FL FL - Watson Island, BlkFem 790UFFL, 16-26, in Japanese Gardens, Feb'81

[Laughing]

It might signal her neighborhood though. Chic brand jeans were sold at Kmart. There is a Kmart 6 miles inland from the Japanese gardens. Just north of there is an area called Little Haiti. Just south of there is an area called Little Havana. If she was selling her body to survive, she could have been spooked by her customer's violence, and didn't have time to redress. She may have jumped out of the car thinking she could escape. He could have panicked that his violence went further than he expected, dumped her, tossed her clothes and left. Seriously doubt there were any cameras anywhere back then.

Well, I bought at least one pair at a mall Dillard's, an upscale Midwestern chain at the time.

JMHO YMMV

 

[PayrollNerd]

Well, I bought at least one pair at a mall Dillard's, an upscale Midwestern chain at the time.

JMHO YMMV

True, they were sold other places. It is also possible she picked them up at a thrift store. I'm thinking price wise, she would have been frugal but maybe not.

 

[Laughing]

True, they were sold other places. It is also possible she picked them up at a thrift store. I'm thinking price wise, she would have been frugal but maybe not.

Any local store is a better bet than the places I shopped in the late 70's/early 80's!!!

RIP, young lady!

 

[PayrollNerd]

NamUs lists only one exclusion as of today, a woman named Beverly Ward. I wonder whether there is DNA on file for this UID, and I'm guessing "not" since she was found before DNA science came about.

Being so close to the Caribbean, it's entirely possible she was in the US illegally and there wouldn't be family members to report her missing or they may have been afraid to do so.

If the evidence on the clothing was preserved well enough, hopefully they can extract DNA now. I wonder if they could exhume her body for DNA and do the genetic genealogy to at least find her family. She is so young it's mind blowing that no one is missing her - at least publicly.

 

[Fuuro]

Bumping. Who was this poor kid?

 

[PayrollNerd]

The age being lowered makes me wonder if she was abused by her family and they dumped her when the malnutrition combined with chronic abuse went too far.

 

[Fuuro]

The age being lowered makes me wonder if she was abused by her family and they dumped her when the malnutrition combined with chronic abuse went too far.

I think that it's likely that she had some sort of problem with her family that ultimately lead to her ending up on the streets.

She was probably still a minor, perhaps as young as a preteen. In ordinary circumstances, the adults in her life would have immediately noticed her absence (since she was too young to be living on her own) and reported her missing, and I'm not aware of any missing girls who match her description.

Her loved ones could have tried to report her missing, but the report may not have been taken seriously or the report could have been lost (similarly to what happened with her UID case file), which would also explain why it seems as if nobody is missing her.

 

[carbuff]

One exclusion: Beverly Ward from Kansas

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[Fuuro]

Today makes 39 years since this girl was found. Hopefully, she doesn't go identified for 40 years.

 

[Dylansmom08]

Just came across her on an unidentified group on facebook it is so sad that she has went this long without being identified. In trying to figure out why she wouldn't have been reported missing it occurred to me that maybe she has been reported missing but the national system for missing children wasn't created until 1984. So if she was reported missing in another city or county maybe it wouldn't be known to other agencies. It could even be possible she is not from Florida at all that would make identifying her even harder. MOO

 

[Laughing]

Older, taller, but reasonable time frame:

KS - KS - Diana Kenner, 32, Shawnee Co., 16 July 1979

Plus, puts reliable eyes on Diana Kenner.

JMHO YMMV LRR

 

[Fuuro]

Older, taller, but reasonable time frame:

KS - KS - Diana Kenner, 32, Shawnee Co., 16 July 1979

Plus, puts reliable eyes on Diana Kenner.

JMHO YMMV LRR

That's an interesting find. I had (unfortunately) never heard of Diana Kenner before reading this post. I do think that the discrepancies in age, height, and location make it a bit of a stretch, though.

Next month will make 40 years since the Japanese Gardens Girl was found. To put that into perspective, it's possible that she's been an unidentified decedent for a length of time that is three times longer than the amount of time she spent actually living. I hope that this year will be the one where she gets her name back.

