TX - 'Lori Ruff', Longview, WhtFem UP9863, *General Discussion and Theories* #4

[HawkFan2014]

Hi HawkFan, can you give me the rundown on the Visages headshot? (What is REPS?)

Also, while on the topic of photos, can anyone tell me why investigators have said the LEK TX license photo (where she is wearing a white golf shirt and very tan) was "taken in 1997"? (If it's because it was taken at the time of her getting that driver's license on Jul 13, "1997 or after" according to the timeline, just wondering why we don't have the photo from the TX driver's license prior to that -- the one she got April 18, 1989 "stating she is 19 years old" (per the timeline). Has that been explained?

Because usually photos don't change that often in TX - and she didn't appear to age much. So I'm wondering if that white golf shirt photo on the 1997 license was maybe taken earlier for the 1989 license/photo and then used again for her 1997 license. She looks quite young in it. (I've had the same photo on my TX license for over 25 yrs. If that's a problem please don't tell anyone; I've grown to appreciate it with each passing year. )

Review per WS and Seattle Times Timelines:

1988 Jul 13 - Obtains a Texas ID card (per Seattle Times)
1989 Apr 18 - LEK gets a TX Driver's license stating she is 19 yrs old
1997 (or after) Jul 13 - got a TX Driver's license with name Lori Erica Kennedy on it and a photo that Vellers states was "taken in 1997" (white golf shirt photo)

ETA: Cags, you read my mind. Thanks for the link about Visages.

Check out Kathryn Keats biography. She work at Visages Reps when she was hiding! I wonder who helped FLEK?

Thanks CoverMe for the Visages stuff : )

 

[BigCityAccountant]

I thought this too.
The good shepherd shelter that BP jr volunteered legal services to was once a home for teenage girls. The good shepherd order of nuns ran the notorious Magdalene laundries in Ireland as depicted in the film The Magdalene sisters. Women who had babies out of wedlock were used as slave labour in horrendous conditions and this was condoned by the government. These babies were adopted and many were taken to America. I wondered if Flek could one of these babies and was searching for a birth mother?

I wondered if Flek was a child born in Ireland

I'm glad you mentioned this~~she looks Irish to me too.

 

[Laughing]

Re: travel, air travel, being in & out of Dallas: what if she worked as a travel agent, for a tour company, something like that? Stood in the front of the bus, microphone in hand, describing the sights with no discernible regional accent? Slender & attractive in a fresh-faced, non-threatening, girl-next-door way?

She could check those mail facilities while the tour group ate?

Yeah I get a lotta exercise jumping to conclusions....

 

[OBrunhilde!]

According to Google maps, that address is 8 minutes away from the address listed for the Hwdr Family business. I did a quick look at some Hwdr FB accounts, and found some people with the same last name as GS. They appear to live in WA, and it is a common enough last name, so I don't know if there is a connection to GS.

 

[OBrunhilde!]

I came across a strange public records entry for Fred H. on Familysearch. It's someone's name in Ponder, Texas which is in Denton, County. It says this man is "also known as" Fred A H****r.
They appear to be connected via an address in Valley, Washington. Fred H died in Valley, WA. That address, however, does not exist. It doesn't come up in any reverse address searches and looking at it with Google earth you can see there is nothing there.
This man, GS, has a Texas birth record, marriage record, etc. He appears legit on paper--meaning he is not just an alias that Fred H. used at some point. But I can't explain why this GS would be listed as AKA Fred H. Anyone have any thoughts?
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ4Q-PL2W

PS: His wife and her parents have an interesting address history. Namely, her parents lived in Scottsdale, AZ around 1996-97. I can't find her in present day or find any yearbook photos, but I have strong doubts she could be FLEK because they had 3 children in the late 1990's. Seems unlikely FLEK could go missing (in either 2004 or 2010) and not trigger any search from her 3 kids.

According to Google maps, that address is 8 minutes away from the address listed for the Hwdr Family business. I did a quick look at some Hwdr FB accounts, and found some people with the same last name as GS. They appear to live in WA, and it is a common enough last name, so I don't know if there is a connection to GS.

Sorry for the dupe, but without context, my post makes zero sense.

 

[Gardener1850]

Check out Kathryn Keats biography. She work at Visages Reps when she was hiding! I wonder who helped FLEK?

