PA PA - Nellie Flickinger, 29, Erie, March 1979

[Kymistry35]

Unidentified White Female

• The victim was discovered on October 7, 1982 in Colusa County, California
• Estimated Date of Death: October 1, 1981
• State of Remains: Skeletal

Vital Statistics

• Estimated age: 20-26 years old
• Approximate Height and Weight: 5'1"-5'4"
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair. Fracture of lower left leg; pin through right femur. Plate screwed to right femur with the words "VITALIUM 3 3/4".
• Clothing: Red/white/blue blouse; brown cord pants; brown lace, leather, rubber-soled shoes size 5 - 5 1/2.
• Personal Effects: Silver ring; silver pendant necklace with Hebrew writing; pair of crescent shaped earrings, 3 1/2 inches, 1 white and 1 brown; round pin-brooch; gold color frame sunglasses.
• Dentals: Available

Case History
The victim was located in Colusa County, California on October 7, 1982.

vs.


Carol Jean Pierce
Missing since September 8, 1975 from Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

• Date Of Birth: December 4, 1939
• Age at Time of Disappearance: 35 years old
• Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'5; 115 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; hazel eyes.
• Marks, Scars: Surgical pin in right femur, and small scar on upper lip.
• AKA: Carol Fillion; Aungst; Clark

Circumstances of Disappearance
Pierce was last seen between 8:00am and 4:30pm at her residence in the vicinity of W. Elm Street and N. Hudson Avenue in Sturgeon Bay, WI. She was reported missing by her husband, one week after her disappearance. He told investigators that on the date of her disappearance he had morning coffee with Carol Jean at his home. When he returned home at about 1630hr. Carol Jean was gone. She has not been heard from or seen since.
The couple had plans to move to Cheboygan, Michigan, where they owned some property. Carol Jean Pierce was a home maker. There has been no use of her social security number since 1975.
Police checks on Carol Jean's credit history, social security, possible passport use, Interpol, the Canadian Authorities and every state DOT Office in the U.S., have been made in the name of Carol Jean. There has been no activity under her name since the date of her disappearance.
Her purse, prized cat, personal belongings and makeup were all left at her home.
Foul play is suspected.


I know that the states are pretty far apart, but I have seen it in other cases. They both had pins in the right femur. It says she had blonde hair but it looks closer to brown to me. The height is close but the age is off. The remains were skeletal so it could have been there for longer than a year.

 

[Salem]

Teon - are there pictures or links? I think it is worth reporting. Pins in a right femur are not that common. Pins in a right femur of a missing person and/or an unidentified person must be pretty rare, I would think.

I think this is a very good catch and you should definetly report it.

I really admire all the work that you do!

Salem

 

[Kymistry35]

Carol

The UID does not have a picture. Thanks Salem, it makes me feel good to try and do something to help someone else during my free time.

 

[jodierenee]

I would call it in for sure. Even though some of the details are off, what are the chances of finding a surgical pin in the right femur of two different missing persons?

 

[Chloekins]

Surgical pins in the femur aren't that uncommon, having said that I would definitely call this one in. We would rather be mistaken than pass up a match. Good luck! I hope it is her so she can be brought home to her family.

 

[MeoW333]

Teon, it's always worth reporting!! If it's not an exact match, then at least it can be ruled out.
She could have bleached her hair when she went missing, small details would be hard to reconstruct with a skeleton; yet the surgical pin, the time frame, height, aren't far off!!

 

[Salem]

Teons - did you report this one? Have you heard anything?

Salem

 

[Kymistry35]

I did report it. They said that they would check things out and that was it. I figured I would give them a few weeks and then call for an update.

 

[hoppyfrog]

Long article here:

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/flickinger_61684___article.html/woman_family.html

18 March 08

For nearly three decades, the family of Nellie Flickinger has struggled to learn why the young mother disappeared from her Pennsylvania home.

Now the search for an answer may lie with a nameless body found in Colusa County a quarter-century ago, leaving Flickinger's children and relatives hovering between hope for closure and fear of her fate.

The Colusa County Sheriff's Department exhumed the body at Colusa Cemetery on Monday, according to Lt. Shane Maxey.

"We're bracing for closure while hoping for a reunion," said her niece Joni Lapeyrouse, a Pensacola, Fla. resident who has led the search in recent years. "One way or another, I want to get her home."

