CA CA - Calico, UncFem, UP16065, 15-25, skull & mandible, Jan'47

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Female
Uncertain

Date Body Found: January 1, 1947
Location Found: Calico, California
Estimated Age Range: 15-25 Years


Case Information

Case Numbers
NCMEC Number: --
ME/C Case Number: 701406305

Demographics
Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: Uncertain

Possible First Name: --
Possible Middle Name: --
Possible Last Name: --
Nickname/Alias: --

Estimated Age Group: Cannot Determine
Estimated Age Range (Years): 15-25

Estimated Year of Death: --
Estimated PMI: 0

Height: Cannot Estimate
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: January 1, 1947

NamUs Case Created: November 25, 2016
ME/C QA Reviewed: --

Location Found Map
Location: Calico, California
County: San Bernardino County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped): --
Found On Tribal Land: --

Circumstances of Recovery:
Human skull turned into BLM. Subject said his friend found the skull and mandible in 1947 and the friend recently died. The RP indicated the skull was found in the Calico area.

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains:

-Torso not recovered
-One or more limbs not recovered
-One or both hands not recovered
​

Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only

Physical Description
Hair Color: Unknown
Head Hair Description: --
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --

Left Eye Color: Unknown
Right Eye Color: Unknown
Eye Description: --

Distinctive Physical Features
No Known Information

Clothing and Accessories
No Known Information


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Ok, another "random skull found" case from San Bernardino, CA., but fellow Websleuthers, help a dumb foreigner out here, would you? What does "turned into BLM" mean? What is "BLM" in this context? And what does "RP" mean? "Recipient", perhaps? Did poor Jane Doe turn into some kind of bizarre ornament of some sort, like Roseburg Jane Doe or the chiropractor's bones?

 

[Laughing]

In the West, BLM is a Federal agency, the Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of the Interior. My grandfather was in the Park Service, our NAtional PArks are another part of the Department of the Interior. (I just have to say that as far as I know, our government has no Department of the Exterior. As kids we had many lively family discussions, often in a National Park, about the stupidity of assigning our National PArks and the BLM to the Interior, as any pair of 7 & 8 year old siblings can tell that we were NOT inside!)

The horses we know as mustangs live on BLM land, mostly. Wood cutting, cattle grazing, wilderness camping, hiking, lots happens on public use lands. And, the land is protected for future generations.

Home | Bureau of Land Management

RP is probably Reporting Party.

Could be a loner who passed of natural causes near their cabin.

Could be a murder victim.

Could be one of the Romanov Grand Duchesses! Nah, not that one.

Any idea what the area was like in those post WWII years? Prospectors on mining claims, people working to establish Utopian communities, people who wanted to disappear into the forest?

Was/is this area forest, meadows, desert, high desert?

Interesting case, thanks for posting!

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[victoriarobinson642]

To my knowledge, Calico is a defunct mining town turned ghost town tourist attraction. However, in 1947, it seems like it was totally empty.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

In the West, BLM is a Federal agency, the Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of the Interior. My grandfather was in the Park Service, our NAtional PArks are another part of the Department of the Interior. (I just have to say that as far as I know, our government has no Department of the Exterior. As kids we had many lively family discussions, often in a National Park, about the stupidity of assigning our National PArks and the BLM to the Interior, as any pair of 7 & 8 year old siblings can tell that we were NOT inside!)

The horses we know as mustangs live on BLM land, mostly. Wood cutting, cattle grazing, wilderness camping, hiking, lots happens on public use lands. And, the land is protected for future generations.

Home | Bureau of Land Management

RP is probably Reporting Party.

Could be a loner who passed of natural causes near their cabin.

Could be a murder victim.

Could be one of the Romanov Grand Duchesses! Nah, not that one.

Any idea what the area was like in those post WWII years? Prospectors on mining claims, people working to establish Utopian communities, people who wanted to disappear into the forest?

Was/is this area forest, meadows, desert, high desert?

Interesting case, thanks for posting!

jmho ymmv lrr

Thank you, Laughing! Ugh, it's just bad wording from whoever wrote the NamUs entry, then. I read "human skull turned into BLM" as the skull being turned into some kind of object, like a decoration, or a pencil holder or something of that sort, not handed over to an agency.

