IL IL - Calmuet City, Blk Fem 15-25 UP17038 found at jogging path in Wentworth Woods April 1981

[Moonwalker9]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Case Information


Case Numbers
NCMEC Number--
ME/C Case Number81-001302
Demographics
SexFemale
Race / EthnicityBlack / African American
Possible First Name--
Possible Middle Name--
Possible Last Name--
Possible Nickname--
Estimated Age GroupLate Teen/Young Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years)15-25
Estimated Year of Death--
Estimated PMI--
Height5' 5"(65 inches) , Estimated
Weight130 lbs, Estimated
Circumstances
TypeUnidentified Deceased
Date FoundApril 19, 1981
NamUs Case CreatedSeptember 20, 2017
ME/C QA Reviewed--
Location Found Map
General Location--Calmuet City, Illinois
CountyCook County
GPS Coordinates--
Circumstances of RecoveryLocated about 15 feet off of a jogging path in Wentworth Woods in Calumet City, Illinois, on April 19, 1981. It was Easter Sunday. Police believe she had been there only overnight.
Details of Recovery


Inventory of RemainsAll parts recovered
Condition of RemainsNot recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction
Physical Description
Hair ColorBlack
Head Hair DescriptionShort
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye ColorBrown
Right Eye ColorBrown
Eye Description--
Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Scar/mark
Scar on right knee


Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Clothing
White v-neck pull-over sweater, blue jeans, and a white bra.
On the Body


I don't think she was decomposed in April in Illinois, if she was only dead for one night?

 

[b741ma]

Cherita Thomas was the same height, only 5 pounds off, disappeared 8 months prior and from 7 hours away. Good this be her.

 

[meanmaryjean]

There was a shopping center called Wentworth Woods in Calumet City back in the day. Is there an actual address associated with this UID discovery? I don't recall an actual 'woods' in in Cal City - it is a suburb of Chicago (some of The Blues Brothers was filmed there). My mom lived in the area then- and we lived just over the line in Indiana.

 

[bombardier]

I don't think she was decomposed in April in Illinois, if she was only dead for one night?

I agree...I can see how some decomp could take place overnight, but looking it up April in Illinois is below room temperature and she was so decomposed that she was unrecognizable to the point that no sketch/reconstruction could be released?

 

[coffeeandacig]

There was a shopping center called Wentworth Woods in Calumet City back in the day. Is there an actual address associated with this UID discovery? I don't recall an actual 'woods' in in Cal City - it is a suburb of Chicago (some of The Blues Brothers was filmed there). My mom lived in the area then- and we lived just over the line in Indiana.

Wentworth Woods appears to still be there. It's just a small looking forest preserve, and it's to the east of Holy Cross Cemetery.

 

[bombardier]

Cherita Thomas looks like a possible match on paper, but her circumstances lead me to believe she was killed soon after her disappearance (JMO, doesn't look like a voluntary disappearance at all) so the 8 months gap leads me to believe it isn't her....
Some more women from NamUs who also fit the description:
Debra Townsel - 5'5", 130lbs (exactly those of the UID), 21, last seen the year prior 19 hours away in Florida. Looks to have short black hair. Not much else known.

Willie Ann Rucker - 5'3", 110lbs, 27. Last seen 2 years prior. Now to be honest her circumstances look like an involuntary disappearance, killed by someone close to her. I just added her as she was last seen about 5 hours away, in Waterloo.

Jeanene Ranette Bowman - 5'4", 115lbs, 16 at time of her 1977 disappearance (so could have been taller/heavier by 1981). Lived 8 hours away in Buffalo NY. Again circumstances read like suspicious/involuntary but you can never really know for sure.

 

[bombardier]

hmm...this woman didn't show up in my initial search due to her age (32) but she was last seen 7 days before UID was found, and was only a 4 hour drive away in Cedar Rapids. 5'3", 112lbs (but who knows how up to date that is). She was wearing black slacks and white top, UID was wearing jeans and a white sweater. Looks to have short hair. Circumstances look like they could be voluntary... Thoughts on her as the UID?
Naomi Wilson – The Charley Project

 

[iulia]

Doe Network page for this UID

The Doe Network: 853UFIL

• Dentals: Available.

• Fingerprints: Available.

• DNA: Unknown.

