FL FL - Broward Co., WhtFem Skeletal 757UFFL, 46-60, silver wedding band, Nov'86

[carbuff]

Good find. And this is only Native American jewelers and hallmarks. There must be hundreds of others. But I wonder if a jewelers' association might have information to track it down?

 

[mrsward]

may not be initials of a name ,

could be yours eternally (name)

 

[imnotfussy]

It's a wedding band, it would be customary for many people to put a loving inscription on the band. I think "YEM" stands for Yours Eternally M .... where M is the name of her husband ... Michael, Mike, Matthew, Mathias etc etc.

I wish Missing Persons organizations would quote the name of the person's spouse, it would make it a lot easier to find a lot more match's.

 

[imnotfussy]

may not be initials of a name ,

could be yours eternally (name)

Woops, just noticed your post after I wrote mine. I think that's what it is, it makes perfect sense.

 

[JupiterAmmon]

To me they appear to be hallmarks 14k and them some letters, perhaps the makers, perhaps not. The "Y" looks more like a "U" to me...but I can definitely see the "M". In another solved Doe case I remember the initials on the wedding band belonged to the partner, not the deceased, so that could always be a possibility here to, if they are indeed initials, not a maker's mark, or a "Yours Eternally..." message.

 

[rainwater]

What about a sorority/fraternity ring? Or some sort of honorary academic society? The E could be a Greek Epsilon, M could be Greek Mu? Could the "Y" be the Greek letter Gamma? Gamma is usually symbolized as a lower case "r", but a "Y" shape is also used. The Greek letter "Lambda" looks like an upside down "y" as well. Just a suggestion.

 

[Sleuthster]

the MP in this link is Patricia Ford, missing from Pinellas County on January 26, 1982. age, height and weight are correct.

one thing about the ring, Patricia was an antique collector - "Ford regularly bought and sold antiques at the Oldsmar flea market." - per the circumstances. it is possible, but I can't place odds on it, that she bought a nice looking ring at an estate sale or something to give her the appearance of being married.

Police theorize - Ford was last seen removing $5,000 from her bank in Tampa. She was going to buy antique figurines from a woman who was about to move into a nursing home. Police never found the seller, and suspect Patricia may have been victim of a scheme to rob or abduct her.

so robbery and strangulation are certainly in the realm of reason here.

If it where Patricia Ford, I doubt he/she would have left the ring on her finger. Would have taken that too I assume.

 

[Sleuthster]

I agree with those who say that the ring is engraved with 14k and U.S.A. I don't know if you can really say it's white though, looking at the close up it could be gold colored.

 

[rcoope23]

How about Lucetta Starkie? https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/13211/63?current_page=case_information
10 years younger than the age estimate but the rest of the stats match.

 

[carbuff]

I'm pretty sure that YEM is a jeweler's hallmark. If it was an engraving of someone's initials, it would appear on the side opposite to the 14kt, and not right next to it.

Here is a chart showing several hallmarks. There isn't one for YEM, but there is one for VEM.

http://www.art-amerindien.com/signature_indian_native_marks_mz.htm#y

As musicaljoke pointed out upthread, it's much more likely to be a jeweler's hallmark than initials or engraving, because of its location. Which would mean if we could identify the jeweler, we might be able to track her down through that. It might be just USA, but the style seems unique.

 

[alllads]

From what I know, in the US it wasn't mandatory to stamp a ring with a maker's mark until 1961 (and only mandatory if you're claiming metal purity, like with this ring and the 14k), so all we know is that it's 14k gold (or even pretending to be 14k gold), made in the USA, probably prior to 1961. That does not look like an engraving at all.

 

[Dogface]

Could this be her? Irene Matheson. She appears to have simply disappeared from her home, which according to google maps from her city to broward county is ~45mins. It mentions a diamond ring and a wedding band. However they were gold, and it says the wedding band had diamond chips in it? Not sure what that means? The wedding ring itself appears to have had a larger diamond with side setting stones so may have been more likely to be stolen IMO.

Her car was found at an apartment complex, where it was involved in a hit and run and the driver fled. It appears cops thought she might have just become senile and ran off, smh.

Size and weight are spot on, and she even looks similar to the picture IMO, and was added to namus September of 2013. Not sure on protocol for submitting if someone could direct me on what to do that would be great!

 

[Dogface]

Ok I'm not sure if I did things right, but I called the case worker (Wendy) that was listed on namus for our unidentified person, and left a message with my name, number and the two case numbers.

Should I contact the person who is listed for Irene Matheson?

 

[Dogface]

Just read the tips section(probably should have done this sooner) and I will call the other detective as soon as my little one gives me the chance. Would love to hear input on what y'all think of the possible match?

 

[carbuff]

Well, the rings and clothing don't quite match up, but the other stuff is very close. Nice find!

 

[Dogface]

Yeah, I was wondering if it was possible the ring was gold plated? I'm not sure if it would be stamped in the manner it is if it's gold plated, or if the elements could have even worn that off? Anyone familiar with what would happen or if rings that are gold plated would have that stamp?

Also, for Irene, that is what she was seen wearing the day before she failed to show up at her job while in her yard, so I am thinking its possible she went in and changed?

 

[alllads]

Yeah, I was wondering if it was possible the ring was gold plated? I'm not sure if it would be stamped in the manner it is if it's gold plated, or if the elements could have even worn that off? Anyone familiar with what would happen or if rings that are gold plated would have that stamp?

Also, for Irene, that is what she was seen wearing the day before she failed to show up at her job while in her yard, so I am thinking its possible she went in and changed?

14k gold has to mean the actual purity, not plated (though if it's really white gold, it's essentially plated as well, probably with rhodium). Anyway, the stamps are usually pretty deep, and usually all of similar depth to each other if on the same piece.

 

[Dogface]

I will say that does not look like a traditional wedding band to me, particularly for a woman.

 

[carbuff]

Yeah, I was wondering if it was possible the ring was gold plated? I'm not sure if it would be stamped in the manner it is if it's gold plated, or if the elements could have even worn that off? Anyone familiar with what would happen or if rings that are gold plated would have that stamp?

Also, for Irene, that is what she was seen wearing the day before she failed to show up at her job while in her yard, so I am thinking its possible she went in and changed?

I was thinking more of the diamond chips -- the UID's ring appears to be all metal with no chips. I can see why somebody might have stolen the diamond but I'm not sure why they'd put a different ring on her finger.

And yes, it sounds like she could have changed into something nicer after working in the yard.

These are nits. I think it's definitely close enough to submit.

 

[Dogface]

Maybe I am having a blonde moment, but what does diamond chips mean? I tried to call the other detective today but just as I was about to leave a message my little one started acting up, and at the risk of sounding like a crazy person on the voicemail I decided I would phone again in the morning lol!

ETA: my grandmother use to wear a different ring on her ring finger when she worked with her flowers and gardening stuff. Hoping maybe that is the case here and we have a match! It appears from checking records that she may have a son, and what a wonderful gift that would be to let him have some sort of closure.

Also if I get to speak with anyone do y'all have any questions I should ask?