CA CA - Santa Clara Co, UncFem pre 30, UP111041, skeletal, found 2000 yd southwest of US 101, 4 miles south of Gilroy, brown hair, Feb'80

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Female
Uncertain
Date Body Found: February 9, 1980
Location Found: Gilroy, California
Estimated Age Range: --

Case Information​

Case Numbers​

NCMEC Number: --
ME/C Case Number: C80-344

Demographics​

Biological Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: Uncertain

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

Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 30
Estimated Age Range (Years): --
Estimated Year of Death: --
Estimated PMI: --

Height: 5' 0"(60 inches) , Measured
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances​

Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: February 9, 1980
NamUs Case Created: November 2, 2023
ME/C QA Reviewed: --

Location Found Map​

Location: Gilroy, California
County: Santa Clara County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped): --
Found On Tribal Land: No

Circumstances of Recovery:
Skeletal remains found 2000 yards southwest of U.S. 101, 4 miles south of Gilroy, CA.

Details of Recovery​

Inventory of Remains: --
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Physical Description​

Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: --
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --

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

Distinctive Physical Features​

No Information Entered​

Clothing and Accessories​

No Information Entered​

 

[HmmMysterious]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Female
Uncertain
Date Body Found: February 9, 1980
Location Found: Gilroy, California
Estimated Age Range: --

Case Information​

Case Numbers​

NCMEC Number: --
ME/C Case Number: C80-344

Demographics​

Biological Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: Uncertain

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

Estimated Age Group: Adult - Pre 30
Estimated Age Range (Years): --
Estimated Year of Death: --
Estimated PMI: --

Height: 5' 0"(60 inches) , Measured
Weight: Cannot Estimate

Circumstances​

Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: February 9, 1980
NamUs Case Created: November 2, 2023
ME/C QA Reviewed: --

Location Found Map​

Location: Gilroy, California
County: Santa Clara County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped): --
Found On Tribal Land: No

Circumstances of Recovery:
Skeletal remains found 2000 yards southwest of U.S. 101, 4 miles south of Gilroy, CA.

Details of Recovery​

Inventory of Remains: --
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Physical Description​

Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: --
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --

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

Distinctive Physical Features​

No Information Entered​

Clothing and Accessories​

No Information Entered​

So little information other than the fact she had brown hair, was 30 or younger, and measured only 5 feet.

 

[HmmMysterious]

Eileen Hynson seems like a solid candidate for this Jane Doe

• She had brown hair
• 19 years old
• Measured 5'2" just 2 inches taller than decedent
• Was headed to a party in Benicia, California which is only 90 minutes away thru US 101

 

[Caring1]

Interesting that the article below dated Feb. 12, 1980 states that the unidentified female was found south of Gilroy off Hwy 101 but is described as elderly rather than pre 30. Could there have been two found or may this article refer to UP111041?

Height 5’6”
130 lbs.
Permanent upper front dental bridge with white gold.

 

[HmmMysterious]

Interesting that the article below dated Feb. 12, 1980 states that the unidentified female was found south of Gilroy off Hwy 101 but is described as elderly rather than pre 30. Could there have been two found or may this article refer to UP111041?

Height 5’6”
130 lbs.
Permanent upper front dental bridge with white gold.

View attachment 458999
View attachment 459000

Dbm

 

[Caring1]

I notice that both of these decedents' NamUs files have the exact same info: pre-30, brown hair, and 5 feet. This newspaper article makes it even more confusing

I am only finding one unidentified female in NamUs for February 1980 in Santa Clara county/Gilroy CA which is UP111041. What is the UP# of the other one you mentioned?

 

[HmmMysterious]

I am only finding one unidentified female in NamUs for February 1980 in Santa Clara county/Gilroy CA which is UP111041. What is the UP# of the other one you mentioned?

You're right never mind. I guess I just got confused

 

[Caring1]

You're right never mind. I guess I just got confused

Ah, ok. In that case, I do believe the article refers to the female in this thread found 2/9/80 in Gilroy. Thank you for checking.

 

[FlyOfDragons]

in addition to the clipping above, here's one from the Feb. 10, 1980 edition of The Hollister Free Lance; all of the info matches that of the other article, making it clear they're talking about the same body. these are the only two clippings i can find on Jane Doe

 

[FlyOfDragons]

here's my write-up with everything i could find on Gilroy Jane Doe. also -- at the end of August i submitted Jane Doe as a potential match with Jeannette Kamahele to the Doe Network. Mary Bell of DN replied, "Thank you for the suggested match. I don't show any comparison of these having been done so I will have our panel look at it. If [it] is proven to be a positive match, I will contact you further." i just reached out to her again to ask about the status of the match (i.e., if it had been forwarded to LE, declined by DN's matchmaking panel, etc); i'll update once i've received a reply

here's a table comparing the two. my primary reasonings -- beyond the fact that both are young women found/missing from northern CA within less than ten years of each other -- is that there are a) very few female UIDs who are believed to be neither definitively white nor Black (as Jeannette was Japanese and Native Hawaiian, so her remains were most likely estimated to be Pacific Islander, Asian, or Indigenous (or Uncertain)) and b) both had dental bridges, which is a relatively unique trait

