TX - 'Lori Ruff', Longview, WhtFem UP9863, *General Discussion and Theories* #3

[Owutatangledweb]

So they fingerprint now, but you're not sure if they did it then? I kind of assume that she was born in the mid 60's, perhaps later 60's, but I do go with the theory that she was older than that Idaho ID. Perhaps in the 60's and 70's it just wasn't something done with the children of military personnel?

I don't know why anyone didn't think to investigate the military connection further. To me it sort of puts together a lot of pieces to the puzzle but of course doesn't complete it.

I didn't think I had seen anything about the military being brought up. Granted, I have not read every single entry of every post on LEK! I figure I am crazy enough as it is trying to find the identity of a person I have never met and have no connection to, lol.

I do recall the discussion of the military quite awhile ago. At that time, I recall researching a base in Nevada. My thought at the time was that her mailbox drop was in Boulder city Nevada. It is my feeling that Boulder had to be either close to where she was staying, or a midpoint to her travels, close to Vegas, on the way to California, Idaho, or Texas, or close to a military base. If you had a mailbox drop where you were waiting for something important, you want to be able to easily access it, especially if you might want to access it more than once. We don't know what mail she may have received there. Perhaps she kept in touch with her past for awhile? In any event, I do recall finding a military base up near Boulder City somewhere.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/N...x80c8dd979f1a4539:0x890a4a296fadb5ef?hl=en-us

 

[kdblaisdell]

I love this theory. She could also have been the child of a civilian under govt. contract. I was one, during the same time frame as her estimated age, and lived like an "army brat." I don't believe the military had any record of me, even though I entered military base.

 

[anonymess]

Did Becky Sue Turner's dad ever do any military work?

 

[PickAName]

That actually sounds halfway reasonable, considering the circumstances. All theories about her running away from something terrible don't quite fit since no one seems to be looking for her. But a history full of half developed roots with people who wouldn't even think to keep in touch makes sense. It would be interesting to send her Idaho ID photo to retired military who were in charge at these bases. I don't have the time or the an idea how to do that, but it would be worth checking!

Yes, that's what got me too. Like you said, no one appeared to be looking for her and once she became LEK she seems to have settled in TX. I know Texas is huge and you can travel from place to place within it and still have traveled more miles than by going back and forth between several smaller states, but Texas seemed to be where she wanted to be. No going from TX to ID to MN to SC, etc. So if she had some type of checkered past, you'd think she would have been more on the move. At least that's what I would figure.

It sure would be interesting to have her Idaho ID given to some military personnel but if she was just a kid, and you'd have to find someone that's been working long term at the base, she still may not be recognized. Hmmm. Maybe records of one child families. I don't know that the military would even bother keeping those types of records though. And that's providing she's an only child.

 

[PickAName]

I do recall the discussion of the military quite awhile ago. At that time, I recall researching a base in Nevada. My thought at the time was that her mailbox drop was in Boulder city Nevada. It is my feeling that Boulder had to be either close to where she was staying, or a midpoint to her travels, close to Vegas, on the way to California, Idaho, or Texas, or close to a military base. If you had a mailbox drop where you were waiting for something important, you want to be able to easily access it, especially if you might want to access it more than once. We don't know what mail she may have received there. Perhaps she kept in touch with her past for awhile? In any event, I do recall finding a military base up near Boulder City somewhere.

Yup, Nellis AFB. And it looks like it's about 35-40 miles from Boulder City, NV. Not too far but not too close either.

And once she got to Texas, living her life as LEK, it seems like the areas she chose to settle down in (per her resume) are near military bases of some sort. I'm not sure if there's an AFB there. But at any rate, maybe she was close enough to military bases that they sort of represented "home" to her. With all the traveling that I imagine military life brings, perhaps there's some comfort to being around a base where things may feel a bit familiar.

 

[PickAName]

I love this theory. She could also have been the child of a civilian under govt. contract. I was one, during the same time frame as her estimated age, and lived like an "army brat." I don't believe the military had any record of me, even though I entered military base.

Wow, so you have some insight into what that type of life was like for a kid. That's great. I have to just use my imagination to guess how that type of life might affect a kid. Especially if they're shy and quiet and an only child. Of course, I'm only assuming she's an only child.

I'm around her age too and I try to think back on what life was like at that time, 1988 and earlier. It's amazing the lack of security then compared to now, isn't it? You probably entered and exited military bases without anyone giving it a second thought. LEK certainly had luck on her side to do what she did when she did. I doubt she could pull it off now.

 

[Samaritan]

Yup, Nellis AFB. And it looks like it's about 35-40 miles from Boulder City, NV. Not too far but not too close either.

And once she got to Texas, living her life as LEK, it seems like the areas she chose to settle down in (per her resume) are near military bases of some sort. I'm not sure if there's an AFB there. But at any rate, maybe she was close enough to military bases that they sort of represented "home" to her. With all the traveling that I imagine military life brings, perhaps there's some comfort to being around a base where things may feel a bit familiar.

Closest AFB is Barksdale over in Shreveport. It's only about a 30-40 min drive straight east on I-20.

 

[osadelnorte]

I love this theory. She could also have been the child of a civilian under govt. contract. I was one, during the same time frame as her estimated age, and lived like an "army brat." I don't believe the military had any record of me, even though I entered military base.

I agree with this idea. My husband has worked as a government contractor for many years and we have lived in base housing on the base where he worked, without either of us being members of the military. Both of our children, though very young at the time, were eligible to use base facilities like the school, swimming pools, group activities, etc., without being military dependents or even having military ID's. Also, it was easy to get them on and off the base as needed. I didn't have a military ID either (my husband had his gov't contractor badge), but all I ever had to show was a car permit and my driver's license. There was never any question about my kids riding in the car with me as long as I produced the proper documents.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/N...x80c8dd979f1a4539:0x890a4a296fadb5ef?hl=en-us

"Map u s Air Force bases"

Google this and you will come up with a Pinterest map of u s Air Force bases. Interesting to follow the track up I15 through Utah and up I84 through Boise to Washington state. The bases follow that loop as well.

