Identified! CT - West Haven, New Haven Water Co, WhtFem 18-30, UP9236, skeletal, red Westclox folding travel alarm clock, Apr'79 - Sarah "Sally" Tatham Abbott

[Richard]

The Westclox alarm clock found with the body is an interesting possible clue. It would indicate that this young woman was likely in a travel status, and possibly far from her home. She wasn't a migrant or homeless person. And the area where she was found was likely a body disposal site, rather than a destination that she intentionally traveled to. Hence a probable murder case.

Those Westclox alarm clocks have been in production for over 50 years. However there have been minor changes made to them over time. Knowing the actual date of manufacture of that particular clock would help to narrow down the earliest possible date of her death.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

Leslie Anne Guthrie - #MP10149
Missing From: Katonah, NY (approx. a 1.5-hour drive from West Haven)
Missing Age: 29
DLC: February 5, 1977
Height: 5'4" (64 inches)
Distinguishing Features: No known information
Circumstances: Leslie was last seen on on February 13, 1977 with her children, Timothy and Julie. (additional details available on Leslie's Charley Project page)

Delores Jean Stanton - #MP7783
Missing From: Gainesville, FL
Missing Age: 21
DLC: April 13, 1976
Height: 5'2" (62 inches)
Distinguishing Features: No known information
Circumstances: Stanton was last seen in Gainesville, Florida on April 13, 1976, when she left home to hitchhike to class at Santa Fe Community College. She has never been heard from again. Stanton is a native of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Few details are available in her case, but foul play is suspected.

Kim Charleson - #MP36637
Missing From: Cannon Beach, OR
Missing Age: 22
DLC: April 13, 1976
Height: 5'3" - 5'5" (63 - 65 inches)
Distinguishing Features: No known information
Circumstances: Charleson was last seen in Cannon Beach, Oregon on January 7, 1976. She was attending school at the time. She may have been carrying a small sum in Canadian currency when she disappeared. She has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case.

Brenda Sue Goza - #MP73810
Missing From: Clarksville, AR
Missing Age: 18
DLC: December 7, 1975
Height: 5'4" (64 inches)
Distinguishing Features: No known information
Circumstances: Goza was last seen in Clarksville, Arkansas on December 7, 1975. She and her infant son disappeared from their residence and she has never been heard from again. It's unclear whether Goza's son was ever located; no information is available about her him. Her case remains unsolved.

Sylvia Alice Lwowski - #MP7574
Missing From: Staten Island, NY (approx. a 2- to 3-hour drive from West Haven)
Missing Age: 22
DLC: September 6, 1975
Height: 5'3" (63 inches)
Distinguishing Features: No known information
Circumstances: Lwowski was last seen in Staten Island, New York on September 6, 1975. She went out to the movies with her fiance, Charles Joseph Cirronella, that evening. He said they got into an argument and Lwowski threw her glasses against the car's dashboard and left the vehicle on Richmond Avenue near the K-Mart Plaza. She has never been heard from again.

Prior to her disappearance, Lwowski attended Wagner College. She majored in biology and was a member of a sorority and a band. Both of her parents are now deceased, but her brother is still alive and looking for her. Few details are available in her case. (per Charley Project)

Linda Geronimo - #MP21462
Missing From: Wyandanch, NY (approx. a 2- to 2.5-hour drive from West Haven)
Missing Age: 25
DLC: June 25, 1975
Height: 5'2" (62 inches)
Distinguishing Features: No known information
Circumstances: Individual left home address to go to store and did not return home.

Patricia Jane Seelbaugh - #MP7040
Missing From: Grove City, PA
Missing Age: 17
DLC: October 26, 1973
Height: 5'0" (60 inches)
Distinguishing Features: No known information
Circumstances: Patricia was last seen on Friday, October 26, 1973 in the company of friends at the Barkeyville truck stop in Barkeyville, PA. The truck stop is located off of Interstate 80 just east of Interstate 79. She was dropped off with a known male at a residence in the area located just outside of Grove City, PA, commonly known at Hallville. It was late, likely after midnight. This is the last time that she was seen.

 

[summergirl1]

I think of all those women, she looks the most like Sylvia Lwowski and Patricia Seelbaugh, who both went missing from the East Coast interestingly, although Sylvia was closer. But I looked them both up on the Doe Network and they both have DNA available, although no dentals in either case. So wouldn't they both have already been ruled out by DNA? I notice there is no photo for Linda Geronimo and I wasn't able to find whether there is DNA on her or not. But she was Hispanic, and this Doe is not described as being.

 

[theshadow45]

West Haven Jane Doe has been unidentified for 44 years today.

 

[DSCrime]

Local news article
police asking for help in crowdfunding which stands at $3,137.91

West Haven Police Ask For Help With 44-Year-Old Cold Case

 

[DSCrime]

Very good new article on the case

Two women on decade-long quest to ID West Haven's 1979 Jane Doe hope DNA will finally give an answer

Investigators originally did not have much to go on. The case was picked up again in 1981, when Jane Doe’s mandible was found near the area where her remains first were discovered, according to Murray.

The case then went quiet for another decade, according to Murray.

“The next time it was reopened was in 1991. ... A major casebook was compiled at that time,” she said. “Other than putting this book together, I don’t think they were able to put together any further leads on it.”