	Jeannette Kamahele	Gilroy Jane Doe 1981
DLC/DBF	April 25, 1972	Found February 9, 1980 PMI at least one month
Location	Cotati, Sonoma County, CA	Four miles south of Gilroy, Santa Clara, CA
Sex	Female	Female
Race/Ethnicity	Japanese and Native Hawaiian	Uncertain
Age	20	Adult - Pre-30
Eye color	Brown	Unknown
Hair color	Black	Brown
Height	5'5	5'0 to 5'6
Weight	120 lbs	Could not estimate
Circumstances	Disappeared while hitchhiking from the Cotati On-ramp off Highway 101 to Santa Rosa Community College. Possible victim of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Killer	Skeletal remains found on the north bank of the Pajaro River, just west of the US Highway 101 crossing, near the San Benito County line. COD unknown
Other characteristics	Wore a dental bridge	Had expensive dental work, including a white gold upper dental bridge. No clothing found

 

[FlyOfDragons]

here's my write-up with everything i could find on Gilroy Jane Doe. also -- at the end of August i submitted Jane Doe as a potential match with Jeannette Kamahele to the Doe Network. Mary Bell of DN replied, "Thank you for the suggested match. I don't show any comparison of these having been done so I will have our panel look at it. If [it] is proven to be a positive match, I will contact you further." i just reached out to her again to ask about the status of the match (i.e., if it had been forwarded to LE, declined by DN's matchmaking panel, etc); i'll update once i've received a reply

here's a table comparing the two. my primary reasonings -- beyond the fact that both are young women found/missing from northern CA within less than ten years of each other -- is that there are a) very few female UIDs who are believed to be neither definitively white nor Black (as Jeannette was Japanese and Native Hawaiian, so her remains were most likely estimated to be Pacific Islander, Asian, or Indigenous (or Uncertain)) and b) both had dental bridges, which is a relatively unique trait

	Jeannette Kamahele	Gilroy Jane Doe 1981
DLC/DBF	April 25, 1972	Found February 9, 1980 PMI at least one month
Location	Cotati, Sonoma County, CA	Four miles south of Gilroy, Santa Clara, CA
Sex	Female	Female
Race/Ethnicity	Japanese and Native Hawaiian	Uncertain
Age	20	Adult - Pre-30
Eye color	Brown	Unknown
Hair color	Black	Brown
Height	5'5	5'0 to 5'6
Weight	120 lbs	Could not estimate
Circumstances	Disappeared while hitchhiking from the Cotati On-ramp off Highway 101 to Santa Rosa Community College. Possible victim of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Killer	Skeletal remains found on the north bank of the Pajaro River, just west of the US Highway 101 crossing, near the San Benito County line. COD unknown
Other characteristics	Wore a dental bridge	Had expensive dental work, including a white gold upper dental bridge. No clothing found

Some updates/current status of this potential match:

1. Mary Bell first replied to my request for an update by saying that the match did not pass Doe Network's panel, with the primary reason being that Jeannette is believed to be a victim of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murderer (SRHM), and Mary believed that there were some differences between SRHM's method of disposal and how Gilroy Jane Doe was found. However, I then replied back to Mary, noting that the circumstances around Jane Doe are actually quite similar to those of some SRHM victims:
   1. Known SRHM victim Theresa Walsh was last seen in Zuma Beach in Malibu, and then found in Sonoma County; this is an over 7 hour drive; the distance between Cotati (Jeannette's last known location) and where Jane Doe was found (a little over 2hr drive) therefore pales in comparison
   2. Like other SRHM victims -- especially Yvonne Weber & Maureen Sterling, as well as Sonoma County Jane Doe 1979 -- Gilroy Jane Doe's remains were found in a remote area several months to years after death.
   3. Theresa Walsh's body was discovered in Mark West Creek, and many others, including Sonoma County Jane Doe 1979, were also found near creeks/bodies of water. Gilroy Jane Doe was found on the bank of the Pajaro River.
   4. Regarding the argument that many/all found SRHM victims had been bound but that Gilroy Jane Doe was not, I again point out that it is thought that any items with Jane Doe when she entered the river had since dissolved away and/or became separated from the remains; this could include any binding materials.
2. In reply to the above, Mary Bell suggested that I submit this match directly to LE!
3. On Tuesday (Oct. 14th) I submitted the match directly to LE by emailing the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department (in charge of Jeannette's case) and both the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and Medical Examiner-Coroner (in charge of Jane Doe's case) with all of the necessary information about the potential match, including the comparison table above.
4. I have yet to receive a reply from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.
5. Yesterday (Oct. 17th) I received a reply from the Santa Clara County ME Office, stating the following:
   1. "Thank you for the submission. On review, there is insufficient information for us to confirm or exclude this possible match. We appreciate your assistance and interest in finding a name for this individual."
6. I replied back not long after receiving SCCME's email, asking if this indicates that Jane Doe's identifiers, such as DNA and dental records, are unavailable for comparison. I have yet to receive a reply [I shall update this thread if/once I do].

Unfortunately this makes it seem quite unlikely that Jane Doe's identifiers are available... I feel like at the very least her dentals should be, as newspaper reports made note of her dental work, but it's always possible that the records have been lost/purged in the intervening years. I haven't found any mentions of what may have happened to her remains -- i.e., buried, cremated, put in a landfill (ugh...), or still in possession of the ME -- so I'm just hoping that she is somehow still in ME's possession or was buried and they're able to locate her, and hopefully dental examination and/or DNA recovery can be done... Unfortunately a lot of "if"s and hoping....