FL FL - Sumter Co, 'Little Miss Panasoffkee', WhtFem 17-24, 470UFFL, Feb'71

[Triss]

The whole thing is so frustrating. No information if her case is being worked on aside from the isotope analysis (that i now consider quackery for modern populations and maybe also historic ones). It is more often incorrect than it is correct.

Absolutely. Isotope analysis has proven to be unreliable so many times, this girl could be from literally anywhere.

 

[annoulzz]

I was so confident after that possible lead that this woman was already identified. I pray this leads to her identity soon. Has anyone been able to find her family in Greece? The family of the possible lead I mean. I’m guessing not? I’m going through old threads but did they publicize this case in Greece? Or am I remembering incorrectly?

It was publicized in Greece on Angeliki Angeloudi's tv show, but after that one lead about LMP possibly being Konstantina, there were no leads or followups after that, or at least not shown on the air.

 

[beavt]

Also right ankle scar. LMLP had a known surgery on right ankle. Went missing shortly before body was found and in the same state. I wonder if DNA has been done.

MMC had never had dental work and had “an excellent set of teeth” which is in stark contrast to this UID

 

[Susikatze]

MMC had never had dental work and had “an excellent set of teeth” which is in stark contrast to this UID

True but this is according to what Earl stated. Really, we need DNA done to give someones mom her name back.

 

[lonewanderer]

MMC had never had dental work and had “an excellent set of teeth” which is in stark contrast to this UID

I also strongly believe MMC is likely to be LMP. The green dress, the ankle, being found in a blanket/rug, few other very similar pieces of information.

Admittedly, I recently saw one source for MMC that made my doubt my belief, stating she had zero dental work. Also, there was a couple of months between MMC reported missing date and LMP being discovered. I don't remember reading about decomposition for LMP, and this would have been in Florida where it would have been more rapid (IMO).

I do wonder though....I remember in the Mostly Harmless/Denim case, the UID was described as "perfect teeth/excellent set of teeth". For some people, "perfect teeth" means no dental work and straight sets of teeth. For other people "perfect teeth" might mean you have one of them left to brush. Just an observation, as some things can be subjective, but I do believe the perfect teeth for this case might debunk MMC.

 

[theshadow45]

Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee has been unidentified for 54 years today.

 

[ninesevenpotatoes]

54 years.

Over half a century this young woman has been buried without an official name.
Think about how much she could've done in 54 years had her life not been taken. This case has always intrigued me and I'm really hoping there's a break in the case soon, as there's a lot unique to her that could help aid in her identity and find her potential killer. Her clothing, her surgery, her illnesses, and her distinct face.

Here's a theory I thought of a while ago based on what I know about the case (If I made an oversight feel free to address it):

LMLP could've been a late teenager (I'd estimate 16 - 19) who ran away from home around the 1964 - 1968. Her homelife or early health may not have been the best, considering the Harris lines indicate malnutrition or illness early in life. She might've married a man later on, explaining the ring on her finger. Considering she gave birth at least once in her lifetime, it's possible her significant other also got her pregnant and she had a child. Either that, or she was "Carol", and gave up the baby to someone else while running away. (Keep in mind, this child could be in their late 50s by now!) However, her husband may have abused her, which could explain her bone injuries, specifically the periostitis around her lower right leg, and the ankle injury that led her to get the Watson-Jones treatment. The extensive dental work could've been a result of poor health as a child or abuse she received as an adult. Either way, her husband could've killed her one day by strangulation, and disposed her body where it would be later found.

That's just one way it could've played out. What I can conclude confidently is that she likely suffered severe illness or abuse sometime in her life. It's really just about filling in the gaps. What do you think?

Sources:
https://🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬/wiki/Little_Miss_Lake_Panasoffkee
470UFFL

 

[EuropeanSearcher]

Was Irena LaRosa ever compared, some pictures are really similar.

 

[Melt71]

Was Irena LaRosa ever compared, some pictures are really similar.

Namus for Irene LaRosa (Namus MP37130) does not list this set of remains as a ruleout.

 

[ninesevenpotatoes]

While I do see some similarities, Irena LaRosa actually disappeared after the body of LMLP was discovered.

LMLP was discovered on February 19th, 1971, but Irena allegedly disappeared sometime March of 1971, atleast over a week later.
Of course, considering the amount of time it took to report her missing, it is possible there was an error, and she actually disappeared earlier. Considering LMLP was dead for about a month before her discovery, then she actually disappeared sometime in January 1971. However, it feels unlikely.

 

[LucyOso]

While I do see some similarities, Irena LaRosa actually disappeared after the body of LMLP was discovered.

LMLP was discovered on February 19th, 1971, but Irena allegedly disappeared sometime March of 1971, atleast over a week later.
Of course, considering the amount of time it took to report her missing, it is possible there was an error, and she actually disappeared earlier. Considering LMLP was dead for about a month before her discovery, then she actually disappeared sometime in January 1971. However, it feels unlikely.