Testing at a state forensics laboratory is expected to show whether the remains are those of Flickinger, a 29-year-old mother of five last seen leaving her Erie, Pa., home in March 1979.

Relatives of Flickinger say the woman was staying at her mother's house when she left in the company of a male visitor, possibly a serviceman. Before departing, Flickinger told her family she planned to return later for her children, but never did.

Deputies discovered the skeletal corpse Oct. 7, 1982, off Interstate 5 and Hahn Road, north of Arbuckle. A coroner was unable to learn the woman's identity or how she died.

The Colusa County remains caught the family's attention after Internet searches apparently matched the find to Flickinger's bodily description, according to Lapeyrouse. In particular, the skeleton included a metal plate in the right femur, a possible link to a broken leg the woman suffered in a motorcycle wreck.

more at link

pic at link

Contact reporter Howard Yune at 458-2121, 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.

 

[meggilyweggily]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/flickinger_nellie.html

 

[Rle7]

A mother of five has been missing for decades, and her family's search has taken them across the country. Now, it could be ending right here in northern California.

Nellie Flickinger was a young girl with a bright smile and bright future. She grew up to be a mother of five young kids, but in 1979 Nellie disappeared from Pennsylvania with a stranger. Her family doesn't even know his name, only that he was a Marine.

"She said she was going back to California," said Joni Laperyouse. "She said she was either going to send for her kids or come back and get her kids. That's the last anybody ever heard from her."

29 years later, Joni is on a mission, desperate and driven by one thing. "Emotion," she said. "This is my dad's sister. My dad's not in good health. My grandmother died looking for her."

Joni took over on a national hunt for the aunt she never knew. "It's been a brick wall the whole time."

Last year, she got a call that would change her life.

"I'd called the local sheriff's department in Pensacola and I said, 'How do you find a dead person?'"

She found her answer in a website called DoeNetwork.org. Joni posted Nellie's information that would be checked against a database of hundreds of Jane Does.

http://cbs13.com/local/colusa.cold.case.2.685791.html

 

[MagicRose99]

WILLIAMS (CBS13) ― Investigators have failed to identify a woman who was found dead decades ago in Colusa County, shattering the hopes of a family who has been looking for answers.

Nellie Flickinger left Pennsylvania for California in 1979, leaving her five kids behind. She said she would bring them with her later, but nobody ever heard from her again.

http://cbs13.com/local/jane.doe.colusa.2.803974.html

 

[Kymistry35]

So glad to see that her case is getting some attention.

 

[Blackwatch]

So glad to see that her case is getting some attention.

If there isn't enough DNA to do any comparisons, is there any hope for an identification?

 

[StealthTheory]

So strange. I grew up near Philly, PA and went to school with two boys with the last name of Flickinger. They both look like her from what I can see in the photographs of her, A LOT, but they would have been born around when she disappeared. Was Flickinger her married or maiden name?

 

[kylie]

Can't they trace the metal plate in the femur to a hospital or something? There has to be some way they can be at least 75% sure it is her.

 

[meggilyweggily]

It seems to me that one metal plate looks much like any other. Unless it had a serial number I think it would be impossible to trace.

 

[seeker78]

Bumping so Nellie isn't forgotten!

 

[Kat]

WILLIAMS (CBS13) ― Investigators have failed to identify a woman who was found dead decades ago in Colusa County, shattering the hopes of a family who has been looking for answers.

Nellie Flickinger left Pennsylvania for California in 1979, leaving her five kids behind. She said she would bring them with her later, but nobody ever heard from her again.

http://cbs13.com/local/jane.doe.colusa.2.803974.html

The Colusa County Sheriff's Department called her late last week, informing her that there wasn't enough DNA to extract for an accurate test.

Snipped from above link.

This week I read an article where there wasn't enough DNA to be extracted from bones that were found in a grave and there was some question about the identity of the remains in the grave by family members. (a different case)

They were able to identify the remains by the hair, with a hairmat that had been saved from the woman's family.

It turned out to be the correct remains in the grave. Although, a few of the family members still disagreed because there was a discrepancy between the confession of the woman's murderer and the condition of the remains.

I attribute that to the fact when you rely on a confession, you are relying on the word of a known criminal (murderer).

I trust the science behind it.

I would encourage the family of this woman and LE to try to find another way to extract DNA for comparison. JMHO.

 

[Kat]

I meant hairmat saved from an earlier investigation into the other woman's disappearance prior to her being found*

Sorry couldn't ETA post #19.