 

[cory6010]

Hi, I grew up in this area and only found out about this case recently. After some digging, I was able to find a newspaper from April 1981 at a library a few towns over from Calumet City. I could only find two papers and two articles about the case so far, but one of them includes a photo of the victim. The scan quality on the image is not great, but it is the only photo I have been able to find of her. I have included a pdf of the first article from April 23, 1981 (WARNING: post-mortem photograph, although I don't think any injuries are visible):

BODY STILL UNIDENTIFIED; COPS SEEK PUBLIC'S HELP
*from April 23, 1981 issue of the Sun Journal, page 1
**originally by Mark Kiesling
Police are still "in limbo" in the investigation into the strangulation murder of a young black woman whose body was discovered in a Calumet City forest preserve Sunday.
"I thought we'd have her identified by now," said Inv. Pat Foley of the Cook County Sheriff's Department's Investigations South unit in Markham yesterday.
But the woman described as between 16 and 20 years of age, 5-feet, 5-inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, wearing blue jeans and a white pullover blouse remains a "Jane Doe".
Fingerprints taken by county officials indicate the woman was never fingerprinted in Illinois, and the prints have been forwarded to the FBI in Washington D.C. for comparison with the massive file there.
Normally, Foley said, the switchboards in the county are swamped with calls the day or so after an unidentified corpse is found. "People call up, hoping she has been identified," the investigator said. But no more than a handful of unproductive calls have been received.
"Maybe she was someone who would come and go as she pleased," Foley theorized. "She might not be missed for a week."
The search has extended across the state line for a clue to the mystery woman's identity, as investigators went to Hammond High School, Hammond Technical Vocational High School and several Gary schools in hopes of getting a positive reaction.
"So far, we're in limbo," Foley confessed. The search so far has been confined to the area immediately surrounding the spot where the body was discovered.
The woman was found at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Sunday by a jogger on a path through Wentworth Woods, a section of the Forest Preserve District. The body was "just off the path," a sheriff's department spokesman said.
The corpse was 48 feet into the woods south of old 159th Street, between Burnham and Wentworth avenues.
Det. Sgt Clarke Buckendahl of the sheriff's department said police believe the woman was killed elsewhere and brought to the forest preserve for disposal. That, according to Foley, is one of the reasons Indiana is being pursued. "It's right over the line, only a mile from Hammond High as the crow flies," he said.
Police are asking anyone able to give information on the identity of the body to Buckendahl or Foley by calling the South Investigations office in Markham at (312) 865-4940.

It should also be noted too that Calumet City is locally famous for body dumping. Every couple of years we heard about someone turning up in or around the Calumet City woods. The forest preserves are massive, and the expressway goes through it into several adjacent towns. The weather also varies a lot in the winter. I can't vouch for how it was back then, but we have had weather anywhere from 30-60 degrees in late winter/early Spring. This Jane Doe was found about a mile away from Hammond, IN (which Cal City shares borders with), but I have not found much info on the follow-up police did with Indiana schools nearby. What are your thoughts?

 

[PayrollNerd]

I can’t read the news article but I was able to lighten it a bit.

Hi, I grew up in this area and only found out about this case recently. After some digging, I was able to find a newspaper from April 1981 at a library a few towns over from Calumet City. I could only find two papers and two articles about the case so far, but one of them includes a photo of the victim. The scan quality on the image is not great, but it is the only photo I have been able to find of her. I have included a pdf of the first article from April 23, 1981 (WARNING: post-mortem photograph, although I don't think any injuries are visible):

BODY STILL UNIDENTIFIED; COPS SEEK PUBLIC'S HELP
*from April 23, 1981 issue of the Sun Journal, page 1
**originally by Mark Kiesling
Police are still "in limbo" in the investigation into the strangulation murder of a young black woman whose body was discovered in a Calumet City forest preserve Sunday.
"I thought we'd have her identified by now," said Inv. Pat Foley of the Cook County Sheriff's Department's Investigations South unit in Markham yesterday.
But the woman described as between 16 and 20 years of age, 5-feet, 5-inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, wearing blue jeans and a white pullover blouse remains a "Jane Doe".
Fingerprints taken by county officials indicate the woman was never fingerprinted in Illinois, and the prints have been forwarded to the FBI in Washington D.C. for comparison with the massive file there.
Normally, Foley said, the switchboards in the county are swamped with calls the day or so after an unidentified corpse is found. "People call up, hoping she has been identified," the investigator said. But no more than a handful of unproductive calls have been received.
"Maybe she was someone who would come and go as she pleased," Foley theorized. "She might not be missed for a week."
The search has extended across the state line for a clue to the mystery woman's identity, as investigators went to Hammond High School, Hammond Technical Vocational High School and several Gary schools in hopes of getting a positive reaction.
"So far, we're in limbo," Foley confessed. The search so far has been confined to the area immediately surrounding the spot where the body was discovered.
The woman was found at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Sunday by a jogger on a path through Wentworth Woods, a section of the Forest Preserve District. The body was "just off the path," a sheriff's department spokesman said.
The corpse was 48 feet into the woods south of old 159th Street, between Burnham and Wentworth avenues.
Det. Sgt Clarke Buckendahl of the sheriff's department said police believe the woman was killed elsewhere and brought to the forest preserve for disposal. That, according to Foley, is one of the reasons Indiana is being pursued. "It's right over the line, only a mile from Hammond High as the crow flies," he said.
Police are asking anyone able to give information on the identity of the body to Buckendahl or Foley by calling the South Investigations office in Markham at (312) 865-4940.

