in Canada in June of 1972 (she was 16 at this time). She had told her sister she was going to cut class that day and never returned home. She had not packed any of her belongings, had not had a fight, and did not seem to have a troubled home life, so it doesnt appear to look like she ran away. No one has ever seen or heard from her again, however her family is still looking for her, and ran a news story about a year ago:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ch-help-solve-43-year-old-cold-case-1.3149569.
Since, as far as I had found, Patricia had not been ruled out, I started comparing the post-mortem picture with Patricias yearbook photo and started noticing some profound similarities. I tried making a composite of the two pictures, and had to step away for a little, as its upsetting. (Be warned, PM pictures).
http://imgur.com/5zuhFw9 and here's a different level of transparency of that picture:
http://imgur.com/9EbSM6e
I dont know how common this is (and I am certainly not a forensic scientist), but all of the features match up perfectly, from the chin like to the widows peak. You can even see how she shaped her eyebrows from what they were before. The only thing that is off a bit is the nose, but I think thats due to the angle. The post mortem picture was taken straight on, the yearbook photo was taken down at an angle, so that would explain the difference. The nose is still the same length/proportion.
On top of this, I believe that both images show a lower lip scar. In the PM picture it is quite clear, but if you look closely at the yearbook photo you can see, very faintly, a white line in the exact same position. Picture here:
http://imgur.com/ywaPS9c Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, but I'm pretty sure there is a faint line there. It probably would be more vivid in a higher quality, black and white. flash picture (like the PM one).
According to the Doe Network, Patricia was about 57 120 lbs, I believe BG was reported to be around 56 (although I have read everywhere from 53 57 and 125-130 lbs). The coroner reported that BG might have grown up on a farm, it should be noted that Patricia grew up on a dairy farm. BG was reported to be age 18-26, in 1981 Patricia wouldve been 25-26. If this is a match, it is strange that she was alive for 9 whole years after her disappearance. However, this might explain why she was so hard to identify. Police would probably be concentrating their search around missing persons that disappeared around the time of her death. On top of that, being from Canada means that Patricia probably wouldnt be in any databases (up until quite recently) where she would show up on searches. If she was in the US illegally (Canada has no reports of Patricia leaving the country legally- although this was the 70s), and had been kidnapped, she probably wasnt recognizable to a lot of people outside of the circle she was with (meaning she might not have held a regular job, had regular nearby family ties, etc). Her complexion change means she was spending a lot of time in the sun, is it possible she was being used as a drug runner, or was kidnapped for human trafficking (although I have read it is not suspected she was involved in sex trafficking, stated by the coroner)? It would explain why she was shut off to the outside world and couldnt contact her family. It might also explain why, according to her isotope analysis, she was moving around so much.
There are some discrepancies- the moles on her face dont seem to match (well, I think some of them do, but its really hard to tell). I cant really say why, they couldve faded over time, or maybe blended in with her complexion change. It was also reported that Patricia had a scar on her knee, and there was no report of this scar on BG. However, 9 years is a long time, and as a young person, the scar might have faded? I dont know. I cant say. But I think there are enough profound similarities to conclude that, if Patricia is not BG, then maybe she is her twin.
I am not the first person to make this comparison- two people have already mentioned this in a thread about BG and have contacted NAMUS and Carl (who does the composite images), and the department is looking in to it. I just thought this should be shared by the (very active) page on BG.
Its all tragic. Awful. Whoever this girl was, she was and is loved. She still has a chance of justice. Thanks everyone for keeping her name out there.
) With the pollen samples reported to have been in such good condition, and not having reports of pollen samples from areas between OK/TX and here (at least that were made publicly known), I began to consider the fact that perhaps she flew or took a train and thus was not exposed as much to pollen samples from points in between. It just struck me that if she was driving or hitchhiking, and stopping at times for gas or food or rest at hotels, campgrounds, or just rest areas, that we MIGHT have seen more diversity in pollen samples. 
