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

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Yes, please, links to her missing person sites or something? I can't find her just on the name you provided. Thanks!
 
It's possible, but I think WCJD was quite tall? Cynthia was only 5 foot.
 
My mistake. I must be confusing her with another uid. The heights do match up.
 
Quick question please. WCJD is listed as 5' to 5'6". If you have an actual physical body and not just a skeleton, why isn't the height more precise?

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tlorik said:
Quick question please. WCJD is listed as 5' to 5'6". If you have an actual physical body and not just a skeleton, why isn't the height more precise?

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Click to expand...

bad communication, estimating, etc
 
I'm still trying to find the link to a newspaper story about a missing teen girl from pecos county Texas from the summer of 1979, none of the girls on any missing person databases match up.
Also, has Tina faye Kemp been ruled out?
 
tlorik said:
Quick question please. WCJD is listed as 5' to 5'6". If you have an actual physical body and not just a skeleton, why isn't the height more precise?

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The authorities recently clarified that she was about 5 feet 6 inches.
 
Spent several hours yesterday digging around in the TDCJ website and available databases. Right now, without driving to Austin and going to the state library, I can't access an inmate roster at Ellis Unit for 1980. I did learn, according to Wikipedia and TDC website that from 1965-1999, Ellis housed Texas' Death Row - didn't know that before. It was also just about the toughest prisons in Texas at that time. So who was this 14-16 yr old trying to go see? Could have been an older brother, father or even grandfather. Maybe a boyfriend. According to articles, all the inmates at Ellis were shown her picture and no one said they recognized her. Is it possible someone didn't know they had a daughter, granddaughter, sister? Maybe they hadn't seen her since she was tiny. This has worried at me for years. I can't figure out who this child was making such an effort to go see in such a tough place. If you look at the map and based on the info, it looks like she probably hitchhiked to Huntsville and was dropped at the first location off the interstate. Hwy 75 is called Sam Houston Avenue from the south end of it at I-45 thru town until you get to 11th. From where the Gulf station would have been to the Hitchin Post is all the way across town, if she headed north on Sam Houston - per the person at the Gulf Station. Then from the Hitchin Post to Ellis is 20.1 miles per mapquest. It's 70 miles from Huntsville to Houston, the closest metro area south of Huntsville. If she was from the Port Aransas area as has been speculated regarding Kathy/Cathy, add several hours and a couple hundred miles to that trip. From what I've read, WCJD was carrying no bags or suitcases. So who was this child trying to see at Ellis, that she went to this much effort and risk in travelling alone, to have no one recognize her or admit to knowing her? This bugs me almost as much as not knowing who she was. I feel like if we could figure out who she was looking for, we'd be able to find out who she was.
 
tlorik said:
Spent several hours yesterday digging around in the TDCJ website and available databases. Right now, without driving to Austin and going to the state library, I can't access an inmate roster at Ellis Unit for 1980. I did learn, according to Wikipedia and TDC website that from 1965-1999, Ellis housed Texas' Death Row - didn't know that before. It was also just about the toughest prisons in Texas at that time. So who was this 14-16 yr old trying to go see? Could have been an older brother, father or even grandfather. Maybe a boyfriend. According to articles, all the inmates at Ellis were shown her picture and no one said they recognized her. Is it possible someone didn't know they had a daughter, granddaughter, sister? Maybe they hadn't seen her since she was tiny. This has worried at me for years. I can't figure out who this child was making such an effort to go see in such a tough place. If you look at the map and based on the info, it looks like she probably hitchhiked to Huntsville and was dropped at the first location off the interstate. Hwy 75 is called Sam Houston Avenue from the south end of it at I-45 thru town until you get to 11th. From where the Gulf station would have been to the Hitchin Post is all the way across town, if she headed north on Sam Houston - per the person at the Gulf Station. Then from the Hitchin Post to Ellis is 20.1 miles per mapquest. It's 70 miles from Huntsville to Houston, the closest metro area south of Huntsville. If she was from the Port Aransas area as has been speculated regarding Kathy/Cathy, add several hours and a couple hundred miles to that trip. From what I've read, WCJD was carrying no bags or suitcases. So who was this child trying to see at Ellis, that she went to this much effort and risk in travelling alone, to have no one recognize her or admit to knowing her? This bugs me almost as much as not knowing who she was. I feel like if we could figure out who she was looking for, we'd be able to find out who she was.
Click to expand...

(RBBM)
I hadn't thought of that. I don't recall reading about any baggage or luggage, not even a backpack.
It also brings up another point: access to the prison. I don't know about 1980, but I know nowadays you can't just show up at a correctional facility unannounced and expect to be let in to see a prisoner on demand. If she wasn't on some sort of approved list (or whatever the protocol was at the time to visit inmates), that was a lot of effort for possibly nothing. Does anyone know about inmate visitations for that time period and prison?
 
Alleykins said:
(RBBM)
I hadn't thought of that. I don't recall reading about any baggage or luggage, not even a backpack.
It also brings up another point: access to the prison. I don't know about 1980, but I know nowadays you can't just show up at a correctional facility unannounced and expect to be let in to see a prisoner on demand. If she wasn't on some sort of approved list (or whatever the protocol was at the time to visit inmates), that was a lot of effort for possibly nothing. Does anyone know about inmate visitations for that time period and prison?
Click to expand...

Alley - I don't know what it was like in 1980, but according to TDCJ website, right now it's pretty complicated and subject to a lot of "if's". You have be on a pre-approved list, have your id, proper clothing, visitation is only on certain days (weekends only for Ellis now) and all is subject to the whole unit being approved. Any trouble in the unit and the visitation for all can be cancelled. It also says right now, each inmate is only allowed one visitor per weekend. Like I said, don't know what it was like then, but I just checked and 11/1/1980 was a Saturday.

https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/visitation/index.html
 
I've been researching and I found 3 current prisoners who were there in 1980. It's a long shot but I wonder if any of them would remember WCJD or the person she visited. If only there was a way to find out.
 
Somehow i don't think WCJD/"Ruthie Doe" thought her plan through. She was only about 15, after all.
 
paul1980 said:
Somehow i don't think WCJD/"Ruthie Doe" thought her plan through. She was only about 15, after all.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree, that was on my mind as well, that she probably had no idea that she just couldn't show up and be let in. If she were visiting an inmate, she would have been in for a big disappointment if she had made it there.
I can't remember, do we know for sure she didn't make it there, only to be turned away at the gate?
 
sonz82 said:
I've been researching and I found 3 current prisoners who were there in 1980. It's a long shot but I wonder if any of them would remember WCJD or the person she visited. If only there was a way to find out.
Click to expand...
I wonder if they would remember being shown the pictures and asked about it? Surely even in the prison they would have heard about her being found. But I don't think she ever got to visit anyone actually in the prison, just that she was headed that way.
 
Alleykins said:
Yes, I agree, that was on my mind as well, that she probably had no idea that she just couldn't show up and be let in. If she were visiting an inmate, she would have been in for a big disappointment if she had made it there.
I can't remember, do we know for sure she didn't make it there, only to be turned away at the gate?
Click to expand...
I don't know for certain that she didn't make it to Ellis, but I don't think so. She was seen by at witness at 6:30 pm on 10/31/80. Really doubt they would have let anyone visit an inmate that late in the evening unless it was under very special circumstances. The police were notified about her body the next morning - Wikipedia says 9:20 am and time of death was listed as 6 hrs earlier. So I don't think she would have had time to actually get to Ellis to see anyone.
 
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