A few weeks or months after so many decades is not a total exclusion. I think we've seen many cases where a person was reported incorrectly as "seen" after a UID was found. We've seen stranger things...

Due to the length of time that it took to report her missing, the exact date is unclear.

Irene LaRosa

Irene Lanora LaRosa was a teenager who was last seen walking away from her Ellington, Connecticut home in March 1971. Irene was last seen walking away from her home in March 1971. Due to the length of time that it took to report her missing, the exact date is unclear. Irene's disappearance is...

int-missing.fandom.com

According to her niece she was not reported missing until 2016.

4411DFCT - Irene LaRosa

www.doenetwork.org

 

[ninesevenpotatoes]

I think we've seen many cases where a person was reported incorrectly as "seen" after a UID was found.

That's true. I remember in the case of Francine Trimble and Kerry Graham, some sources accidentally listed their disappearance dates as December 24th, 1979, when they had actually been reported missing on December 24th, 1978, which was about half a year before their bodies were discovered on July 8th, 1979. Combined with Graham initially being misgendered upon discovery, it took longer to discover their identities. If we find out this was in fact an error, could it lead us to LMLP's identity?

 

[Richard]

I first saw this case when it was featured on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries about 1992. It was one which used a technique called "age regression" in which composite drawings were made of the unidentified woman at earlier ages in an attempt to identify her.

 

[Triss]

Bumping for LMP <3

 

[Richard]

What is the current list of DNA "rule outs" in regard to Little Miss Panasoffkee?

 

[Richard]

The "facts" in this case have changed somewhat over time. Initial reports stated that no clothing was found with the body, except a man's 36 inch bolt which was wrapped around her neck. More recent summaries describe her as completely clothed in a matching green ensemble, along with jewelry.

I wonder, in light of some of these changing details, if other descriptions might also have changed slightly or been inaccurately estimated or stated.

Allowing for some slight differences, here is a missing person from that time frame and state who might be considered as a potential match. Consider that the identifying information was probably initially provided by her husband.
----------------------------------------------

Mary Margaret Cook

Mary, circa 1970

• Missing Since 11/14/1970
• Missing From Highland City, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Biracial, Native American, White
• Date of Birth 04/26/1945 (75)
• Age 25 years old
• Height and Weight 4'11, 145 - 150 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description Possibly a green dress.
• Medical Conditions Mary may have been pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Biracial (Caucasian/Native American) female. Brown hair, blue/hazel eyes. Mary wears cats-eye eyeglasses and cannot see without them. She had excellent teeth in 1970 and had never needed dental care. She has a birthmark on the outside of her right leg, above her ankle.

Details of Disappearance

Mary was last seen on November 14, 1970. Her husband says she left her home in Highland City, Florida to go on a shopping trip at the J. M. Fields store in Lakeland, Florida and buy Christmas presents for her two sons, then aged five and three. She never returned.

Her white 1959 Cadillac coupe was found abandoned in the store's parking lot the following day. Mary's wallet and purse were inside the car, but $200 which her husband supposedly gave her for the presents was missing. She left behind her wedding rings, which she normally wore all the time. No one saw her or her car at the store that day.

Investigators view Mary's husband, Leathern "Earl" Cook, as the prime suspect in her disappearance. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. They had been married for eight years at the time of Mary's disappearance in 1970.

Earl was interviewed extensively and in 2003, the police dug up the garage floor of the house they lived in in 1970, suspecting Mary's body might be buried there. Earl also provided them with a blood sample. They found no evidence and Earl was never charged.

Leathern "Earl" Cook in the 1970s

He always maintained his innocence in her case and told their children that Mary left of her own accord. Earl remarried two years after Mary's disappearance, got divorced in 2000, married a third time and died in Greenacres, Florida in 2007, at the age of 66.

Mary's oldest son stated he saw his parents arguing on the day of his mother's disappearance and that Earl told him not to look outside. He believes Mary's body was concealed in a red blanket from the house and was buried within some hours' distance of Highland City.

Mary's mother took care of her sons for some time after her disappearance, but when she found out the police suspected Earl was involved, she confronted him and directly asked if he'd killed Mary. He never answered; instead, he simply took the boys and left.

Some have suggested that Mary's disappearance is related to the disappearance of Peggy Byars-Baisden, who vanished from Highland City in April 1965. Both Mary and Byars-Baisden are the mothers of two children each, both were in their twenties, and they resided on the same street. However, investigators do not think the two women knew each other and have not been able to link their disappearances.

Mary was a stay-at-home mother at the time of her disappearance. Earl often went to West Palm Beach, Florida, hours away from Highland City, for painting jobs during the week and returned to Highland City to spend weekends at home. Foul play is suspected in Mary's case, but little evidence is available in her disappearance.

