Identified! NH - Marlborough, Rt 124, UnkFem 19-30, UP15863, ring, clothes, chap stick, Salem cigs, Apr'74 - Nancy Gale Erickson

[theshadow45]

Marlborough Jane Doe has been unidentified for 49 years today.

 

[summergirl1]

It would be interesting to see photos of her clothing and ring..

 

[theshadow45]

Marlborough Jane Doe has been unidentified for 50 years today.

 

[youngsleuth95]

I wonder if the clothes in the collage look like the description of the clothes...

 

[lightofmine99]

Her NamUs was modified today; there are no new exclusions.

 

[youngsleuth95]

I wonder if she might be of mixed race/ethnicity, which would make it difficult to determine her race. The poster in NamUs says she is white.

 

[Richard]

This unidentified woman was very definitely dressed for outdoors cold weather.

 

[theshadow45]

Marlborough Jane Doe has been unidentified for 51 years today.

 

[iulia]

Her NamUs page is down at the moment.

 

[youngsleuth95]

Her NamUs page is down at the moment.

Wow! I hope for quick identification.

 

[DD Byrd]

I'm seeing a vague resemblance to Sheryl Ann Tillinghast, who might indeed have been wearing uniform-ish clothing. I think it's generally assumed a boyfriend had something to do with Sheryl's disappearance...perhaps she was murdered on a road trip north, or worse taken hostage and disposed of there. I'd think dentals would rule in or out fairly quickly.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Identified as Nancy Gale Erickson, mentioned upthread.
Nearly five decades after the body of a young woman was discovered in the woods off Route 124, New Hampshire investigators have finally identified her as 21-year-old Nancy Gale Erickson, a former nurse from Florida and Vermont.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced the breakthrough Wednesday, crediting advancements in forensic science and collaboration across multiple agencies. According to a news release, Erickson’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing conducted between 2022 and 2024, which matched samples from her siblings to the remains recovered in Marlborough on April 16, 1974.

Nearly 50 years later, woman found dead in Marlborough identified - My Keene Now

Nearly 50 years after her body was found in Marlborough, NH, authorities have identified Nancy Gale Erickson, a missing nurse from Vermont and Florida.

mykeenenow.com

 

[youngsleuth95]

Identified as Nancy Gale Erickson, mentioned upthread.
Nearly five decades after the body of a young woman was discovered in the woods off Route 124, New Hampshire investigators have finally identified her as 21-year-old Nancy Gale Erickson, a former nurse from Florida and Vermont.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced the breakthrough Wednesday, crediting advancements in forensic science and collaboration across multiple agencies. According to a news release, Erickson’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing conducted between 2022 and 2024, which matched samples from her siblings to the remains recovered in Marlborough on April 16, 1974.
View attachment 600859View attachment 600861

Nearly 50 years later, woman found dead in Marlborough identified - My Keene Now

Nearly 50 years after her body was found in Marlborough, NH, authorities have identified Nancy Gale Erickson, a missing nurse from Vermont and Florida.

mykeenenow.com

Wow!!! This was expected. RIP

 

[summergirl1]

Her case reminds me a bit of the Maura Murray case 30 years later..

 

[SimsGuy67]

Cases like these, where both the Doe and MP were in modern systems, are rare to come by nowadays (especially when they're this old), so I'm very glad to see this case partially solved. You were spot on @victoriarobinson642 great work! Honestly, for a reconstruction I never really put too much mind to, it turned out to be somewhat accurate.

Rest in peace, Nancy.

 

[TracyLynn]

Does anyone know why her Family did not report her missing until 2021?

 

[LookingForClues]

This DOJ announcement is quite detailed. It mentions her family reported her missing in a different state. Perhaps Florida, where she initially left her job rather abruptly?

https://www.doj.nh.gov/news-and-media/cold-case-unit-announces-identification-female-found-marlborough-nh-april-16-1974

The link to the above DOJ article is in our local Vermont news:

Woman found dead in NH cold case identified as missing Vt. woman

Police have identified a woman found dead in New Hampshire in the 1970s as a young woman who disappeared from Vermont.

www.wcax.com

What's strange is the DOJ announcement says her family heard about her arrest in Vermont, which was after she abruptly left Florida. But it seems like they didn't know she stayed and worked in Vermont after her arrest.

 

[summergirl1]

This article has more info: Mystery in the Mountains: The disappearance of Nancy Erickson

 

[Izzylizzy]

This DOJ announcement is quite detailed. It mentions her family reported her missing in a different state. Perhaps Florida, where she initially left her job rather abruptly?

https://www.doj.nh.gov/news-and-media/cold-case-unit-announces-identification-female-found-marlborough-nh-april-16-1974

The link to the above DOJ article is in our local Vermont news:

Woman found dead in NH cold case identified as missing Vt. woman

Police have identified a woman found dead in New Hampshire in the 1970s as a young woman who disappeared from Vermont.

www.wcax.com

What's strange is the DOJ announcement says her family heard about her arrest in Vermont, which was after she abruptly left Florida. But it seems like they didn't know she stayed and worked in Vermont after her arrest.

She was in a court appointed half-way house at the Brattleboro Retreat and her family knew she was arrested in Vermont so I don't understand why they didn't contact Vermont as soon as they became concerned.
Her court records/probation are documented and where she was found in NH is about a 30 min drive from Brattleboro, right over the bridge from Brattleboro into NH.
It's not that uncommon when families do not report a missing relative then when they're identified years/decades later we hear a story that makes no sense.
IMO

 

[Izzylizzy]

This article has more info: Mystery in the Mountains: The disappearance of Nancy Erickson

Thanks, just read this after posting.
She was in a half-way house at the Brattleboro Retreat and left it.
Did the retreat not report her missing at the time?
The family last had contact in Oct 73 and her body was found April 74 and that she died last fall 73.
So the Brattleboro police had no info that a woman's body was found not far from them in NH and did they have missing woman report from a local half-way house?
Did NH police not send out a bulletin to surrounding areas?
The Vermont Brattleboro Reformer and the NH Keene Sentinel papers carry news from each other's communities and when a body is found it's published.
Separate from the family not contacting Vermont until 2021 it appears that there was shoddy police work on both sides of the river.
IMO