Thanks CoverMe for the Visages stuff : )

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444188/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
http://www.kathrynkeats.com/home.php

That second link says she was helped by the "Victim Witness Assistance Program"--that's the government witness protection program (google it and it takes you to a .gov website).
Fascinating case, but I don't think FLEK was helped by the government.

ETA: This link has more details for anyone interested in Keats: http://www.marinij.com/article/ZZ/20081214/NEWS/812149985
I do wonder if FLEK could have known her and been inspired by her to disappear. Keats could be the note writer, IMO.

 

[Sherwood Park]

I came across a strange public records entry for Fred H. on Familysearch. It's someone's name in Ponder, Texas which is in Denton, County. It says this man is "also known as" Fred A H****r.
They appear to be connected via an address in Valley, Washington. Fred H died in Valley, WA. That address, however, does not exist. It doesn't come up in any reverse address searches and looking at it with Google earth you can see there is nothing there.
This man, GS, has a Texas birth record, marriage record, etc. He appears legit on paper--meaning he is not just an alias that Fred H. used at some point. But I can't explain why this GS would be listed as AKA Fred H. Anyone have any thoughts?
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ4Q-PL2W

PS: His wife and her parents have an interesting address history. Namely, her parents lived in Scottsdale, AZ around 1996-97. I can't find her in present day or find any yearbook photos, but I have strong doubts she could be FLEK because they had 3 children in the late 1990's. Seems unlikely FLEK could go missing (in either 2004 or 2010) and not trigger any search from her 3 kids.

GS, if I remember correctly, had a legal name change from F.A.Howder. This GS, formerly F.A.Howder is a relative of the elderly F.A.Howder.
The extended Howder family that is related to F.A. Howder is big. You can tell who is related to who by the obituaries. They list the same family names, marriages, and city/state/town.

 

[StarrChance]

GS, if I remember correctly, had a legal name change from F.A.Howder. This GS, formerly F.A.Howder is a relative of the elderly F.A.Howder.
The extended Howder family that is related to F.A. Howder is big. You can tell who is related to who by the obituaries. They list the same family names, marriages, and city/state/town.

Do you know the approx year F.A.H changed name to GS?

 

[ALadInsane]

The passport photo: yes, it says REPS in the background! Was it taken at VISAGES REPS?
Then Lori was a model there. Maybe under a different name.

 

[milkymama]

I'm trying to figure out how she got the passport without the application being signed.

 

[Gardener1850]

I think she was back in Los Angeles trying to work. Look at the passport photo. See REPS in the background? I'm thinking she used her VISAGES REPS headshot. Yes, it could be a photo taken prior to 1988. I think see looks older and bangs are longer when comparing to Idaho ID photo.

A great observation HawkFan! I wondered about that lettering in the background of that photo but for some reason I had not realized it was her passport photo. I thought that was something on the ID or the word REPRINT stamped on the copy and I dismissed it as not important. I like your guess though. Can anyone find a similar photo of someone else from Visages to verify they put that watermark on their headshots? If we could find that we would have evidence she was a VISAGES model and I would think that would be a solid lead.

The passport photo: yes, it says REPS in the background! Was it taken at VISAGES REPS?
Then Lori was a model there. Maybe under a different name.

I replied about this above before I had a chance to study the picture. Look again, closely, and you will see it is actually a straight line after the P, so it cannot say REPS. Some posts of that picture are cropped but the first one on the media thread is NOT cropped and you can see the straight line after the P.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?215655-Photos-Only-*NO-DISCUSSION*

Next, check out the black and white photocopy of her actual passport. Those letters are not there.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?215655-Photos-Only-*NO-DISCUSSION*/page3

IMO, the passport officials would not have accepted a photo if it had that watermark. They certainly would not have taken the time to photoshop it out in 1990 (photo editing via computer not really being a big thing back then). Sorry to be the thrower of cold water on a theory, but I am back to my original suspicions that the REP_ is a stamp of the word "REPRINT" or another similar word and that LE put there before releasing the photo to the press.

 

[Gardener1850]

I'm trying to figure out how she got the passport without the application being signed.

If you copy the image to a program where you can zoom in really close you can see what looks like marks above the signature line. It looks like she did sign it but whomever released the document whited it out before copying. There are similar marks in the box marked "place of issue" and "evidence of citizenship". It is strange that the SS# is blurred with a computer edit instead of white out though. JMO.

