CA CA - Rose Cole, 16, Oakland, 1972 - #1

[julieL]

I don't remember SF the way Goody does... however I was a bit older (late 20's) and I didn't go out there until '75. To me it seemed more like a time of anger... the SLA bombings, Patti Hearst finally released, etc. I worked for a law firm in SF, so I guess I had to lead a pretty restrained life. Mostly I remember being very shocked at how outwardly gay people were there. I hadn't been exposed to that before, and I was pretty surprised. I got used to it finally and pretty soon the gays were more open in all parts of the U.S. I do remember some drugs, but I didn't do drugs so it wasn't something I saw too much. What's really hard to realize is that it was 30+ years ago. That shocks me! I have no idea what I did with the intervening years!

SLA bombings and Patty Hearst being released was post 1976 because I was already out of Synanon and lived in Los Angeles. Remember someone driving me along Hwy downtown LA and seeing the fires. We are talking a few years before that but same environment certainly. We saw much of the destruction due to drugs because of who was coming into Synanon during this timeframe. Yes, 30+ years ago.......trying to put ourselves in her shoes at that time and in her space.....what would she do next and why?

 

[HeartofTexas]

I"m betting Patty Hearst was released in late 1975 (maybe October?) and that your memory on that is foggy. I only lived out there from June of '75 until March of '76, so the window in which it could have happened is pretty short for me.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Millionaire heiress Patty Hearst, after having been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in February 1974, helped rob a bank with the group two months later. She was arrested in September 1975, and her unsuccessful legal defense was that she suffered from Stockholm Syndrome and was coerced into aiding the SLA.

Maybe released wasn't the best choice of words... I meant that she finally got away from her kidnappers... but it was via arrest.

 

[julieL]

I"m betting Patty Hearst was released in late 1975 (maybe October?) and that your memory on that is foggy. I only lived out there from June of '75 until March of '76, so the window in which it could have happened is pretty short for me.

The bombings and fire of another SLA holdout occured later in 1976 as I was not in the LA area till after the middle of Jan 1976. But you are correct: On April 15, 1974, she was photographed wielding an assault rifle while robbing the Sunset District branch of the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. Later communications from her were issued under the pseudonym Tania (from the nickname of Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider) and revealed that she was committed to the goals of the SLA. A warrant was issued for her arrest and in September 1975, she was arrested in an apartment with other SLA members.


Mugshot


In her trial, which started on January 15, 1976, Hearst claimed she had been locked blindfolded in a closet and physically and sexually abused, which caused her to join the SLA. Her defense was largely based around the claim that her actions could be attributed to being brainwashed. Others see it as a severe case of the "Stockholm syndrome," in which captives become sympathetic with their captors. Hearst further argued she was coerced or intimidated into her part in the bank robbery.

 

[itsreenw]

Julie, do you know if the parents of kids probated to Syn were required to turn over guardianship to Syn or the courts?


It seems that someone would had to have appeared in court or at the very least, contacted the court requesting to have Rose's sentence/probation ended. I would think that before the court released Rose from custody they would have requested a progress report from Syn. Per procedure, Syn should've reported her when she ran away. If she didn't return to serve out her term, it doesn't seem that the court would've willingly granted the request to close her case. By what we have determined, she hadn't even served a year of her term before she ran.

She was still a minor so it isn't like they closed the matter because she was no longer a juvenile.

If the father had a copy of the paper work from court and he was her legal guardian, it seems he would have been the one appearing in court with/for her. For his own brother to say he wasn't a good person gives me the eery feeling that Rose returned to MI, but her father did something to her before she could make it home.

OFF TOPIC:
FYI: Someone gained access to my account that I used to review birth registries for several states. They were reviewing in excess of 500 records PER DAY. I assume it was passed around amongst several people. Nobody needs to look up 500 records.

My account was permanently closed for abuse so I have no means to search at this time. I'm going to be off work for 6 wks w/out pay due to an upcoming surgery on 4/21 so I won't be spending $ on my "entertainment" for a while. I'll let ya know when I do get another account so I can feel productive again (LOL). Til then I'll rely on Googling and cross my fingers.

 

[julieL]

In response to this email, I do not know if the kids probated to Synanon or other wise sent to Syn were turned over with guardianship to Synanon. It seems this may have been different for different situations as well.

The fact that the court date to have charges dismissed occured in 74 is at least 1 year AFTER she left Syn. She may have been given as part of the charges to go to syn that she must stay out of trouble for a full year and by Jan 74, that would havve been more than a year. However, it seems someone intervvened and she likely was in fact there which puts the father in the hot seat here as to what really happened. He is apparently dead so no news there but other relatives and family members (the kids) were around althrogh it seems many were just babies and don't remember. But you are correct. It seems that someone would had to have appeared in court or at the very least, contacted the court requesting to have Rose's sentence/probation ended regardless of the wording that appeared in the court papers. .You said I would think that before the court released Rose from custody they would have requested a progress report from Syn. Hoewver, as I have learned from talking to other Syn people, there were in fact few progress reports released per any such procedure so that likely didn't happen at all. Per procedure, Syn should've reported her when she ran away. But syn felt it was immune to procedure so who knokws what actually happened.

