Identified! MS - Pascagoula, WhtFem Child 45UFMS "Delta Dawn", 1-3, Dog River @I-10, Dec'82 - Alisha Heinrich

  • #61
http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/news.ssf?/base/news/1252318523106410.xml&coll=5

Monday, September 07, 2009

Can DNA advances solve cold case?


...Advances in DNA technology could prove the strongest chance for investigators to determine the identity of Baby Jane, an unknown infant girl found dead in Dog River 27 years ago...

... Jackson County Sheriff's investigator Hope Thornton said the body of the child was exhumed in November 2008 to obtain DNA samples, ...

..."In March 2008, I was contacted by a California coroner," Thornton said. "The family of a young girl who disappeared about the same time saw the digital composite of Delta and wants to know if she could actually be theirs."

Allegedly, the boyfriend of the girl's mother stated he kidnapped the child and killed her but has never told authorities where the child's remains were hidden, Thornton said...

...But investigators have also not ruled out a truck driver as a prime suspect in the child's demise.

Ted Hammond of Florida reported seeing a dead body in the Escatawpa River as he drove over an Interstate 10 bridge...

Two page article. Interesting comments about suspect made by current investigator of this crime.
 
  • #62
From the doenetwork page:

Authorities speculate the woman may have thrown the child into the water and then jumped. The baby still had a breath of life because she had sucked in some of the murky water into her lungs.
It is unclear if the body of the woman was recovered.

How can it be "unclear" if the body of the woman was recovered? Even if the body floated really far downstream, I'm sure investigators at the time would keep an ear out for reports of any IUD females being found remotely close to that location.

Perhaps it is just the way the report on doenetwork has worded it, but I find that statement odd and confusing.

That said, the question remains obvious. What did happen to the body of the adult someone reported seeing? I find it very hard to believe that someone could mistake the body of a little toddler for that of an adult, even from a distance. This case is very puzzling.

I do not have the answer to Shecky's question but would like to add that after having read many of the articles about this young girl.

I am under the impression that a woman and child were reported to have been seen walking by truckers and that woman refused help from the truckers.

There was one trucker how called in to report he saw an adult female body floating in the river. When the LE went to investigate that is when they found Delta Dawn.

LE has some questions about the trucker that called the body in.

I'm not sure there was an adult female body.
 
  • #63
I contacted Katrice's family. They do not believe it is her. I am surprised they would just say no to the possibility, and so quickly too. The reasons they gave seemed vague and almost as though they just want to believe she is alive and won't believe she was killed soon after being taken. I was thinking a few possibilities of what could have happened.

1. Back than it was easy to get a fake passport. Also, the passport if the parent was an American would only have been checked while leaving Germany, but at that time would not have been checked on the way into America if the man and/or woman coming home with the child was an American. I know this because I spoke with a flight attendant who has been working with the airline for many many years.

2. No one she told me, would have questioned a father or mother and what appeared to be his or her child. As long as Katrice did not put up a struggle and seemed happy and okay with the people she was with no one would have questioned them.

3. If Katrice had become ill, her new parents may have been too afraid to take her to the hospital for treatment. Had she been dying, or if the parents believed she were dead, it may have sparked a suicide and the reason why the woman seen with the child would not accept help and threw herself with the child off of the bridge.

4. If someone became supicious, and asked the parents where they got this child, it may have sparked the same scenario above.

5. Katrice's own family believes she was taken by someone from another country, and most likely someone in the military. The reasons the family states this are that the child was taken from a military grocery store. The only people allowed in and out are military with ID's. I don't think these ID's were fake, I think whoever took her was either in the military OR worked at the grocery store. Which by the way, were usually military anyway, who worked as a side job at the stores. So therefore, more than likely a military person.

6. Lots of US men were stationed in Germany during this time. My own father was one of them.

I think it is very possible that a US soldier saw little Katrice and took her home with him. Why? I don't know. Still working on that one. His wife could have had a miscarriage, they could have had a child die, maybe they couldn't have children at all for one reason or another, perhaps Katrice was just so cute he couldn't help himself... I don't think it was a child molestor if Katrice did end up in the states, I just don't see anyone going through that much trouble... The fake passport that would be needed... Etc... A woman jumping off the bridge with the child, not a man.... Anyways.... What do you all think? The picture of Katrice and the other little girl look sooooooo much alike, I can't just write it off. Maybe I am wrong. But I think a DNA test would give us a much, much, clearer picture. And if I was wrong we could go on from there.
 
  • #64
http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/news.ssf?/base/news/1252318523106410.xml&coll=5

Monday, September 07, 2009

Can DNA advances solve cold case?




Two page article. Interesting comments about suspect made by current investigator of this crime.

Good article. I wonder how the truck driver's story has changed so much? Since the woman and the child were seen by other drivers, it can't be that he kidnapped the little girl and threw her over the railing into the river, can it?
 
  • #65
I do see a resemblance with Katrice but she'd been missing for over a year when the UID was found, meaning that she'd have been 3 - I know it's only a year's difference but it puts her at 150-200% of the estimated age range.

