Identified! TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, Nov'80 #5 - Sherri Ann Jarvis

[cherrymeg]

How did she disappear in foster care and end up in Texas dead. Somehow being truant while living with her family caused the state to remove her from her home. Under their watch she goes missing and isn’t identified for over 40 years. That is awful. If she left a group home with other kids is there a report about that? When kids run away from a foster home or group home and they don’t go to family member or friend where are they going and who are they with? - are questions that should be asked. She must have had friends now 40 years has passed but would she have contacted them after leaving. What was going on at the group home she was in?

 

[Friday Fan]

How did she disappear in foster care and end up in Texas dead. Somehow being truant while living with her family caused the state to remove her from her home. Under their watch she goes missing and isn’t identified for over 40 years. That is awful. If she left a group home with other kids is there a report about that? When kids run away from a foster home or group home and they don’t go to family member or friend where are they going and who are they with? - are questions that should be asked. She must have had friends now 40 years has passed but would she have contacted them after leaving. What was going on at the group home she was in?

She ran away from the courthouse!


First, she went to Wisconsin. She was with some friends for a few days and then left by herself, presumably for Colorado.




She was probably resourceful and had some connections.

(Sorry I may not have all the facts correct. I'm going off my memory) They were looking for her and she was reported missing.
When she turned 18, law enforcement discontinued their investigation into her disappearance. However, I don't think it was a very serious investigation. LE did not go out of their way to locate runaways back then. Obviously, she was in Colorado in August and LE probably could have located her then, but I'm sure they didn't make an effort.

After Minnesota girl identified as 1980 Texas homicide victim, hunt goes on for killer

Witnesses reported seeing Sherri Ann Jarvis in two separate locations on the night she died.

www.twincities.com

DocumentCloud

www.documentcloud.org

We contacted the Salvation Army and hired a private investigator in an attempt to locate her but to no avail.

 

[abbey345]

I was thinking about Sherri Ann Jarvis, and wondering if they are making progress in the investigation. Of course, they can't divulge any information at this time, and I completely understand that. This girl was close to my age(Sherri being 6 months younger than me)..I have been following the case for a few years, and occasionally check here and on fb to see if there are any progress being made in the investigation.
I have to admit that I am curious about her and wish that we could know more about her. Such as what type of personality she had, her interests(other than what we know about her love of horseback riding and animals), what were her favorite things(such as food, colors, music, etc..), her ethnicity, other stories about her life. Plus, how did she get the nickname "Tati"? I was wondering if she was nicknamed after the popular perfume of that time called, "Tatiana". I had the perfume myself and it was very pretty smelling. I can't be the only one who is curious and would like to know more about Sherri. I also understand this is an ongoing investigation, and maybe that's why they can't divulge too much info about her, idk..Thanks for reading..

 

[Vital Forces]

Was a connection ever made between her and the inmates or staff at the prison?

 

[HmmMysterious]

Was a connection ever made between her and the inmates or staff at the prison?

No. None of the inmates or staff recognized her when shown morgue photos.

I heard of a photo of Sherri in which she had her hair extremely blown down, as if she was going to a party. Will that photo ever be released I wonder?

 

[Vital Forces]

No. None of the inmates or staff recognized her when shown morgue photos.

I heard of a photo of Sherri in which she had her hair extremely blown down, as if she was going to a party. Will that photo ever be released I wonder?

I was wondering if anything had been discovered in the two years since her identification.

 

[HmmMysterious]

I was wondering if anything had been discovered in the two years since her identification.

Nothing that I could find. The Walker County PD did say they had positive leads when they announced Sherri's identification. I wonder if they turned out to be dead ends

 

[Springrain]

Nothing that I could find. The Walker County PD did say they had positive leads when they announced Sherri's identification. I wonder if they turned out to be dead ends

I also wonder, and this is speculation only, if maybe they had good leads on a suspect or suspects but the people involved are now deceased. It has been almost 45 years. MOO

 

[HmmMysterious]

I also wonder, and this is speculation only, if maybe they had good leads on a suspect or suspects but the people involved are now deceased. It has been almost 45 years. MOO

I really hope good leads have been developed. This attack was really personal/violent and I wonder if Sherri did something to her attacker that would have really set them off

 

[falkenberg3132]

All the people that saw Sherri at that town diner place are dead IIRC. If you were a middle-aged adult in 1980, it is increasingly unlikely that you are still alive now. Sherri could have been attacked by someone young, but I doubt it. Not with those injuries.

 

[cherrymeg]

I also wonder, and this is speculation only, if maybe they had good leads on a suspect or suspects but the people involved are now deceased. It has been almost 45 years. MOO

What about the people she was in a group home with? If her killer was in there 20- 40s they would be in their 60-80s. There must be a way to trace her now that she has a name. Even if her killer is dead it doesn’t mean they can’t see if she was linked to other crimes or figure out how and why she went to Texas.

 

[falkenberg3132]

What about the people she was in a group home with? If her killer was in there 20- 40s they would be in their 60-80s. There must be a way to trace her now that she has a name. Even if her killer is dead it doesn’t mean they can’t see if she was linked to other crimes or figure out how and why she went to Texas.

Possible but the kind of person capable of that kind of violence is also prone to getting into fights with people who are like them but are even more hair-trigger tempered and/or have stronger weapons. Couple this with four and a half decades of temporal progression and the likelihood of Sherri's killer alive is quite reduced. At least in my personal assessment.

Although i would wager that the killer had a personal connection to Sherri's activities in TX as as was noted the violence is typical of a person lashing out after a perceived betrayal. The bite mark from the killer _could_ indicate that Sherri might have tried to use her own teeth to um fight back against a coerced um BJ. I am only speculating, however.