You said If the father had a copy of the paper work from court and he was her legal guardian, it seems he would have been the one appearing in court with/for her. Yes I agree and the fact that his own brother to say he wasn't a good person gives me also the eery feeling that Rose returned to MI, but her father did something to her before she could make it home. Did something vindictive or othe rwise threatened her to never show her face in Michigan again...possibly to avoid her confronting Opal with perhaps the truth about what he did to her? (sexually abused her)...we won't apparently know the end of that part of the story till someone admits the truth.

anyway I'm new here on WS so don't know what you would typically do in this situatoin at this point. Seems checking into reunion sites to see who remembers her, scanning old newspapers from the local area, and all that....but this is most definitely a cold case and when you have poeple hiding the real truth, do you really know what happened.....not until people start being more honest. I have the inkling there are more papers that we haven't heard about yet which might also shed the light on this case.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Itsreenw, what kind of account did you have that was broken into? How did they gain access to it? I'm so sorry to hear this... and even sorrier to hear you'll be off work six weeks without pay. I take it your surgery is this Friday? Best of luck to you, and I hope it's not anything too serious.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Here's a very good story (dated April 10, 2006) from a California newspaper re the many, many unidentified bodies in California (over 2,688 of them!).

She has been without a name for more than 30 years.


Her body was found in the bushes along a pathway in Tilden Regional Park on Saturday, Aug. 23, 1975. Most of her clothes had been removed, but a thin chain of turquoise stones still hung around her neck.

"She had sustained blunt-force trauma to the head," said Detective Sgt. Dale Davidson of the East Bay Regional Parks Police Department. "She was hit with something very hard."



(snip)

"This was the mid-1970s — a very interesting time," Davidson said. "The freedom and hippie movement was still thriving, and therewas a lot of this type of thing going on with runaways and missing people."

The woman — who was described as white, between 20 and 30 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes — had been dead for about four days when a hiker discovered her.

She had been dumped in the bushes after being killed elsewhere, investigators said. By 1977, all leads had turned cold, Davidson said. The case is now "inactive."

More than 2,500 bodies — the victims of violent crime and suspicious circumstance — remain nameless entities in California, according to the state's Department of Justice. Some of the cases date back to the 1960s.

At the Contra Costa County morgue in Martinez, Deputy Coroner Christopher Forsyth is working to identify the remains of 25 people — including the 1975 Jane Doe murder victim. One case, said Forsyth, dates back to 1973.

And here's an important piece of information:

Families who are looking for missing loved ones can submit DNA samples to the state's database through their local police department, Willie said. "We would like to encourage these families to do this," Willie said. "All they do is swab the lining of the mouth. It's completely voluntary."

Perhaps DOA Cop or Isabela could update us on any efforts being made to submit a DNA sample to the California database.

Also, DOA Cop, I would like to know if there is a way we can find out more information on the 1973 unidentified Jane or John Doe highlighted above. Is there a file somewhere that might give more information... hair color, height, etc.?

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/ci_3693013

 

[HeartofTexas]

As a reminder to everyone, here is what DOA Cop said on April 7 re the investigation:

Rose has not officially been ruled in or out to this point. I am working with the courts in Genesee County and trying to crack open Rose's Jeuvenile File - in hopes than an accurate description (height / weight / etc) can be obtained, but more importanly - a fingerprint card. I'm also requesting MI authorities search for a driver's license - as it too would have a print. I am expecting bad news though, as they only hold files for 30-years before destroying them. Juvenile fingerprints are not available on the same databases as the adult offenders - so they would never have hit on an automated search.

I assume once Isabela or DOA Cop hear something from the above that one of them will let us know the results.

 

[Goody]

Also, DOA Cop, I would like to know if there is a way we can find out more information on the 1973 unidentified Jane or John Doe highlighted above. Is there a file somewhere that might give more information... hair color, height, etc.?

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/ci_3693013

What about ...O, I can't spell it....Micro-whatever dna? The one where family members donate theirs to determine dna backwards. If there is a database of known dna of these corpses, maybe an ID can be achieved going at it from the other end. I wonder what it takes to get the state to do that.

There were a lot of serial killers in California in the 70s.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Something like "mitachondrial" DNA... whoa, is that a pitiful spelling of it! Perhaps I should go look it up! I'm sure that's what will have to be used in this instance... DNA from Isabela's husband, who is Rose's brother.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Well, I didn't do as poorly as I thought on the spelling. It's Mitochondrial DNA.

 

[christine2448]

Well, I didn't do as poorly as I thought on the spelling. It's Mitochondrial DNA.

LMAO, you took the words right outta my mouth...have been busy, just checking in to see what ya'll be up to....hope to rejoin in a few days..Hugs to you all.