It would be another 20 years before police got another lead. That happened in 2013, with Clark’s phone call to Murray.

Jane Doe’s mitochondrial DNA had matched that of a woman named Lynne Schulze, a Middlebury College student who went missing in 1971, Murray said.

But while mitochondrial DNA can help rule people in or out, is not individualizing, Clark said. Investigators ruled out Schulze using dental records, Murray said.

“We were really hoping it was her, but it wasn’t,” said Clark.

Still, the lead was the start of a 10-year quest for Murray and Clark.

In the years that followed, they took various steps to try to move the case forward. Murray revisited the site where Jane Doe’s remains were found and brought cadaver dogs to try to locate additional parts of her skeleton, which is still incomplete, Murray said.

In late 2013, the pair sent images of Jane Doe’s skull to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which created a composite sketch of Jane Doe’s face, according to Murray.

Occasionally, individuals who thought the woman might be their missing loved one would surface, Murray said. The pair also investigated whether Jane Doe’s remains might match women who went missing out of Vernon and Waterbury, she said.

None of them was their Jane Doe.

 

[othram]

We are trying to wrap up funding for the case: Who is New Haven County Jane Doe (1979)?. Help us get the word out.

The case is already in progress!

 

[HmmMysterious]

Identified as 29-year-old Sarah "Sally" Tatham Abbott (August 3, 1940 - July 1970). Good job Othram, this was a fast solve

After 44 years, New Haven County Jane Doe is Identified

Sally apparently lived in New Haven, the same city where her remains were discovered. The investigation hasn't uncovered the manner and cause of her death which will remain undetermined.

 

[HmmMysterious]

Rest in peace Sally

 

[HmmMysterious]

Additional photo of Sally vs the reconstruction of her

 

[SimsGuy67]

@othram was Sally reported missing? It seemed she had a loving family and we have a pretty contact approximate date of disappearance so I'd like to think so.

Also thank you for another ID! This one was pretty quick too, another reason that leads me to think she was reported missing.

 

[othram]

Thanks to everyone that helped fund this case. You all make the difference between the unsolved and solved.

 

[summergirl1]

It says they are still looking for info on her so maybe they will hear from someone who can shed more light on what was going on in her life at the time of her disapearence. I'm surprised she was actually from New Haven. The estimate of how long she'd been there was was accurate as April 1979 was eight years since she had disappeared ( though very close to nine).

 

[DSCrime]

RIP Sarah Tatham Abbott

My condolences to her family

That was a really quick id by @othram !

Can anyone find contemporary news articles about this case? She must have been dumped in an out of the way spot on this water company's property if she may have been there for up to eight years. I wonder if the spot were she was dumped was easily accessible or if whoever dumped her knew who owned the property- did the location suggest someone local dumped her there? She may have had the watch because she was traveling and hitchhiking or maybe not.

There doesn't seem to be too much detail, but we are optimistic that DNA testing will simply tell us who she was!

There are a few universities & colleges in the New Haven & surrounding area. Wonder if any of the college newspapers (Yale, University of New Haven, Quinnipiac, etc) had any articles on Sarah Abbott's disappearance in 1970 or when her remains were found in 1979?

 

[MarziPanda]

Wow, I have a 2nd cousin named Sally Tatham. The ID made me jump for a second! (Not the same person though)

RIP Sally.

 

[Friday Fan]

@othram was Sally reported missing? It seemed she had a loving family and we have a pretty contact approximate date of disappearance so I'd like to think so.

Also thank you for another ID! This one was pretty quick too, another reason that leads me to think she was reported missing.

I wouldn't be surprised if she was reported (rereported) recently. Someone may have reported it at the time and police refused to take the report or tossed it because she was an adult. Doubt if there was LE effort to locate her..moo

 

[9glenn9]

RIP Sarah Tatham Abbott

I hope someone will come forward with more information as well.

 

[Richard]

She has been identified, but the case is still an open one, since circumstances of her death have not yet been determined. It may well be considered an unsolved murder.

After 44 years, New Haven County Jane Doe is Identified

West Haven PD & Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Team with Othram to Identify New Haven County Jane Doe

dnasolves.com

https://[link removed]/wiki/Sally_Abbott

 

[HmmMysterious]

New information about Sally: Investigators identify remains of woman missing from New Haven for 53 years

Sally was reported missing by her siblings when she disappeared from New Haven, Connecticut in July of 1970. She had moved there from Schenectady, New York because her then-husband was studying at Yale University. However, Sally had already divorced from him at the time of her disappearance. She also had no children.

Here's an interesting, but very sad excerpt from the article. This was said by West Haven police detective Tammy Murray:

"She did have some psychiatric issues...she was kind of struggling with those issues."

 

[HmmMysterious]

New information about Sally: Investigators identify remains of woman missing from New Haven for 53 years

Sally was reported missing by her siblings when she disappeared from New Haven, Connecticut in July of 1970. She had moved there from Schenectady, New York because her then-husband was studying at Yale University. However, Sally had already divorced from him at the time of her disappearance. She also had no children.

Here's an interesting, but very sad excerpt from the article. This was said by West Haven police detective Tammy Murray:

"She did have some psychiatric issues...she was kind of struggling with those issues."

The article also seems to suggest that Sally was found in what is now the Maltby Lakes Nature Preserve