 

[KT Can]

This case is local to me and I've followed it since the beginning. Based on where she was left, and that kind of violence, I really lean towards this being a middle aged truck driver she hitched a ride from. Perhaps even a serial killer, as this kind of crime doesn't seem like a first timer. Our Interstate 45 corridor from Galveston to Houston to Dallas was known for crimes against women similar to this for a long period in the 70's and 80's. I hope their preserved evidence includes DNA and with genetic genealogy leads to her killer. I think if her killer is found it could possible lead to making connections to and solving other cases on that truck driving route

 

[cherrymeg]

This case is local to me and I've followed it since the beginning. Based on where she was left, and that kind of violence, I really lean towards this being a middle aged truck driver she hitched a ride from. Perhaps even a serial killer, as this kind of crime doesn't seem like a first timer. Our Interstate 45 corridor from Galveston to Houston to Dallas was known for crimes against women similar to this for a long period in the 70's and 80's. I hope their preserved evidence includes DNA and with genetic genealogy leads to her killer. I think if her killer is found it could possible lead to making connections to and solving other cases on that truck driving route

There was a murder that seemed similar or several. Debra Jackson was known as “orange socks” Jane Doe. Henry Lee Lucas confessed to her murder. I think there are some doubts about his confessions. Young girls hitchhiking would have been easy targets for a serial killer. Especially if they were afraid of police or in unfamiliar areas. Sometimes if it’s a serial killer they leave survivors at some point. There could be rape victims that never reported crimes.

I think how and why Sherri was in Texas is important to filling in gaps. She was taken from her home and lost in the system. Most people don’t go that far without knowing someone or traveling with people going in that direction. She seemed like she had a destination in mind. Now that she has a name it should be easier to track her movements before her death. With DNA maybe there are ways to link her to other killings. Idk.

Murder of Debra Jackson - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[falkenberg3132]

44 years later? As with David Stack, a lot of people who could help LE, the press or us about Sherri will have been (privately) confirmed to now be dead or they moved away and are now untraceable.

 

[Beekarina]

There was a murder that seemed similar or several. Debra Jackson was known as “orange socks” Jane Doe. Henry Lee Lucas confessed to her murder. I think there are some doubts about his confessions. Young girls hitchhiking would have been easy targets for a serial killer. Especially if they were afraid of police or in unfamiliar areas. Sometimes if it’s a serial killer they leave survivors at some point. There could be rape victims that never reported crimes.

I think how and why Sherri was in Texas is important to filling in gaps. She was taken from her home and lost in the system. Most people don’t go that far without knowing someone or traveling with people going in that direction. She seemed like she had a destination in mind. Now that she has a name it should be easier to track her movements before her death. With DNA maybe there are ways to link her to other killings. Idk.

Murder of Debra Jackson - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

When we did not hear anything early on, I assumed they were building a case against someone. Perhaps they still are, and that person(s) are just really adept at evasion?

There is a lot of evil in the world and who knows what a young, girl could have gotten mixed up in? She was VERY young, and at that age you could very easily think you're so much more "street smart" than you are. It seems to me she had some connections to move around at such a young age, even though in those times teens in general tended to be more savvy and adult than they are today on average, but she certainly could have overestimated her "adultness" and fallen in with really bad adults.

Not that serial killer truck drivers are pleasant to imagine, but she could have angered someone much worse. Her injuries and manner of death and the way she was left were just horrific. Maybe a warning to others? Poor girl.

 

[cherrymeg]

When we did not hear anything early on, I assumed they were building a case against someone. Perhaps they still are, and that person(s) are just really adept at evasion?

There is a lot of evil in the world and who knows what a young, girl could have gotten mixed up in? She was VERY young, and at that age you could very easily think you're so much more "street smart" than you are. It seems to me she had some connections to move around at such a young age, even though in those times teens in general tended to be more savvy and adult than they are today on average, but she certainly could have overestimated her "adultness" and fallen in with really bad adults.

Not that serial killer truck drivers are pleasant to imagine, but she could have angered someone much worse. Her injuries and manner of death and the way she was left were just horrific. Maybe a warning to others? Poor girl.

I think the state that took her from her family and then let her disappear for 40 years should be held accountable. Teenagers think they will live forever and know everything. They feel older than they are and we have all been there. When you are almost 40, 14 seems young. Women or teenagers shouldn’t have to be used as warnings. Finding her killer should be a priority that might be delayed justice but look at what DNA is solving and I don’t think she was someone’s only victim. They need to keep solving cold cases. It’s not too late to make killers scared. Jmo.

 

[falkenberg3132]

I think the state that took her from her family and then let her disappear for 40 years should be held accountable. Teenagers think they will live forever and know everything. They feel older than they are and we have all been there. When you are almost 40, 14 seems young. Women or teenagers shouldn’t have to be used as warnings. Finding her killer should be a priority that might be delayed justice but look at what DNA is solving and I don’t think she was someone’s only victim. They need to keep solving cold cases. It’s not too late to make killers scared. Jmo.

yeah. Kids think they're immortal and it won't happen to me, but I've seen it. It can happen. And so, it took my immortality from me.

 

[Anance]

I wonder if Sherri did something to her attacker that would have really set them off

Certain offenders do not require an immediate motive for killing. She was probably walking from the truck stop and hitched a ride with someone with sick fantasies.

 

[Anance]

She was taken from her home and lost in the system. Most people don’t go that far without knowing someone or traveling with people going in that direction. She seemed like she had a destination in mind.

We now know that social services placed her in a foster home for habitual truancy and running away from home. This occurred in Minnesota.

Many months later, she is in Texas, asking for directions to a nearby prison. She got directions from a gas station attendant and a waitress at a truck stop.

The next day, she was found dead on the shoulder of I-45