AZ AZ - Phoenix, Female UP984, 19-30, in roadside ditch, retainer on teeth, Aug'83 (Lori Long Chase)

[formerlyme]

Phoenix police still searching for missing woman nearly 40 years later

Lori Longchase was last seen in the Phoenix area in the summer of 1983.

www.12news.com

Longchase's family recently told Phoenix police they believe the unidentified murder victim from 1983 might be Lori.

I think they could be right.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

- UnidentifiedPersonsBureau

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Case Number
83-1480
Found on
08/15/83
Age Range
early 20's
Jurisdiction

Gender
Female
Circumstances
This female was found in the desert south of Ahwatukee.
Description
Her race is not indicated. She is approximately 5' 5" tall and weighed 140-160 pounds. She had dark brown hair that was short and naturally curly. She had brown eyes. She had worn braces in the past and she was still wearing a retainer and had fillings as well.
Scientific Information
Dental x-rays available, DNA will be entered into CODIS.

Submit Case Information​

- UnidentifiedPersonsBureau

AZ - AZ, Lori Megan Longchase, 17 Phoenix July 21, 1983

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Demographics Missing Age17 Years Current Age55 Years First NameLori Middle NameMegan Last NameLongchase Nickname/Alias-- SexFemale Height5' 5" (65 Inches) Weight142 lbs Race / EthnicityAmerican Indian / Alaska Native Tribe Enrollment...

www.websleuths.com

 

[Bit of hope]

Case Number
83-1480
Found on
08/15/83
Age Range
early 20's
Jurisdiction

Gender
Female
Circumstances
This female was found in the desert south of Ahwatukee.
Description
Her race is not indicated. She is approximately 5' 5" tall and weighed 140-160 pounds. She had dark brown hair that was short and naturally curly. She had brown eyes. She had worn braces in the past and she was still wearing a retainer and had fillings as well.
Scientific Information
Dental x-rays available, DNA will be entered into CODIS.

Submit Case Information​

- UnidentifiedPersonsBureau

AZ - AZ, Lori Megan Longchase, 17 Phoenix July 21, 1983

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Demographics Missing Age17 Years Current Age55 Years First NameLori Middle NameMegan Last NameLongchase Nickname/Alias-- SexFemale Height5' 5" (65 Inches) Weight142 lbs Race / EthnicityAmerican Indian / Alaska Native Tribe Enrollment...

www.websleuths.com

Yes, this Jane Doe is most likely Lori. Very sad they can't find her biological parents so DNA can be obtained and tested.

 

[theshadow45]

Ahwatukee Jane Doe has been unidentified for 39 years today.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this Jane Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Melt71]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

MP53532 Peggy Elgo 01/01/1983 Gila AZ
MP1353 Theresa Geaves 08/11/1983 Davis UT
MP14016 Linda Jackson 05/03/1983 King WA
MP19340 Leslie Marty 07/30/1983 Wood WV
MP8358 Pamela Neal 03/31/1983 Arapahoe CO
MP6466 Mary Opitz 01/16/1981 Lee FL
MP9037 Kristina Perkins 09/10/1975 Maricopa AZ
MP4575 Amy Yachimec 11/06/1981 Maricopa AZ

@Caring1 Hey could you post the current list of NamUs exclusions for this Jane Doe? I would greatly appreciate it.

Still the same 8 exclusions previously posted. The Namus case hasn't been updated since 2019.

 

[dotr]

March 3 2023 rbbm

Despite Identifying Missing Woman, Mystery Remains

www.phoenix.gov

''It's a mystery near four decades long.
August 15th, 1983 Phoenix Police Officers located a woman's body near a canal access road around 43rd Street and Williams Road, in an Ahwatukee neighborhood. For years, detectives worked to identify the woman with no luck. For the past 37 years, she has been known only as “Medical Examiner Case Number 83-1480", and Ahwatukee Jane Doe. Her true identity has remained a mystery.''

Fast forward to 2018. Detectives with the Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit used a new technique called Forensic Genealogy. If that term sounds familiar, it is because Phoenix Police and other agencies have had recent success with this new technology. Results from this testing located some very distant relatives and determined that Ahwatukee Jane was likely a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. This information was shared with local media, and family members from a missing woman named Peggy Elgo came forward.

'While one book closed, the other remans open. Ahwatukee Jane Doe's identity is still a mystery. Phoenix detectives hope another family member will see this story and come forward, like Peggy Elgo's family did, and provide information on who Ahwatukee Jane is.

