CA CA - Van Nuys, WhtFem UP4117, 24-33, @ Sepulveda Flood Basin, Jul'87

[John/Jane Doe]

Jane Doe looks like Patricia Van-Buskirk to me, but the eye color is getting me. How were they able to tell with "Partial remains with soft tissues?" Maybe the facial expression is skewing my opinion?

Patricia Van Buskirk – The Charley Project

	Van Nuys Jane Doe	Patricia Van Buskirk
Sex	Female	Female
Race	White/Caucasian	White/Caucasian
Age	24 - 33	31
DLC/DOD	June 21 - 28, 1987	April 27, 1987
Height	5'8	5'7
Weight	110 - 120 pounds	128 - 160 pounds
Hair Color	Brown	Blonde/Strawberry
Eye Color	Brown	Blue
Distinctive Features	Appendectomy scar, wore contact lenses, had a child, had cocaine in her system.	Had a child.
Circumstances	Found wrapped in blankets and tarp. Hands were cut off.	Believed to have left her family in the middle of the night.
Distance	Oxnard - Van Nuys	50 miles

There's really only three things I can't get by with this match. The eye color, contact lenses, and appendectomy scar are things you can't really mistake. I still can't help but see a resemblance between both women though.

Jane Doe's remains were Unrecognizable so there is some possibility that they got the color of her eyes wrong. In many cases when a person dies their eyes can change their color tone.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Jane Doe looks like Patricia Van-Buskirk to me, but the eye color is getting me. How were they able to tell with "Partial remains with soft tissues?" Maybe the facial expression is skewing my opinion?

Patricia Van Buskirk – The Charley Project

	Van Nuys Jane Doe	Patricia Van Buskirk
Sex	Female	Female
Race	White/Caucasian	White/Caucasian
Age	24 - 33	31
DLC/DOD	June 21 - 28, 1987	April 27, 1987
Height	5'8	5'7
Weight	110 - 120 pounds	128 - 160 pounds
Hair Color	Brown	Blonde/Strawberry
Eye Color	Brown	Blue
Distinctive Features	Appendectomy scar, wore contact lenses, had a child, had cocaine in her system.	Had a child.
Circumstances	Found wrapped in blankets and tarp. Hands were cut off.	Believed to have left her family in the middle of the night.
Distance	Oxnard - Van Nuys	50 miles

There's really only three things I can't get by with this match. The eye color, contact lenses, and appendectomy scar are things you can't really mistake. I still can't help but see a resemblance between both women though.

I'm not sure how much you can trust the recon if she was in (uncertain state of) decomposition already. Sadly enough, we won't get a new one since her skull was cremated along with her body (only femur was saved). Iirc, VNJD53 was speculated been kept in a freezer or something before being dumped along the Burbank Boulevard, but I'm unable to find the source of this claim right now, so take it by a few grains of salt, please. She's also said to have had brown eyes, but could they actually have been hazel?

I've said it before, the information in this case is often contradictory and make little sense, and the case is handled weirdly by LE. Just look how her NamUs page is written, with the number 0 (zero) used instead of the letter O, so probably Jane Doe and her "BLK HEEL 0PEN T0E SH0ES" won't turn up as result when using the NamUs search engine for missing persons wearing black heel shoes with open toes.


But now I'm just rambling on and on. Did you submit Buskirk, SimsGuy? They do resemble! The time line works, too.

 

[SimsGuy67]

I'm not sure how much you can trust the recon if she was in (uncertain state of) decomposition already. Sadly enough, we won't get a new one since her skull was cremated along with her body (only femur was saved). Iirc, VNJD53 was speculated been kept in a freezer or something before being dumped along the Burbank Boulevard, but I'm unable to find the source of this claim right now, so take it by a few grains of salt, please. She's also said to have had brown eyes, but could they actually have been hazel?

I've said it before, the information in this case is often contradictory and make little sense, and the case is handled weirdly by LE. Just look how her NamUs page is written, with the number 0 (zero) used instead of the letter O, so probably Jane Doe and her "BLK HEEL 0PEN T0E SH0ES" won't turn up as result when using the NamUs search engine for missing persons wearing black heel shoes with open toes.


But now I'm just rambling on and on. Did you submit Buskirk, SimsGuy? They do resemble! The time line works, too.

I have thought about Patricia having hazel eyes mistaken for green and Jane Doe having hazel eyes mistaken for brown.

I have not submitted for one reason. I doubt anyone would take it seriously given the eye color, contact lenses, and scar not being listed on Patricia's page.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

July 21st marks the 37th year of Van Nuys Jane Doe 53's discovery.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

*Bump!*

Van Nuys Jane Doe 53 has been unidentified for over 38 years.

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

Van Nuys Jane Doe 53 reminds me a lot of Gail Patricia Thaman, who was last seen in Thousand Oaks by her estranged husband on 26/02, 1981. Several of the stats adds up, and the body of VNJD53 is theorised being kept in a freezer for some time before being dumped in the thick underbrush around the Hjelte Sports Center in the Sepulveda Dam basin area in the summer of 1987.

Gail attempted murder on her husband could explain why WNJD53 had her arms severed at the elbows, preventing analysis of fingerprints, but the time passed from where Gail disappeared until VNJD53 was found implies that the husband wasn't the culprit (he OD'd a month after Gail vanished), unless he had helpers.

Or Gail simply went NC with him, and somehow ended up on the side of Burbank Boulevard six years later. VNJD53 was found with cocaine in her system, so Gail might've gone off the deep end for real after the official DLC. In addition to the facial resemblance, they both seem to have an element of chaotic vibe going on, but this is strictly jmo.


Gail Patricia Thaman's WS thread:

CA Thread 'CA - Gail Patricia Thaman, 30, Thousand Oaks, 26 Feb 1981'

Jul 25, 2024

Missing Person/NamUs #MP120290
Gail Patricia Thaman, Female, White/Caucasian
Date of Last Contact: February 26, 1981
Missing From: Thousand Oaks, California
Missing Age: 30 Years

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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

www.namus.gov

Height: 5' 6" - 6' 0" (66 - 72 Inches)
Weight: 115 lbs
Race/Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Circumstances​

Date of Last Contact: February 26, 1981
NamUs Case Created: April 17, 2024

Last Known Location Map​

Location: Thousand Oaks, California
County: Ventura County
Missing From Tribal Land: No
Primary...

• Romulus
• Replies: 9
• Forum: 1980's Missing

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