TX - 'Lori Ruff', Longview, WhtFem UP9863, *General Discussion and Theories* #1

[Sherwood Park]

Right, but the most common techniques for doing identifications involve sequencing short tandem repeats (STR) and that's great for identifying identical matches or first degree relatives, mitochondrial DNA can give maternal haplotype. That's all fine, but it is somewhat low resolution. 23andme uses an area to identify 500k single nucleotide polymorphisms and screens for a variety of health related genes as well as feeds into a large user database search called "relative finder" ... You can identify distant relations this way, and it might provide some clues to surname. If you were really lucky you might find a sibling she didn't know she had...

I guess I'm urging that a higher resolution sequencing technique might give Velling a break but not sure how far outside the box this is...



I figure anyone who knew her before either doesn't want to talk or has passed on... I am partial to the LDS theories because of the sort of common Marfanoid habitus and the likelihood that anyone associated with her past might not care to talk to authorities.

Whoa, slow down!!! You're getting to technical for me!!
If that type testing would work, then hey, why not? It should be something for them to consider.

And yes, sometimes I think there might be one or more persons who recognize her picture and don't want to come forward for whatever reasons.

 

[Sherwood Park]

Heres the thing, I do these random Survey Thursday things at work for fun(our office is a blast) and I work with very intelligent people there are a couple of CPA's several attorneys, etc. everyone has a degree if not a PHD here out of peeps I included some missing , un Id, and unsolved, in a few of these surveys, in the last my survey was a quick synopsis (sp) of this case and my survey was had anyone heard of this ????? I am in Dallas most of us have been here for at least yrs if not longer NO ONE!!!!! not even the news buffs have heard of this case!!!!!! I myself have never seen this except here! So in the scheme of things people just dont know unless it gets "press" and its not going to, so I dont think even if she wasnt FLDS many peeps know about this, decreasing her chances of being identified!:banghead:makes me nuts!

I wish the Ruff family would/could invest in about 7-10 of those huge billboards and put up one of those "Do You Know Her", "Have you seen her before" billboards. Place them in places that she had been. Leave them up for about a year and see what happens.

I watch a lot of those true crimes solved shows and you'd be amazed at how a well placed billboard can jog a persons memory.

 

[docbh]

Whoa, slow down!!! You're getting to technical for me!!
If that type testing would work, then hey, why not? It should be something for them to consider.

Sorry I can get ahead of myself sometimes. There is a pretty decent low tech explanation with some visuals comparing the difference between what 23andme genomic profiling offers compared to most STR based services. The URL is:

https://www.23andme.com/ancestry/techniques/

 

[Owutatangledweb]

Where are these kidnappings? There are Romani people all over the world. Do you specifically mean the U.S. ?

Who is doing the kidnapping, who is the kidnapped?

It would be quite a stretch for her to be Romani. If she was, I think she would be discovered fairly quickly. So far there have been zero connections linking FLEK to the Romani culture.

The closest "group" that searches keep unofficially connecting her to are LDS.

I didn't mean to imply there was any connection. Just have been reading cases and articles about kidnapping for the purpose of securing wives or children to raise. Specifically, I got off track by reading about the "Elizabeth Hill" disappearance in which a gypsy connection was being explored which has led some people to investigate a Michigan gypsy population. I was just commenting that it was interesting. With the little information we have currently on LEK, I believe any theory is still plausible at this point and we should remain open minded. However, I do agree that the LDS and Lebaron theory at this point remains the most plausible with the geography, timing, and photographs of family members, and perhaps even her personality and mannerisms.

 

[Sherwood Park]

I didn't mean to imply there was any connection. Just have been reading cases and articles about kidnapping for the purpose of securing wives or children to raise. Specifically, I got off track by reading about the "Elizabeth Hill" disappearance in which a gypsy connection was being explored which has led some people to investigate a Michigan gypsy population. I was just commenting that it was interesting. With the little information we have currently on LEK, I believe any theory is still plausible at this point and we should remain open minded. However, I do agree that the LDS and Lebaron theory at this point remains the most plausible with the geography, timing, and photographs of family members, and perhaps even her personality and mannerisms.

Sorry Owuta,
I was surprised by the mention of a Romani theory. I was like WHOA, where did that come from. But this case is so baffling and strange (so far) that yes, you are correct, anything is a possibility at this point. If strangers from planet Mars came forward and said LEK was their long lost alien daughter, I'd believe it!

 

[Owutatangledweb]

Sorry Owuta,
I was surprised by the mention of a Romani theory. I was like WHOA, where did that come from. But this case is so baffling and strange (so far) that yes, you are correct, anything is a possibility at this point. If strangers from planet Mars came forward and said LEK was their long lost alien daughter, I'd believe it!

LOL. No offense taken. Sometimes I'm just in a rush and don't fully explain myself!

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Docbh I have been suggesting the same thing for the Grateful Dead Doe as well. So far no takers.

 

[Tulessa]

I had high hopes for this case, when it first broke. Now? Not so much.

 

[docbh]

I had high hopes for this case, when it first broke. Now? Not so much.

I have to say, the more I look at it the more I am really taken by the Lebaron theory. The similarities in appearance between LEK and JL are fairly striking, and there are some interesting coincidences in the timeline. I may go make a post in the Lebaron theories thread.