Investigating Agency

• Polk County Sheriff's Office 863-533-0344

Source Information

• The Doe Network
• ABC Action News
• The Palm Beach Post
• Porchlight International for the Missing and Unidentified
• NamUs
• Mary Margaret Cook – The Charley Project
• FL - FL - Mary Margaret Cook, 25, Highland City, 14 Nov 1970

Original post above was 4 years ago. Mary Margaret Cook went missing only a few months before Miss Panasoffkee was found. There are quite a few similarities in the two cases.

 

[Rhysiare]

Original post above was 4 years ago. Mary Margaret Cook went missing only a few months before Miss Panasoffkee was found. There are quite a few similarities in the two cases.

Only, there seem to be some striking discrepancies in these individuals.

1. Mary went missing almost 3 months before LMP was found. The timeframe doesn’t seem to fit, since if the two women were the same, it’d mean she had disappeared for 2 months and then after that was murdered.

Most people who disappear and are murdered usually are murdered the same day of disappearance or within a few days of it. To have gone disappearing for 2 months and then be murdered, while not impossible, is very unlikely.

2. LMP was not found to be pregnant, which Mary may or may not have been. But that it was brought up at all with Mary leads me to think lesser of the likelihood the two women were the same, since pregnancy has never been mentioned about LMP at all.

3. LMP wasn’t found with any glasses. It sounds like Mary’s need of them are like my bf, if he doesn’t have them, he’s legally blind. LMP not having glasses or contacts would seem like a large indicator the two women aren’t the same, I would think.

Of course, perhaps the glasses were just never found or were taken as a trophy, but I tend to operate with basing my thoughts on as little complication as possible, unless shown something to indicate otherwise. That’s just my view though.

Still, all theories are welcome and valid within reason. I’m hoping we learn of her identity soon. Everyday, more and more unidentified victims either get their names back or have more progress made toward doing so. So, here’s to hoping it’s sooner rather than later.

 

[Susikatze]

Only, there seem to be some striking discrepancies in these individuals.

1. Mary went missing almost 3 months before LMP was found. The timeframe doesn’t seem to fit, since if the two women were the same, it’d mean she had disappeared for 2 months and then after that was murdered.

Most people who disappear and are murdered usually are murdered the same day of disappearance or within a few days of it. To have gone disappearing for 2 months and then be murdered, while not impossible, is very unlikely.

2. LMP was not found to be pregnant, which Mary may or may not have been. But that it was brought up at all with Mary leads me to think lesser of the likelihood the two women were the same, since pregnancy has never been mentioned about LMP at all.

3. LMP wasn’t found with any glasses. It sounds like Mary’s need of them are like my bf, if he doesn’t have them, he’s legally blind. LMP not having glasses or contacts would seem like a large indicator the two women aren’t the same, I would think.

Of course, perhaps the glasses were just never found or were taken as a trophy, but I tend to operate with basing my thoughts on as little complication as possible, unless shown something to indicate otherwise. That’s just my view though.

Still, all theories are welcome and valid within reason. I’m hoping we learn of her identity soon. Everyday, more and more unidentified victims either get their names back or have more progress made toward doing so. So, here’s to hoping it’s sooner rather than later.

A body in water may remain fairly preserved for several months and then rise to the surface. A PMI of 2 months is not a rule out for a body found in water.

Glasses get easily lost in water and also if she was killed elsewhere, the glasses may not have come with her to the dumping place.

Pregnancy, the files just say MMC MAY have been pregnant but there is no further evidence of that.

Only thing that may rule MMC out is her perfect teeth, while LMLP had extensive dental work. However, the perfect teeth is also something that Earl claimed and that is not proven.

 

[Rhysiare]

A body in water may remain fairly preserved for several months and then rise to the surface. A PMI of 2 months is not a rule out for a body found in water.

Glasses get easily lost in water and also if she was killed elsewhere, the glasses may not have come with her to the dumping place.

Pregnancy, the files just say MMC MAY have been pregnant but there is no further evidence of that.

Only thing that may rule MMC out is her perfect teeth, while LMLP had extensive dental work. However, the perfect teeth is also something that Earl claimed and that is not proven.

It’s possible, though due to Florida’s overall warmer temperature and milder winters, I’d expect to hear much more about a further advanced stage of decomposition.

To my remembrance, none of the information about the decomposition has ever been said to contradict the 1mo PMI set by law enforcement. But, you never know, forensics can be flawed especially in older cases.

If it is indeed Mary, I hope we find out and the LE at least look into the possibility, even if I’m a bit skeptical of it.

 

[Richard]

While it is likely that she was killed and her body disposed of shortly afterwards, it is also remotely possible that her body could have been stored for some period of time in a refrigerated space or freezer before being placed in the water.