 

[Goody]

Well, I didn't do as poorly as I thought on the spelling. It's Mitochondrial DNA.

You are a better man than me. hahahahahhahaah. Glad someone could tackle it. I do hope the family checks into that. It could be the solution.

 

[mysteriew]

HOT, Whether or not Mitochondrial DNA would be helpful depends on a couple of things. What did they do with the remains? Sometimes they bury them, sometimes they are held in morgue's, and sometimes they were cremated. Blood and/or other samples may or may not have been taken and held, as DNA wasn't available at that time. You might give Sgt. Dale Davidson of the East Bay Regional Parks Police Department a contact and give him the physical description of Rose and see if they find any matches in this case or other cases they have.

 

[itsreenw]

Itsreenw, what kind of account did you have that was broken into? How did they gain access to it? I'm so sorry to hear this... and even sorrier to hear you'll be off work six weeks without pay. I take it your surgery is this Friday? Best of luck to you, and I hope it's not anything too serious.

HoT, it was my people finder acct and after thinking about it, I think I know how my acct was accessed. On the Delia Cly thread, I copied and pasted some birth info for some of the key players in the case. If you click on any of those names, it took you to the page IN the database, not to the log on screen. All a person would have to do is save that page and click on one of the names in the post, then do a new search for whatever name they wanted to look up. I know none of the "regulars" would take advantage like that but we never know who is lurking.

That's the only thing I can think happened. It's my fault. I should've been more careful and I have to eat my hat so to speak because I was one of the people fussing about whether we should or should not be posting people's info here. I guess I learned a lesson (LOL).

Re: time off w/out pay for 6 wks...it is killing me already. Yes, the surgery is this Friday, a day after my bday so I'm going to spend Thursday worrying about Friday. (Pity Party in progress, feel free to join) LOL

 

[IsabelaPR]

Wow! I've been gone for only a couple of days!!!! You have been busy!!!! Thank YOU so much for all your hard work.

I finally found a police officer willing to do the DNA test. I called California today but COP was off duty. I sent him an e-mail asking him how to proceed with the DNA test.

I am so glad you got a chance to talk to Brian. And that he was able to provide information.

I read all your postings and it looks like you have arrived to the same conclussion. . .there is a small chance she made to Michigan. Were Mr. Cole took care of her. It makes me very angry to think of this man!!!!

What else, you wanted to know:
~Court Papers Update: COP heard back from MI, records were destroyed, because older than 30 years. So out of luck there. . .again!!!

~Social Security Number, I called Flint schools to see if I could get her school record but haven't gotten to far in this matter. Billy, her brother was going to see if he could find out anything.

~Also, sent an e-mail to the dental clinic in MI were Rose and the other kids went. Maybe those documents have her social security number. (Mott Children's Healthcare)

~I sent an e-mail & form to WI missing website ~ did this last weekend ~ No answer yet. Will follow up during business hours

That's all I have, not much, but I'll keep at it!!!!

IsabelaPR

 

[gardenmom]

While you are contacting the dental office, you may as well see if they have any xrays saved. Bad news about the court documents. Too bad she wasn't listed as missing 30 years ago, they would have saved them I bet.

 

[Shadow205]

The court records still not be a dead end. Even though Rose's records have been destroyed, I still think that someone in authority there should be able to answer the question "Would you put in the document that Rose appeared if she did not" I personally do not think that they would. I think that if she was not "Physically" there, the document would have read something like, Mr.Cole appearing as her parent in her behalf or something to that effect. I am really leaning toward the fact that Rose made it back to MI.

 

[HeartofTexas]

If you click on any of those names, it took you to the page IN the database, not to the log on screen. All a person would have to do is save that page and click on one of the names in the post, then do a new search for whatever name they wanted to look up. I know none of the "regulars" would take advantage like that but we never know who is lurking.

Oh, Itsreenw, that makes me really sad to think that it could have been someone one WS to wreck your account. I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know what a people finder account is. Is that like one of the services you pay to do searches on various people? I thought they had a "per person" charge... are there some that only charge a monthly fee? It seems like you could contact them (the people finder account owners) and tell them to check which computers the information was run thru, and they could tell it wasn't your's. Surely they would understand that someone hijacked your account.

Re: time off w/out pay for 6 wks...it is killing me already. Yes, the surgery is this Friday, a day after my bday so I'm going to spend Thursday worrying about Friday. (Pity Party in progress, feel free to join) LOL

Now that makes me really sad. Six weeks off without pay, and it's the day after your birthday. Wow, what a blow. I'm surprised there's any surgery left that takes 6 weeks to recover from... they run you in and out of the hospital so quickly now that it could almost pass for "drive-thru" surgery. I hope no matter what kind of surgery you're having that your recovery isn't too rugged. Do you have family that can help take care of you? I sure hope so.

How long will it be before you can scoot yourself back up to the computer? LOL! We'll sure miss you until then. And know all of your WS friends will be thinking of you until you're able to come back and join us.