To my knowledge, Calico is a defunct mining town turned ghost town tourist attraction. However, in 1947, it seems like it was totally empty.

I checked Google Maps to familiarise myself with the location, and it's even marked as a ghost town there! It's located halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, not far from Barstow, btw.

Calico, California - Wikipedia

 

[Earth]

Has Thora Chamberlain been ruled out?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Laughing]

Has Thora Chamberlain been ruled out?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Email the case manager & ask! Not sure a partial skull is enough for a meaningful comparison?

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Calico Doe also has a DoeNetwork entry:

1464UFCA

Date of Discovery: January 1, 1947
Location of Discovery: Calico, San Bernadino County, California
Estimated Date of Death: Unknown
State of Remains: Partial skeletal
Cause of Death: Unknown

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 15-25 years old
Race: Unknown
Sex: Female
Height: Unknown.
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers
Dentals: Unknown.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Unknown.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Unknown.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Circumstances of Discovery
The decedent's skull was turned over to authorities by a man whose friend recently died. The friend stated the skull and mandible had been discovered in 1947 in the Calico area.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: San Bernardino County Sheriff Department - Coroner Division
Agency Contact Person: September Fonzi-Jones
Agency Phone Number: 909-387-2978
Agency E-Mail: coroner(at)sbcsd.org
Agency Case Number: 701406305


NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: 16065

Information Source(s)
NamUs

 

[Laughing]

Now wait -- if this is a partial skull, how are they sure this is a female decedent? Do they have DNA?

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Susikatze]

Now wait -- if this is a partial skull, how are they sure this is a female decedent? Do they have DNA?

jmho ymmv lrr

Certain markers on the skull indicate male or female characteristics.
The borders are fluid, though.

 

[Laughing]

Certain markers on the skull indicate male or female characteristics.
The borders are fluid, though.

Agree with fluid -- I suppose a coroner/ME could determine if the bone was adult or not yet fully mature. However, a teenaged boy's skull could have similar dimensions/measurements to a woman's, but lacking some of the changes caused by differing muscle development.


A very, very cold case, here.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[DS2021]

I wonder what the estimated PMI for the deceased is

 

[Hubbabubba]

I wonder do they ever solve cases like this, so old with so little evidence?

I've been searching for evidence about a cousin of my grandmother, who she says disappeared when she was young or right before she was born (1940-1950s). I've no proof she even existed and it sounds like there wasn't much ruckus around her disappearing, her family was just angry at her for running away. Besides a name, and the fact that she was a late teen or young adult in California, can't find anything.
I guess it's always possible she isn't dead, I just always found it strange.

This is the only NameUs existing for an unidentified Female in this time frame, so I'm very curious what happens with cases this old.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

1464UFCA

 

[Laughing]

I wonder do they ever solve cases like this, so old with so little evidence?

I've been searching for evidence about a cousin of my grandmother, who she says disappeared when she was young or right before she was born (1940-1950s). I've no proof she even existed and it sounds like there wasn't much ruckus around her disappearing, her family was just angry at her for running away. Besides a name, and the fact that she was a late teen or young adult in California, can't find anything.
I guess it's always possible she isn't dead, I just always found it strange.

This is the only NameUs existing for an unidentified Female in this time frame, so I'm very curious what happens with cases this old.

Likely OT for these remains, but as an old genealogist, you may be able to find out plenty about the missing cousin.

Start here, go to the county where your Grandmother lived, poke around:

Main Page CAGenWeb

Consider starting a thread in the basement/member's area for this missing cousin. A link to a news article or LE report is required here in the main area, sounds like you don't have this for Grandma's cousin.

We're rather off topic for this thread, so I'll risk pushing the Websleuths envelope & say consider PM'ing me the missing cousin's name, I'll poke around a little & see what's out there.

(We avoid saying 'pm me' as it implies I know something that can't be posted. In this case, trying to help a fellow poster and keep this thread on track. Delete if too far off, of course.)

Best, Laughing

 

[Hochman]

Is there a publicly available picture of the skull & mandible?

 

[cheemsg]

I wish they'd say what year the skull was sent in for clarity. The description sounds like whoever had it held onto it for some time. SBC NamUS cases are often much more in depth than this.