Still, to connect her to the Lebarons, going to need some Lebaron DNA for comparison ... seems it would be difficult to pry family tree info out of that group, especially if LEK was born in Mexico in the Baja commune. Kind of interesting to consider: the Lebaron group in Baja Mexico, proximity to Southern California (cuban community), and if you were to follow the highway from SoCal/LA to Salt Lake City, you drive past Las Vegas and Boulder City, NV...

 

[Froglady]

Thought I would check in as I'm still baffled by this case. Have read back and still nothing really new? Surely someone has to know something :banghead:

 

[AnjL]

This is definitely an intriguing case!

 

[SassyBenton]

I’m from the Northwest and can’t help but wonder if she is partially Native American. I know many people who were born at home on reservations so they did not have official birth records, etc.

 

[Linda9681]

Following the Freda denman line of thought, there is a Jennifer Perkins in independence Missouri , and when I searched this, the name Michael Perkins kept coming up. If u are familiar with both cases you will get why I posted this!

 

[danilee]

I’m from the Northwest and can’t help but wonder if she is partially Native American. I know many people who were born at home on reservations so they did not have official birth records, etc.

I just don't see it, at all...sorry

 

[BOESP]

I know this is not a popular idea but since no autopsy was performed and since she was cremated, it would be interesting to find out for sure if she had her child naturally. I'm not saying she was transgendered or trans-anything, but there can be lots of secrets behind closed doors. Another thought is whether or not it is fair to the child to delve into her mother's secrets--the child is alive and the mother is dead so that child may be subjected to backlash for whatever is done.

I find it odd the Social Security Office is interested in this person since, apparently, she never drew against the account of the fake person. There has to be more to this story unless Social Security is trying to recover funds distributed under fraudulent circumstances.

 

[HerStory]

I’m from the Northwest and can’t help but wonder if she is partially Native American. I know many people who were born at home on reservations so they did not have official birth records, etc.

I am Native American. It is kind of neat how many of us are able to "guesstimate" which tribe and/or area another Native is from. For example....I live eight hours west of where my family is from. When I was at an auction one day, I noticed a guy who looked "like family". He was a total stranger to me. Turns out, he was from 20mins near where my mom was from.

We can just tell these things, somehow.

FLEK does not look NA, in my opinion.

 

[Sherwood Park]

I know this is not a popular idea but since no autopsy was performed and since she was cremated, it would be interesting to find out for sure if she had her child naturally. I'm not saying she was transgendered or trans-anything, but there can be lots of secrets behind closed doors. Another thought is whether or not it is fair to the child to delve into her mother's secrets--the child is alive and the mother is dead so that child may be subjected to backlash for whatever is done.

I find it odd the Social Security Office is interested in this person since, apparently, she never drew against the account of the fake person. There has to be more to this story unless Social Security is trying to recover funds distributed under fraudulent circumstances.

Keeping this case private would prevent the family from finding out anything about LEK. The purpose of reaching out to the public was the hope of locating anyone who knew her and could identify her.

If she didn't have her child naturally it would have been noted. It was already stated that she was pregnant with her daughter. They already mentioned that she had trouble conceiving, but no mention of a gestational carrier, adoption or anything like that. Who knows with LEK?

Social Security would still be involved because she used a fake identity. There is also the fact that it was a friend of the family who connected them to the investigator who happens to work in conjunction with this department.

 

[BOESP]

Keeping this case private would prevent the family from finding out anything about LEK. The purpose of reaching out to the public was the hope of locating anyone who knew her and could identify her.

If she didn't have her child naturally it would have been noted. It was already stated that she was pregnant with her daughter. They already mentioned that she had trouble conceiving, but no mention of a gestational carrier, adoption or anything like that. Who knows with LEK?

Social Security would still be involved because she used a fake identity. There is also the fact that it was a friend of the family who connected them to the investigator who happens to work in conjunction with this department.

I understand where you are coming from but people have faked pregnancies before. Just as someone here earlier in this thread stated that the autopsy would have disproved any physical abnormalities then it is posted that no autopsy was done and she was cremated.

What type charges would Social Security file on a dead person who used a fake identity? To me, there has to be more to this story.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

Following the Freda denman line of thought, there is a Jennifer Perkins in independence Missouri , and when I searched this, the name Michael Perkins kept coming up. If u are familiar with both cases you will get why I posted this!

I am sorry, but I've done a search and cannot find any Michael Perkins / Jennifer Perkins stories or cases. Can you post some more information?

 

[neesaki]

Following the Freda denman line of thought, there is a Jennifer Perkins in independence Missouri , and when I searched this, the name Michael Perkins kept coming up. If u are familiar with both cases you will get why I posted this!

I am sorry, but I've done a search and cannot find any Michael Perkins / Jennifer Perkins stories or cases. Can you post some more information?

I'm not finding the MP / JP information either.

Edited my post because I found this and it came back to me who Freda Denman is.

http://www.mshp.dps.mo.gov/MSHPWeb/...venileUnit/Documents/DenmanFredaflier0608.pdf

So it is her daughter, Sherry Johnson who went missing at the same time from Independence, MO. The daughter of Henry Harbison, aka Henry Johnson, is / has been considered a possibility for LEK. There was also a younger son, Michael Johnson that went missing at the same time. So, IIRC, the name Jennifer Perkins is one of the names written on the notes page. Maybe the train of thought is that there could be some connection there, I can't really see it though, but maybe I'm missing something. :dunno: