Identified! CO - Montrose Co., 'Windy Point Jane Doe' Fem 642UFCO, 35-40, scoliosis, Jul'94 - Susan Hoppes

[Tbone144]

Ginger May Hudson?

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Height fits and hair is Auburn. I can kind of see resemblance in the third picture.

Pittsburg KS is about 800 miles from Montrose County.

 

[carbuff]

Hm, looks possible.

There have been several reasonable possibles mentioned in this thread but I don't think very many of them were ever submitted. Does Ginger have DNA in the system?

 

[Tbone144]

Hm, looks possible.

There have been several reasonable possibles mentioned in this thread but I don't think very many of them were ever submitted. Does Ginger have DNA in the system?

Looks like she has DNA on file. Was trying to find info on her for the dental and it looks like her daughter is still looking for her.

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[carbuff]

I don't think this article has been posted before: http://www.denverpost.com/2013/07/30/fbi-and-montrose-officials-seek-help-identifying-womans-body/

It has quite a bit of information about the circumstances and what they know about her.

 

[carbuff]

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Exclusions
The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:

First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA

Marie Blee 1964 Colorado
Rebecca Kellison 1954 Colorado

Katherine Major from Wyoming has been added to the ruleouts. Updated link:
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[carbuff]

She was only wearing a belt?? Weird.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As I was updating her ruleouts, I realized the belt might be there because it was used to bind her hands or maybe strangle her

 

[MandiH82]

I'm planning to submit Vivian Joyce Elliott as a possible match tomorrow. I wanted to know if you all see what I'm seeing here.

Missing Person Case

Vivian Joyce Elliott – The Charley Project

Facial: Crazy similar, even the expression
DLC: 9/16/92 -- a little outside of the 6-18 month mark
Location: Missing out of Texas. I can't find a ton of info but her missing circumstances sound as though she was a bit of a drifter and her family thought she may end up in Southern California.
Height: 5'6" - 5"8/Match
Age: She's 49. Top of the age range in NamUs is 45 BUT, my theory is she's maybe older than originally thought. The kyphosis found in the spine usually develops much later on in life. Is a 4 year difference highly unlikely?
Hair Color: Reddish brown/Match
Dental: Both Vivian and UID are missing a few teeth

I'd love additional thoughts. I've got a few other possibilities with similar facial structure, but man, Vivian's photos (all of them) are incredibly similar!

 

[MandiH82]

So I ended up waiting to submit, as I was checking out some other matches. Today I sent in the following match potentials to Dustin at NamUs. None of them are screaming MATCH in an overwhelming way (even though Vivian Elliott above is pretty darn close for a visual match) so I'm not going to go right to law enforcement case managers. I'll just wait to see what Dustin says.

The MP's submitted are:
Vivian Joyce Elliott (above)
Vikki Lynn Vukelich Missing Person Case
Wilda Jean Cross Missing Person Case
Audrey Groat Missing Person Case

None of them were located particularly close to Colorado when they went missing, and many of their circumstances point very directly at spouses or significant others but, due to the fact that investigators on the Windy Point Jane Doe case felt this was a body dump and that the woman could have come from anywhere in the US, I wasn't as bothered by the distances.

I'll update with any news!

 

[YaYa_521]

Murdered woman unidentified for 25 years

By the time she was found above Divide Road, she was scattered bones. Also found: scraps of a belt, some hair, possibly reddish-brown. Someone had apparently covered her body with tree branches — possibly years before a hiker found her skull and brought down to a campsite near Windy Point in a bucket on July 7, 1994.

There was no ID; decomposition and animal activity meant only part of her skeleton was recovered. Neither bullet wounds, nor scrapes consistent with a knife was found on the bones. Her manner of death was, however, deemed a homicide.

The mystery of Windy Point Jane Doe, one of Montrose County’s coldest cases, just passed the quarter-century mark. Investigators have come and gone; leads trickled in, then dried up. Enough DNA was extracted to develop profiles and there have been at least two forensic reconstructions of Windy Point Jane’s face — but the central questions are the same today as they were 25 years ago. Who is she? How did she die? Who is responsible?

Much more at the link posted above.
Hopefully this is the year she gets her name back!

 

[YaYa_521]

Update on exclusions listed in NamUs profile:

Marie Blee
Rebecca Kellison
Katherine Major
Elizabeth Vaughn

 

[YaYa_521]

Potential match submitted by CarlK. The LE contact's response is shown below.
Lori Thiel - "Evidently this comparison was checked out in 2010. No ID."

List of potential matches suggested upthread.
Not certain whether any have been submitted to NamUs or LE directly.

Kathryn Adam
Wilda Jean Cross
Vivian Joyce Elliott
Audrey Groat
Ginger May Hudson
Patricia Karlberg
Frances Morales
Sarah Ann Norfleet
Kimberly Ann Thompson
Vikki Lynn Vukelich
Paula Van Waid

 

[lucidtx]

I stumbled on this article from 1998 that I hadn't seen before. They name convicted murderer David Middleton as a potential POI. He might be the Nevada prisoner also mentioned in the 2019 article.

Hikers' Chilling Discovery Touches Off Windy Point Murder Mystery

It's good to know they talked to people who hunted that unit back then. This spot is pretty far off the beaten path.

 

[YaYa_521]

It's suspected that Susan is a victim of Ted Bundy. She disappeared in 1975 from Provo, UT which is about a 5 hour drive to Windy Point, CO.

Susan Curtis – The Charley Project

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Normally I'm not one to criticize reconstructions but that one is really something.

 

[YaYa_521]

Susan Curtis – The Charley Project
For comparison

 

[lucidtx]

Normally I'm not one to criticize reconstructions but that one is really something.

Seriously, the original was straight out of a nightmare. They probably would be better off just releasing a description rather than a recon that bad because no one is going to even consider it could be a familiar face. I was so happy to see the FBI re-did this one.

 

[lucidtx]

FWIW, knowing about Bundy and his Colorado crimes, this is the sort of location I could see him dumping a body at. He is known to have traveled through this general region and killed a woman a couple hours' drive away in Grand Junction. Seems like they believe the victim to be a bit older than his typical victim, though.

Regardless of any potential Bundy connection, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some sort of connection to UT here. These remains were found close to the state line, and the public land is practically seamless around here. Recreationists and locals frequently travel back and forth over the line and there's plenty of back routes through wilderness. NM and AZ would also be good to focus on.

 

[j_in_c]

Susan Curtis – The Charley Project
For comparison

The LA Times article (from 1998) mentions gold teeth - I am thinking Susan was too young for gold teeth and would not think this is a potential match. Would love if CO reaches out to DNA Doe Project for this one!

 

[ntt1]

Identified as Susan Hoppes, 45 of Lakewood, Washington. Reported missing in 1993.

30-year-old cold case cracked as Windy Point Jane Doe ID'd

July 7, 1994, rural Montrose County. Aug. 9, 1993, Lakewood, Washington.

www.montrosepress.com

 

[taramarie]

Rest peacefully, Susan