 

[Susikatze]

I assume she had a recognizable face as the PMI was less than one day. The recons are based on postmortems and should be quite accurate.
I see neither Pinkie, nor Diana in her, our JD was a darker skinned AA lady, while Pinkie and Diana were lighter skinned. Also, mouth shapes do not match up at all and overall face shape.

As to her weight, I am also wondering whether it is another mistake. If she wore a brand of jeans for curvier ladies, it is not possible she was 90lb only. And 12-26 is a massive range for someone who was entirely recognizeable and physically intact. You can easily tell from the dental eruption and the growth plates whether the individual is pre adolescent, adolescent or young adult over 21.... that also does not sit well with me.

Generally I see many non white Does gravely neglected re proper documentation and the effort LE puts into identification.. especially 30 or 40 years ago! Racial bias sadly affects the dead as well...

 

[MadMcGoo]

12-26?! Come on. I’m no professional but I’m certain even I could do better than that. I hope we can help get this poor girl her name back!

 

[Bit of hope]

From this site Japanese Gardens Girl (It's wiki, so anybody of the public can add information, bit I think people are sincere about this info)

Her age range has been changed several times; it was initially believed that she was between 15 and 20 years old, but later estimates put her age as being as young as 12 or as old as 26. The most recent estimation, as of 2016, narrows the age range considerably to between 14 and 16. As of March 2019, NCMEC still puts her at between 12 and 18. It should be noted that her body mass index at 5'2 and 90 pounds would be significantly underweight for a grown adult and would be more fitting of a girl aged roughly 13 years old.

Namus The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) states between 12 - 26
Have you seen this child? states between 12-18
In this article from 2016 https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article76163837.html(interview with retiring investigator for the the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Officer, Sandra Boyd) they say she is estimated between 16 - 18.

Two rule outs as for the wiki page

• Shirley Hyman The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
• Beverly Ward Beverly Ward

 

[PayrollNerd]

As mentioned already, I really think dentals are going to be a huge clue to age. Maybe that is why they've narrowed it further. The ME reviewed the case in 2011. I wonder if they've requested an exhumation for dentals or DNA. Not that any particular DOE should be more important than another but, I really wish there was a national GG team that focused solely on children.

Date Body Found: February 3, 1981
NamUs Case Created: October 6, 2010
ME/C QA Reviewed: December 28, 2011

 

[Fuuro]

Our Jane Doe has been unidentified for exactly 40 years today. Everybody deserves a name, but of all of the UID cases that I follow, this is one of the ones that I am most eager to see resolved.

 

[Bit of hope]

Jane Does facial traits look like this girl missing from North-Carolina, but she would have been approx. 24 yo in 1981. Ila Veronica Tucker Maynard – The Charley Project No gap mentioned and she had pierced ears. JD no earrings mentioned/shown.

 

[coffeeandacig]

Our Jane Doe has been unidentified for exactly 40 years today. Everybody deserves a name, but of all of the UID cases that I follow, this is one of the ones that I am most eager to see resolved.

I know this case means a lot to you @Fuuro. Sorry to hear it hasn't been resolved.

As a previous poster mentioned, I too am of the mindset that this young lady was part of the Haitian boat people influx from the 1970s to early 80s. Just like today at the Mexican border, people posed as parents to get the children into the country. I believe she was part of human trafficking and her real parents in Haiti are unaware of her death.
I wonder if LE at the time, asked around Little Haiti in Miami whether they recognized this child. By now, I wonder how many old timers would be willing to talk of the "trafficking underbelly"?

 

[Moonwalker9]

According to namus

Clothing
White bra and bikini-style underwear with words "Rest Area - Visitors Welcome"

Maybe we could find out where this underwear was manufactured to get some more clues of her identity.

An article about her case
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article76163837.html

Apparently she was run over by a car. Reminds me of the Compton jane doe 1975 case which is similar. A 12-15 year old black child also run over by a car. Not solved yet.