 

[NDMagoo]

If you look closely at the passport photo, the REP letters are definitely a watermark printed over the photo, and not a sign behind her. You can actually see the letters printed over her forehead.

 

[Gardener1850]

If you look closely at the passport photo, the REP letters are definitely a watermark printed over the photo, and not a sign behind her. You can actually see the letters printed over her forehead.

You're right! Looking even closer at the photo you can see the two staples used to attach the picture to the passport application. They appear as lines on the left side of the photo. I thought they were pencil marks before looking closer but I'm pretty sure they are staples. The REP print goes OVER the top staple. This indicates, IMO, that REP_ was added to a color photocopy of the passport application. JMO.

 

[StarrChance]

GS, if I remember correctly, had a legal name change from F.A.Howder. This GS, formerly F.A.Howder is a relative of the elderly F.A.Howder.
The extended Howder family that is related to F.A. Howder is big. You can tell who is related to who by the obituaries. They list the same family names, marriages, and city/state/town.

Does this GS have the middle name Don? If so he has a birth certificate under that name? Isn't that a stolen ID?

 

[mrseeker]

I replied about this above before I had a chance to study the picture. Look again, closely, and you will see it is actually a straight line after the P, so it cannot say REPS. Some posts of that picture are cropped but the first one on the media thread is NOT cropped and you can see the straight line after the P.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?215655-Photos-Only-*NO-DISCUSSION*

Next, check out the black and white photocopy of her actual passport. Those letters are not there.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?215655-Photos-Only-*NO-DISCUSSION*/page3

IMO, the passport officials would not have accepted a photo if it had that watermark. They certainly would not have taken the time to photoshop it out in 1990 (photo editing via computer not really being a big thing back then). Sorry to be the thrower of cold water on a theory, but I am back to my original suspicions that the REP_ is a stamp of the word "REPRINT" or another similar word and that LE put there before releasing the photo to the press.

I think you are right. It seems to be something that was added by LE. Maybe Replica?

 

[BigCityAccountant]

Not to distract from the Howder discussion...but..I found a N**** Mcknightruff at 7107 W El Caballo Dr. Boise, ID. I'm having trouble locating anyone with that name at that address. Can anyone add anything to a discussion on this person? Could this be FLEK? My first thought was her name was N**** Mcnight and the Ruff was added as part of a hyphenated last name such as Knight-Ruff.

 

[Darknagel090260]

I not sure if anyone has looked in to this but could she have been in Job Corps. There was a job corps about 30 minutes out side of Boise she would have been in the age range to be there and most of the kid there had a hard time in life. So could that be something to look in to .. I did post a photo of her and some basic info on there group page on facebook

 

[Gardener1850]

Not to distract from the Howder discussion...but..I found a N**** Mckn*ghtruff at 7107 W El Caballo Dr. Boise, ID. I'm having trouble locating anyone with that name at that address. Can anyone add anything to a discussion on this person? Could this be FLEK? My first thought was her name was N**** Mcn*ght and the Ruff was added as part of a hyphenated last name such as Kn*ght-Ruff.

Perhaps this record will help: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KPCG-B6M
I believe that her maiden name is the second one that starts with B. The B family lived at the El Caballo address. There were also Ruffs on that street. I remember it being discussed before as a crazy coincidence. I don't know if we ever found a direct connection between the Idaho Ruffs and the Texas Ruffs but that link has both a Texas address and an Idaho address.

I'm at a loss to explain how she could be FLEK--are you thinking she continued to go back to that address in Idaho after her marriage? If those Ruffs are related to the Ruff family FLEK married into this case is even more bizarre than we think. JMO.

ETA: The M name is a middle name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VD5F-LJK

 

[BigCityAccountant]

Perhaps this record will help: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KPCG-B6M
I believe that her maiden name is the second one that starts with B. The B family lived at the El Caballo address. There were also Ruffs on that street. I remember it being discussed before as a crazy coincidence. I don't know if we ever found a direct connection between the Idaho Ruffs and the Texas Ruffs but that link has both a Texas address and an Idaho address.

I'm at a loss to explain how she could be FLEK--are you thinking she continued to go back to that address in Idaho after her marriage? If those Ruffs are related to the Ruff family FLEK married into this case is even more bizarre than we think. JMO.

ETA: The M name is a middle name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VD5F-LJK

Hum...I found a N Margot B who filed bankruptcy in Oct 88, same person?