It should also be noted too that Calumet City is locally famous for body dumping. Every couple of years we heard about someone turning up in or around the Calumet City woods. The forest preserves are massive, and the expressway goes through it into several adjacent towns. The weather also varies a lot in the winter. I can't vouch for how it was back then, but we have had weather anywhere from 30-60 degrees in late winter/early Spring. This Jane Doe was found about a mile away from Hammond, IN (which Cal City shares borders with), but I have not found much info on the follow-up police did with Indiana schools nearby. What are your thoughts?

 

[PayrollNerd]

If she was brought to the location after death, and had only been there a day, then the putrification timeline would come into play. Were the remains in a semi fetal position that would indicate she was in some type of container for transport? Her face does not appear to be decomposed. Once a body begins to stiffen, it’s not going to be easy to move. This makes me think the perp is local, had to act quick, thus didn’t take the time to disguise or cover the body.

 

[bombardier]

Hi, I grew up in this area and only found out about this case recently. After some digging, I was able to find a newspaper from April 1981 at a library a few towns over from Calumet City. I could only find two papers and two articles about the case so far, but one of them includes a photo of the victim. The scan quality on the image is not great, but it is the only photo I have been able to find of her. I have included a pdf of the first article from April 23, 1981 (WARNING: post-mortem photograph, although I don't think any injuries are visible):

BODY STILL UNIDENTIFIED; COPS SEEK PUBLIC'S HELP
*from April 23, 1981 issue of the Sun Journal, page 1
**originally by Mark Kiesling
Police are still "in limbo" in the investigation into the strangulation murder of a young black woman whose body was discovered in a Calumet City forest preserve Sunday.
"I thought we'd have her identified by now," said Inv. Pat Foley of the Cook County Sheriff's Department's Investigations South unit in Markham yesterday.
But the woman described as between 16 and 20 years of age, 5-feet, 5-inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, wearing blue jeans and a white pullover blouse remains a "Jane Doe".
Fingerprints taken by county officials indicate the woman was never fingerprinted in Illinois, and the prints have been forwarded to the FBI in Washington D.C. for comparison with the massive file there.
Normally, Foley said, the switchboards in the county are swamped with calls the day or so after an unidentified corpse is found. "People call up, hoping she has been identified," the investigator said. But no more than a handful of unproductive calls have been received.
"Maybe she was someone who would come and go as she pleased," Foley theorized. "She might not be missed for a week."
The search has extended across the state line for a clue to the mystery woman's identity, as investigators went to Hammond High School, Hammond Technical Vocational High School and several Gary schools in hopes of getting a positive reaction.
"So far, we're in limbo," Foley confessed. The search so far has been confined to the area immediately surrounding the spot where the body was discovered.
The woman was found at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Sunday by a jogger on a path through Wentworth Woods, a section of the Forest Preserve District. The body was "just off the path," a sheriff's department spokesman said.
The corpse was 48 feet into the woods south of old 159th Street, between Burnham and Wentworth avenues.
Det. Sgt Clarke Buckendahl of the sheriff's department said police believe the woman was killed elsewhere and brought to the forest preserve for disposal. That, according to Foley, is one of the reasons Indiana is being pursued. "It's right over the line, only a mile from Hammond High as the crow flies," he said.
Police are asking anyone able to give information on the identity of the body to Buckendahl or Foley by calling the South Investigations office in Markham at (312) 865-4940.

It should also be noted too that Calumet City is locally famous for body dumping. Every couple of years we heard about someone turning up in or around the Calumet City woods. The forest preserves are massive, and the expressway goes through it into several adjacent towns. The weather also varies a lot in the winter. I can't vouch for how it was back then, but we have had weather anywhere from 30-60 degrees in late winter/early Spring. This Jane Doe was found about a mile away from Hammond, IN (which Cal City shares borders with), but I have not found much info on the follow-up police did with Indiana schools nearby. What are your thoughts?

wow, great find! the picture of the victim definitely doesn't show someone 'unrecognizable due to putrefaction' i think she'd be recognizable to a family member.
i don't think the UID looks like any of the missing girls mentioned in the thread... I was really confident about Noami Wilson but UID looks younger w/ a thinner face. What do y'all think? It's hard to tell with low quality images and smiling face vs slack face.... I never submitted any of the women as a possible match.