I don't know how to use Pinterest so I can't do a direct link. Look for the map with air force icons. That's the Pinterest one. Compare to the map I posted earlier.

This loop wouldn't rule out LDS Either.

 

[PickAName]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/N...x80c8dd979f1a4539:0x890a4a296fadb5ef?hl=en-us

"Map u s Air Force bases"

Google this and you will come up with a Pinterest map of u s Air Force bases. Interesting to follow the track up I15 through Utah and up I84 through Boise to Washington state. The bases follow that loop as well.

I don't know how to use Pinterest so I can't do a direct link. Look for the map with air force icons. That's the Pinterest one. Compare to the map I posted earlier.

This loop wouldn't rule out LDS Either.

Thanks. I just googled the USAF bases and checked out some of the mileage. McChord AFB is approx. 12 miles from the Tacoma/Fife, WA area. Mountain Home AFT is approx. 52 miles from Boise, ID and Nellis AFB is approx. 30-35 miles from Boulder City, NV.

I don't think those distances are too unreasonable to travel to and check things out if you wanted to leave base and explore on your own. Now you could acquaint yourself with the nearby towns and familiarize yourself with the businesses and services available there.

I wish I knew how to do multiple pin drops on a google map, but those skills are way beyond what I can do, lol.

 

[SassyBenton]

Just wanted to add some info for those not familiar with the Tacoma area and the military base there. It is a huge joint military base and there is housing on base but I know many people choose to live away from that area because the base is in south Tacoma, which is not a good area. (I used to live there in my early twenties.) There are tons of military families that live in surrounding areas of Fife, Federal Way, Puyallup, DuPont and Lacey. I would not be surprised if she found BST’s grave because she was related to the military somehow and lived in Puyallup, it is the cheapest of the surrounding areas of Tacoma to live in and has a small town feeling that many people like. It also draws a lot of people in because of Green River Community College, which is one of the largest in Washington.

 

[PickAName]

Thank you very much for that SassyBenton! I love your avi, btw, lol. I have a black kitty. Anyhow, I had no idea that you could live off base. Can't believe I was that clueless as it would make sense. Duh! For me, this makes it even more intriguing that there could be a military connection to LEK. It makes me wonder if BST's father might have had a military connection also.

 

[Beezneez]

Just wanted to add some info for those not familiar with the Tacoma area and the military base there. It is a huge joint military base and there is housing on base but I know many people choose to live away from that area because the base is in south Tacoma, which is not a good area. (I used to live there in my early twenties.) There are tons of military families that live in surrounding areas of Fife, Federal Way, Puyallup, DuPont and Lacey. I would not be surprised if she found BST’s grave because she was related to the military somehow and lived in Puyallup, it is the cheapest of the surrounding areas of Tacoma to live in and has a small town feeling that many people like. It also draws a lot of people in because of Green River Community College, which is one of the largest in Washington.

I have been pretty sure that FLEK had obtained formal education before disappearing. I don't know why, as I know a lot of people seem to think she was homeschooled with the LDS theory. I wonder if there is a way to cross reference former students of Green River Comm College. Maybe she didn't graduate but was issued a photo student ID?

 

[PickAName]

I have been pretty sure that FLEK had obtained formal education before disappearing. I don't know why, as I know a lot of people seem to think she was homeschooled with the LDS theory. I wonder if there is a way to cross reference former students of Green River Comm College. Maybe she didn't graduate but was issued a photo student ID?

FWIW, I always thought she had, at the very least, a high school education and HS diploma. But of course had to take the GED because of her new identity. And let's face it, to have pulled off what she did, and keep it secret till the end, she had to have some smarts!

 

[SassyBenton]

FWIW, I always thought she had, at the very least, a high school education and HS diploma. But of course had to take the GED because of her new identity. And let's face it, to have pulled off what she did, and keep it secret till the end, she had to have some smarts!

I agree. Even if she did have the help of an identity broker, she was able to keep her identity a very well-kept secret throughout her life, that was no easy task. If she was a child of someone in the military who was stationed overseas, there is a possibility that she attended a school on base for children of military members. These schools are usually pretty small and kids are constantly coming and going so most of the time they don’t hold on to friendships very long. This could be another reason why no one has recognized her picture from the past.

 

[brian1000]

A penpal of mine is convinced that the Ruffs had taken the child away from Lori Ruff. It was my understanding that the child was with Lori when she drove to the Ruffs on Dec. 24rth 2010. But I looked through every source of information, and there is no mention that the child is in the vehicle. Can anyone document some kind of proof to that effect. Thanks. I just inferred that the child was there in the back seat.

 

[TomPatty]

There's not a ton of new information, but the SSA responded to last year's FOIA request for their investigation file:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united...uff-social-security-investigation-file-17574/

 

[catlike]

There's not a ton of new information, but the SSA responded to last year's FOIA request for their investigation file:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united...uff-social-security-investigation-file-17574/

On page 20 of the .pdf in the response documents (page 2 of Velling's report), it says the police believed she was going to kill her in-laws, but when she saw they weren't home, she decided to kill herself. Is this new information? I don't remember this being mentioned before. I wonder why they thought that?

 

[tarheelslim]

There's not a ton of new information, but the SSA responded to last year's FOIA request for their investigation file:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united...uff-social-security-investigation-file-17574/

Wow

It's a shame the copies are so poor, but this stuff needs to be in the stickied section