FL Broward County- Female, Multiple- 36-45- Found floating + unidentified male and raft- UP1136- Oct. 24, 1993

[PatLaurel]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

2 Missing Person Exclusions

Missing Person / NamUs #MP2413 Tiffany Sessions
Date of Last Contact February 09, 1989
State FL
County Alachua

Missing Person / NamUs #MP7584 Parley Pate
Date of Last Contact February 09, 1993
State NC
County-Wake

 

[PatLaurel]

639UFFL​

Reconstruction of decedent

Date of Discovery: October 24, 1993
Location of Discovery: Broward County, Florida
Estimated Date of Death: 1 day prior to discovery
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Unknown

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 36-45 years old
Race: White/Hispanic
Sex: Female
Height: 5'6", Estimated
Weight: 90 lbs., Estimated
Hair: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available; no restorations or missing teeth.
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: A small, blue, long-sleeved pullover shirt with the name "Rod Laver" over the left breast pocket; Brown slacks; Panties (hand-tied at the sides) with a boat anchor pattern; and a left blue tennis shoe, size 36, brand Chittl.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Circumstances of Discovery​

The victim was located by boaters, about four to six miles north in Hollywood Beach, about four miles from shore. A homemade raft was found floating nearby, and the body of a Hispanic male was found the same day in Miami-Dade County.

State police said they believe that she was killed elsewhere and her body dumped in the area off the highway's southbound lanes.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Broward County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Glenn Bukata
Agency Phone Number: 954-321-4735
Agency E-Mail: Unknown
Agency Case Number: 93-10-1282

Agency Name: District 17 Medical Examiners Office - Broward County
Agency Contact Person: Wendy Crane, Medicolegal Death Investigator
Agency Phone Number: 954-357-5200
Agency E-Mail: Med_Exam_Trauma(at)Broward.org
Agency Case Number: 1993-2069

NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: UP1136

Information Source(s)​

NamUs
FLUIDDB (Florida Unidentified Decedents Database)
The Miami Herald
Sun Sentinel
Broward County Sheriff's Office

 

[PatLaurel]

UP1136 - Newspapers.com

 

[PatLaurel]

Circumstances of Discovery​

The victim was located by boaters, about four to six miles north in Hollywood Beach, about four miles from shore. A homemade raft was found floating nearby, and the body of a Hispanic male was found the same day in Miami-Dade County.

State police said they believe that she was killed elsewhere and her body dumped in the area off the highway's southbound lanes.

BBM

Not sure what the bolded means but, most likely unrelated, right?!

 

[Bit of hope]

There isn't a direct connection between the two unidentified persons and the raft, but if feels like they were Balseros.

The text about LE suspects she was killed elsewhere and dumped seems off and is only found on the Doe Network, not in Namus, not on the Fluiddb.

Looking into it I found this. Cuban Raft | National Museum of the American Latino

In July 1992, two young men illegally used this <picture in article> handmade raft to flee Cuba for the United States. They set out on their journey two years before the 1994 Cuban Rafter Crisis. During the 1994 Crisis, tens of thousands of Cubans fled the island by boat and raft for Florida. People who immigrate this way are often called balseros, or rafters. Why might people risk their lives by undertaking this dangerous journey? Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, over a million Cubans have immigrated to the United States. Many escaped political repression and economic hardships, among other challenges, on the island. One balsero explained in 1995, “I had to leave the only way I could—in my boat—it was all I had left. I had no one in the United States. I didn’t want to leave.”

Brothers to the Rescue, a non-profit organization founded in 1991 by Cuban exiles in the United States, rescued balseros by searching for them via plane and leading the U.S. Coast Guard to them.

If they fled in a raft would October be a good month to do that? Not to hot, not to cold, no storms? Just wondering.

 

[PatLaurel]

There isn't a direct connection between the two unidentified persons and the raft, but if feels like they were Balseros.

The text about LE suspects she was killed elsewhere and dumped seems off and is only found on the Doe Network, not in Namus, not on the Fluiddb.

Looking into it I found this. Cuban Raft | National Museum of the American Latino

In July 1992, two young men illegally used this <picture in article> handmade raft to flee Cuba for the United States. They set out on their journey two years before the 1994 Cuban Rafter Crisis. During the 1994 Crisis, tens of thousands of Cubans fled the island by boat and raft for Florida. People who immigrate this way are often called balseros, or rafters. Why might people risk their lives by undertaking this dangerous journey? Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, over a million Cubans have immigrated to the United States. Many escaped political repression and economic hardships, among other challenges, on the island. One balsero explained in 1995, “I had to leave the only way I could—in my boat—it was all I had left. I had no one in the United States. I didn’t want to leave.”

Brothers to the Rescue, a non-profit organization founded in 1991 by Cuban exiles in the United States, rescued balseros by searching for them via plane and leading the U.S. Coast Guard to them.

If they fled in a raft would October be a good month to do that? Not to hot, not to cold, no storms? Just wondering.

Thanks for finding this article, @Bit of hope!
As to your question, if October is a good month to leave Cuba in a raft, I can tell you if you have the means, any month is a good month, especially after the "Periodo Especial", which started in 1991 after the disintegration of the USSR.

I searched a database for missing Cubans lost at sea and there were none reported missing around the time our Does were found. Let us not forget that hundreds of Balseros were not reported missing for political reasons.

MOO JMO

 

[Bit of hope]

Thanks for finding this article, @Bit of hope!
As to your question, if October is a good month to leave Cuba in a raft, I can tell you if you have the means, any month is a good month, especially after the "Periodo Especial", which started in 1991 after the disintegration of the USSR.

I searched a database for missing Cubans lost at sea and there were none reported missing around the time our Does were found. Let us not forget that hundreds of Balseros were not reported missing for political reasons.

MOO JMO

It makes me sad, but also I feel blessed and grateful living in a save, prosperous country. So many died/drowned while fleeing their home country. Cubans, Mexicans, Africans, Syrians....I can go on and on.

 

[Bit of hope]

I think this is an interesting site. They list people who have died while traveling from Cuba to the USA, or are missing, since Januari 2021. Maybe there is a way to ask attention for this two unidentified persons or maybe they have older records of missing persons, they haven't entered? https://latravesia.eltoque.com/

I also noticed most of the people who tried to come with a boat were with much more people then just two. They might have come as a pair of course. I would like to see the raft to get some idea how big it was, but there are no pictures of it.

Counting as of January 2021: 144 are found deceased, 456 are -known- missing.

A migrant person is considered missing when there is no news of their arrival, but there is also no body that can confirm the death. In the best of cases, they are only held by the authorities and may even be in custody for months without being heard from. The protocol for the search and identification is complicated, in each country it can be different and the despair of the family increases. Therefore, relatives are recommended to contact the authorities of the country or area where the person is supposed to have disappeared.

We know that the information search process can be difficult and that is why we offer this space to publish the data and photos of those who are missing and try to help clear up the uncertainty.