Ahwatukee Jane is described as a Native American female, 25-30 years old in 1983, 5'05", 142 pounds, with shoulder length black hair with loose curls, and brown eyes. She had a metal retainer on the tongue side of her lower teeth. During her life, she had orthodontic dental work that was characterized as “excellent". Forensic Genealogy has shown that she is likely a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

If anyone has any information on the Ahwatukee Jane case, please contact the Phoenix Police Department's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit at 602-534-2121, or after hours contact 602-262-6141. Tips can also be called into Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, 480-TESTIGO for Spanish.

 

[theshadow45]

Ahwatukee Jane Doe has been unidentified for 40 years today.

 

[ProductiveOne]

Cases submitted to NamUs for comparison.

On August 30, 1979, it is believed that Carlota Maria Sanchez, and her cousin, Elsie Luscier may have ran away. It is suspected that they may have traveled to Seattle, Washington or to Arizona. Approximately 4 years later, and unidentified female was found deceased in Phoenix, Arizona matching Carlota's physical description. However, Carlota would have been 16.5 years old at the time, and the minimum estimated age of the unidentified is 19 years old. Nevertheless, the two look very similar.

Carlota Maria Sanchez (NamUs #MP7001, Agency Case Number 04-431912)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
WA - WA - Carlota Sanchez, 12, & Elsie Luscier, 13, Taholah, 30 Aug 1979

Phoenix, AZ Unidentified (NamUs #UP984, Agency Case Number 83-1480)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[ProductiveOne]

OMG!!!!! In Carlota Maria Sanchez photo, it appears she has a retainer on her teeth which we already know the unidentified has! Charlota's case file does not mention a retainer on her teeth but she has one!

I passed the tip onto to the FBI as well.

 

[ProductiveOne]

Cases submitted to NamUs for comparison.

On August 30, 1979, it is believed that Carlota Maria Sanchez, and her cousin, Elsie Luscier may have ran away. It is suspected that they may have traveled to Seattle, Washington or to Arizona. Approximately 4 years later, and unidentified female was found deceased in Phoenix, Arizona matching Carlota's physical description. However, Carlota would have been 16.5 years old at the time, and the minimum estimated age of the unidentified is 19 years old. Nevertheless, the two look very similar.

View attachment 497877


Carlota Maria Sanchez (NamUs #MP7001, Agency Case Number 04-431912)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
WA - WA - Carlota Sanchez, 12, & Elsie Luscier, 13, Taholah, 30 Aug 1979

Phoenix, AZ Unidentified (NamUs #UP984, Agency Case Number 83-1480)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Not a match. Both cases are in CODIS. However, there is great news. The Maricopa Office of the Medical Examiner found a name for this unidentified decedent, and they're just waiting on final confirmation. Good for them, and the missing's family.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[ProductiveOne]

View attachment 296310
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
This woman (Lori Longchase) was added to NAMUS today and I've convinced myself she's Phoenix Jane Doe. She's a few years too young, but not that far off.

I suspect you're right.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I suspect you're right.

My understanding is that they had to track down Lori's birth family to make an ID, since she was adopted.

 

[theshadow45]

Ahwatukee Jane Doe has been unidentified for 41 years today.

 

[iulia]

Her NamUs page has been removed.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Her NamUs page has been removed.

Fantastic news. I wonder if they were finally able to get DNA from Lori Longchase's birth family.

 

[Otterly]

Doe Network: "796UFAZ discovered on August 15, 1983 in Phoenix, Arizona has been identified per NamUs. No further information is available."

 

[iulia]

Her case is now marked as Identified on Maricopa County OME webpage.

Search - Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner Unidentified Persons Bureau

 

[victoriarobinson642]

‘I didn’t forget her’: Missing San Carlos Apache teen identified after 41 years - AZ Luminaria

Lori Long Chase disappeared in 1983, and so did much of her life story. Her body had been unknowingly found almost a month after she was last seen by family. But she remained nameless for decades and her homicide went unsolved. Now after 41 years, Lori is able to reclaim her name, as the...

azluminaria.org

Very lovely article written about Lori's identification.

Lori was a distance swimmer, and a really good one, M says. She swam the 1500-meter butterfly and might’ve held a state record at one point.

Lori was just a few months shy of her 18th birthday when she went missing in Phoenix on about July 21, 1983. It was the same day she started a new job at a pizza restaurant, M and a spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department told Arizona Luminaria. When her mom went to pick up Lori at the end of her shift, she was told her daughter had been fired because her boyfriend kept showing up and being disruptive.

That was the last time anyone in their family saw or heard from Lori, M says

During the memorial service, Memory says Lori’s boyfriend is an alleged suspect in her homicide case.

Memory also told the group that Phoenix police learned Lori had been hospitalized between the time her family last saw her and when her body was found. “Her boyfriend beat her severely enough to put her in the hospital for several days,” Memory says. “That was the last time anybody saw her alive.”
M says she might return Lori with her son to the San Carlos Apache Reservation, where she originally was from.