 

[coffeeandacig]

To me, she looks a lot like Beverly Ann Bealer.


Beverly Ann Bealer – The Charley Project
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[bombardier]

I agree, coffeeandacig! Was just looking at her on NamUs and definitely see similarities.
Also think she looks a lot like Barbara K Jolly, who didn't show up in my initial search due to her living far away.

 

[bombardier]

Also potentially Debra Kay Stewart? Face might be a little too round but again hard to tell with smiling vs slack, also teen to adulthood facial changes.

I really shouldn't have discounted these young women due to living far away from Illinois, as they're mostly young adults and traveling/hitchhiking around the US after high school was completely normal back then (correct me if wrong, im not from the US)

 

[PayrollNerd]

What strikes me is her nose. The bridge of her nose is long and narrow before the nostrils flare outward. It is as if she is biracial, perhaps had a Caucasian parent with a strong prominent nose.

 

[cory6010]

I'm glad to see that there is still interest in this case! I wondered about Bealer too, but I haven't been able to find many other photos of her for comparison besides the one provided by namus. Thanks for the info about Jolly and Stewart. I am trying to find a hard copy or at least a clearer version of the UID photo from the article. In the mean time, here is another article from the same paper that was published a few weeks later to give updates on her case.

Here is a transcript. The original is a little hard to see:
TWO BODY IDENTIFICATION ATTEMPTS UNSUCCESSFUL
*originally published in the Sun-Journal on May 7, 1981
**originally by Mark Kiesling
Two people have attempted to identify the dead woman found Easter Sunday morning in a Calumet City forest preserve —but both have been proven wrong.
Sgt. Clarke Buckendahl of the Cook County Sheriff's Department South Investigations Unit in Markham said yesterday that a couple identified the girl as their daughter only to have dental records disprove the statement.
A second man identified the girl as a foster child who had lived with him for eight years, but police checking with a case worker found the suspected "victim" playing table tennis with the case worker in a juvenile home.
So, Buckendahl said, the case "is at a standstill. We're not even to square one yet."
The search for an identity has gone on since a jogger discovered the body at approximately 11:30 a.m., April 19. It was located just off a jogging path through the Wentworth Woods Forest Preserve between Burnham and Wentworth Avenues just south of old 159th Street.
The victim is described as black, 16 to 20 years old, female, 5-feet, 4-inches tall, 130 pounds, wearing a white pullover and blue jeans. Medical examination showed that she had been strangled to death about 12 hours before she was discovered.
Buckendahl said investigation has shown she was never fingerprinted by the State of Illinois or the City of Chicago. Indiana State Police and Lake County, Ind. Police have been asked to search their fingerprint files for any close to the ones on the body. Investigations into Northwest Indianans, particularly the Hammond and Gary areas, have so far met with no success. The area is suspected as a possible location for the family because of the proximity of the body to the state line. Police theorize the girl had been killed elsewhere and dropped in the forest preserve.

I wonder too if she could have been just from farther south/east in Indiana, or maybe Wisconsin? You can get to either in a couple hours time. And if she lived further away from the Illiana border, it would make sense not to know the area. And either way you have to go through a lot of for

 

[MadMcGoo]

• NamUs UP17038
• The Doe Network 853UFIL

UNIDENTIFIED BLACK FEMALE
Date Body Found: April 19, 1981
Location Found: Calmuet City, Illinois
Estimated PMI: Hours
Estimated Age: Late Teen/Young Adult; 15-25 years
Height: 5’4” - 5'5" (64 - 65 inches)
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Black, short.
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar on right knee.
Clothing: White v-neck pull-over sweater, blue jeans, and a white bra.

0 Missing Person Exclusions


Poor girl. And found on Easter Sunday too. Thank you! cory6010 for tracking down those old newspapers! Without them we may never have had a photo to help in our searches!

This has some of the markings of Samuel Little, but I don’t think he has victims unaccounted for in Illinois?

 

[Melt71]

@MadMcGoo were there any ruleouts - that might give us some idea about who/where LE have already looked.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

None.

@MadMcGoo were there any ruleouts - that might give us some idea about who/where LE have already looked.