Identified! TN - Cheatham Co, WhtFem 14-20, 566UFTN, poss hitchhiker, cross bite, poor dental care, Oct'81 - Linda Sue Karnes

[MadMcGoo]

I too think she looks very much like the NCMEC reconstruction. Such a sweet smile. @Nancy Drew RN good finds! I think it's possible Linda could have been one of the runaways. The timing certainly fits.

I'm glad she finally has her name back. Rest peacefully now Linda.

 

[sasha17]

While looking for articles on the Girls Home, I found this police blotter report from April 1981. Someone has reported four 15 year old runaways from the home, on April 4, 1981, who left in a red Buick. Linda would have been 15 then (turning 15 in August). Could she have been one of these girls?

15 year old runaways from Montgomery County Girls Home 6 April 1981

Clipping found in The Leaf-Chronicle published in Clarksville, Tennessee on 4/6/1981. 15 year old runaways from Montgomery County Girls Home 6 April 1981

www.newspapers.com

Some further digging suggests that the child paired with her in the earlier articles was a slightly (1964) younger brother. He unfortunately passed away in 2001 in the Tampa area. Linda is not mentioned as surviving or predeceasing him in his obituary, but neither are their parents or various other relatives.

I’m no longer able to edit it, but several of my links are fluky above—the copy function on Newspapers was acting up. I’ll try to fix later on a proper computer.

Great find. I wonder what became of the other runaways?

I also thought it was interesting that so much of the history shows she lived in Ohio and then Tennessee, right? Her Doe Network page says: "Chemical isotope testing indicated the female was not native to Tennessee and had not spent a significant amount of time in the state. She most likely was born in southern Florida or central Texas and later spent several years preceding her death in the Midwest." She was not native to TN and did spend time in the midwest, but I wonder why the chemical tests showed Florida and Texas?

 

[AliceInPain]

"Chemical isotope testing indicated the female was not native to Tennessee and had not spent a significant amount of time in the state. She most likely was born in southern Florida or central Texas and later spent several years preceding her death in the Midwest."

sbm bbm I just read that too. Looks like she was in fact born in Ohio and grew up in Tennessee until her death.
I don't trust isotope test results for UIDs. How can you see from someone's diet/water intake where someone is from when millions of people today only eat imported food bought in supermarkets and don't drink water. imo.

RIP Linda

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

sbm bbm I just read that too. Looks like she was in fact born in Ohio and grew up in Tennessee until her death.
I don't trust isotope test results for UIDs. How can you see from someone's diet/water intake where someone is from when millions of people today only eat imported food bought in supermarkets and don't drink water. imo.

RIP Linda

I realize that without seeing the mapping, we are often only told of the most likely places someone could be from, without listing every other little place that could have a similar distribution of minerals. But I have to say, more often than not, the isotopes are off enough to not be helpful. She was found about 39 miles from the Montgomery County Girls Home, and a similar distance to other locations associated with her family (Cunningham, Shiloh, etc.), where she had been living since she was two years old.

 

[chaddylex]

I am so glad she finally got her name back. It makes me sad that another one of my "pet cases" - didn't officially have a missing persons report made.(Seems like many that have been solved through forensic genetic genealogy testing.) I tracked this case in NamUs for many years.. It hasn't been modified since 2021, but so glad @othram did their magic yet once again. RIP Linda

 

[othram]

I am so glad she finally got her name back. It makes me sad that another one of my "pet cases" - didn't officially have a missing persons report made.(Seems like many that have been solved through forensic genetic genealogy testing.) I tracked this case in NamUs for many years.. It hasn't been modified since 2021, but so glad @othram did their magic yet once again. RIP Linda

We are happy we could help. Looks like investigators are now tracking down what happened to her. She deserves justice.

 

[chaddylex]

We happy we could help. Looks like investigators are now tracking down what happened to her. She deserves justice.

That is great news! Thanks again for giving all these Doe's their names back.

 

[AliceInPain]

We are happy we could help. Looks like investigators are now tracking down what happened to her. She deserves justice.

You did a great job here (as usual).
I guess there was no other DNA but Linda's found?

I hope it can be solved, sounds like she was a "lost girl" and whoever the perp was took advantage of that.

 

[arielilane]

Honored to share that Othram was able to assist the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in identifying 15-year-old murder victim Linda Sue Karnes, whose remains were found in 1981. An investigation into her murder continues.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1691949471511237014

https://twitter.com/OthramTech

After 41 years, Cheatham County Jane Doe (1981) is Identified

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Teams with Othram to Identify 1981 Homicide Victim

dnasolves.com

 

[Nancy Drew RN]

Going through Classmates, the photo they're using is her seventh grade class photo from Montgomery Central Junior/Senior High School in 1978, when she would have been 12-13. She doesn't appear after that.

 

[arielilane]

Teenage Jane Doe identified 40 years later, hunt for killer continues

Linda Sue Karnes was believed to be 15 years old when her remains were discovered in a Tennessee landfill in 1981.

www.courttv.com

last updated 7:24 AM, August 18, 2023

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (Scripps News Nashville) — After over four decades of being known as “Jane Doe,” the identity of a teenage girl whose skeletal remains were discovered in a landfill in 1981 has finally been revealed. [...]

As the investigation proceeds, authorities are reaching out to the public for any information related to this homicide, particularly regarding individuals who may have been associated with Linda before her tragic demise.

Anyone with pertinent details is encouraged to contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or via email at TipsToTBI@tbi.tn.gov.

 

[Aurora90]

Great find. I wonder what became of the other runaways?

I also thought it was interesting that so much of the history shows she lived in Ohio and then Tennessee, right? Her Doe Network page says: "Chemical isotope testing indicated the female was not native to Tennessee and had not spent a significant amount of time in the state. She most likely was born in southern Florida or central Texas and later spent several years preceding her death in the Midwest." She was not native to TN and did spend time in the midwest, but I wonder why the chemical tests showed Florida and Texas?

I also wonder what happened to the other runaways...

 

[theshadow45]

Linda was found 42 years ago today.

 

[iamshadow21]

Sleep well, Linda.

 

[masquerading]

So glad Linda has her name back! She looks like such a sweet girl. It breaks my heart that she had such a tumultuous time when her grandmother got sick, and then was able to just disappear from wherever she was staying and slip through the cracks at 15. Rest easy, Linda.

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping, today is Linda’s birthday.