I don't know if the base was a NATO or British Army base - and as stated, children didn't need passports then - but it's not immediately obvious how she'd have been taken to America (which doesn't mean it didn't happen). I still think Katrice is probably too old though.
 
  • #66
I agree Cymo, even though it is only a year, kids get a lot of teeth between 18 months and 3 years old, so they should be able to get really close to here age.
 
  • #67
  • #68
Was there ever any news on this case?
 
  • #69
I'm not sure if a thread has already been started for "Baby Jane". If so, please remove my thread. I came across this story while doing a little research on Pascagoula, MS for work. There are tons of articles on "Baby Jane" if you do an internet search for them for all of the details. Just wondered if anyone had any interest in helping me find out who she may be...I have attached a link to an article commemorating the 25 anniversary of her being found in the river and to Pascagoula's wikipedia listing which mentions her story briefly.

http://www.helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=473
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascagoula,_MS
 
  • #70
And, my first attempt at starting a thread that was meant to be in the UID section, ends up in the missing section. Oops! LOL! Can someone move it for me if a thread is not already active for her? Sorry!
 
  • #71
  • #72
  • #73
I have a few questions for any member that has followed this case closely please?

1. Delta Dawn is reported to have been found in the dog river in Pascagoula, MS. (missing children websites) However, I have seen old newspaper articles that report that she was found in the dog river in Escatawpa MS.

2. Do we have a member here that knows exactly the spot in 1982 from the descriptions where this might have been along I-110 and does anyone know where some actual shots of the river and bridge might be? If not, anyone local willing to go take a few? :)

3. I saw this post on another forum that I stumbled across looking for info on Delta Dawn, does anyone know any more details about this confession?
Cold Case Investigations - View Single Post - BABY JANE, Mississippi, 1982

4. Not a question but a search suggestion the current investigator of this case doesn't call Delta Dawn/Baby Doe by that name he calls her Baby Jane.
 
  • #74
One more thing I wanted to post.

In this article (it may be already posted backthread)

http://www.local15tv.com/news/custo...-of-Baby-Jane-Doe/yHj9NtD2DEud_SVIIT6BDw.cspx

Last Update: 2/19/2008 11:02 pm

snipped:
...Now, 25 years later, the focus is on the truck driver who called saying he saw the baby's body. Among the many questions is, why did the truck driver wait until he was miles away to make the call.

Detectives say they are getting closer to tracking down that truck driver, but they realize it could be just another dead end. According to Captain Sears, "We just want to try and go over his statement that he made back then, that was, which of course back then was not a very good statement."...

Scanned copies of old articles can actually be viewed here (I have not tried google archives)

http://icaremissingpersonscoldcases.yuku.com/topic/903

For those that are willing to try and track down that truck driver (if LE has not already been able to do so) and forward the contact info to LE (a lot of talented sleuths can do this by simple deep searches) I believe he is named by first and last names within those articles. (pretty darn sure :))

I will do it if no one else has in about a month or so, I have very little free time at this moment. Good luck sleuthing, and let us know if you send forward any info to LE (not the info just that you sent it forward :))
 
  • #75
Just an FYI. OT- but relevent.

If you happen to see an old doenetwork link with a .us those are old links.
All you have to do to get the correct link is change the .us to .org and the link will work again.

At some point ages ago, doenetwork changed from .us to .org but the links remain the same other than the change needed from .us to .org

hth

Cubby
mod
 
  • #76
One more thing I wanted to post.

In this article (it may be already posted backthread)

http://www.local15tv.com/news/custo...-of-Baby-Jane-Doe/yHj9NtD2DEud_SVIIT6BDw.cspx

Last Update: 2/19/2008 11:02 pm

snipped:


Scanned copies of old articles can actually be viewed here (I have not tried google archives)

http://icaremissingpersonscoldcases.yuku.com/topic/903

For those that are willing to try and track down that truck driver (if LE has not already been able to do so) and forward the contact info to LE (a lot of talented sleuths can do this by simple deep searches) I believe he is named by first and last names within those articles. (pretty darn sure :))

I will do it if no one else has in about a month or so, I have very little free time at this moment. Good luck sleuthing, and let us know if you send forward any info to LE (not the info just that you sent it forward :))

According to the first article at that link, trucker's name is Ted Hammond of Ocoee, Fla.
 
  • #77
According to the first article at that link, trucker's name is T. Hammond of Ocoee, Fla.

Thank you high voltage. Just to let you know in case you didn't we aren't allowed to post first and last names of people that aren't named POI's and I'm not sure but I think they like us to use initials. So I made your post into a first initial when I quoted it. :)

No sweat, if someone complains a mod will come by and edit it for you :)
 
  • #78
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2918dfca.html Just looking around doenetwork and found this.
Could this be her? Brandi Lee Krajewski disappeared Oct. 7, 1982 from California. Baby Jane was found December 5, 1982. Any thoughts?
 
  • #79
bumping for this baby
 
  • #80
laini-I like your match, a lot of it seems to add up for our Baby Jane...although I wonder if the ME would've noted a scar on Baby Jane's face...
 

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