NJ NJ - Jan Cotta, 19, Wall Township, 26 June 1973

[dogperson]

This may sound stupid, but bear with me for a moment-I wonder if, legally, one was considered an adult at the age of 19? I think it was some time in the '70s when you became an adult legally at the age of 18-it was in the '70s when you could vote at the age of 18 (prior to that, you had To be 21). This was true for signing a contract, too. I suppose I am nitpicking, but I don't think Jan was considered an adult in 1973, at the age of 19. In any event, that may have nothing to do with her disappearance, and has nothing at all to do with the possibility that she may have had more than one prospect for the father of her unborn child. She may very well have had more than one boyfriend (not judging, either...). For some reason, I doubt it-no good reason to think this, except that it is more common to have only one. Plus, the cold case detective wants to talk to this Eric Shore, and doesn't know where to find him-I guess he thinks this guy might have been the father.

Edit-turns out the voting age was ratified in 1971-

I'm not sure what the laws were. I think you could drink at 18 then couldn't you? I believe if Jan was a runaway at 19 the police wouldn't have picked her up, so in that way she was an adult. And she would be considered old enough to handle her own relationships, jobs, etc. But it seems like I remember my mom saying she had to sign for my brother to get married in the 70s and he was 19 when he got married. Did someone have to sign for you if you were under 21? I was very young then and don't remember.

 

[Alleykins]

Ok, update of sorts. The teacher at my daughter's preschool is in fact related to Jan Cotta. We spoke this morning. Unfortunately, not too much new. Although she did say thank you to everyone here and asked me to let her know if we find out anything. Oh, the other bit of information was that the barn she was last seen at was where she lived. She basically had an apartment in the tack room, so seeing her by it at that time of night wouldn't have been unusual.

Thank you for that, so what it sounds like is that she didn't live in the main house but in her own apartment of sorts, at the barn?

 

[Jmoose]

Yes, someone 21 or over had to sign all legal papers until some time in the '70s-probably 1971, since that is when the legal voting age was changed to 18, and I think at that time, you could do everything an "adult" could do, except drink in the 21 and over states. At that time, NJ was an 18 and over state for drinking. I guess, having said all that, most would have looked at Jan as an adult by 1973, and she could do as she liked, except drink in a state where the legal age is 21. I just don't think that she took off for parts unknown, and is still living someplace under an assumed name; i do think she is dead after all of this time

 

[KaylaraOwl]

Thank you for that, so what it sounds like is that she didn't live in the main house but in her own apartment of sorts, at the barn?

Yes, something like that. All her stuff was there and she could come and go as she pleased.

Oh, one more thing, she didn't actually give her horses to her friend. She wrote in that letter that she wanted her friend to have them, but didn't actually physically give the horses to them.

 

[Alleykins]

Do you think that meant she planned on leaving or just had plans to possibly give them away, for whatever reason? It sounds like a bit of foreshadowing but, not knowing the context in which her intentions were written, I'm only speculating. I imagine if she left voluntarily that she would not give up her association with horses and would put her training, education and knowledge to use. I suspect that was the reason her family searched up and down the east coast for her, targeting race tracks, stables and equestrian centers.
Perhaps that guy Eric was a horse owner. I would also be interested to know if her love of horses extended to horse racing, either standard bred or thoroughbred.

 

[Jmoose]

My sister has ridden all of her life-early on, she rode show horses. However, later on as a professional, she trained and broke thoroughbred race horses. Her experience with horses is that typically, people who work with racehorses are not the same people who have worked with what she calls "riding horses", although her experience sort of belies that. Certainly it's not impossible that Jan would have moved on to thoroughbred or standardbred horses, but it is relatively unlikely, unless she'd expressed some kind of interest in them

 

[Alleykins]

My sister has ridden all of her life-early on, she rode show horses. However, later on as a professional, she trained and broke thoroughbred race horses. Her experience with horses is that typically, people who work with racehorses are not the same people who have worked with what she calls "riding horses", although her experience sort of belies that. Certainly it's not impossible that Jan would have moved on to thoroughbred or standardbred horses, but it is relatively unlikely, unless she'd expressed some kind of interest in them

That's been my experience, too. She'd be more apt to hire on with an equestrian/riding stable than a racing stable, unless that was all she could find for work. I don't think she'd give up horses all together if she did strike out on her own.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

There are tons of horse stables around here. She probably would have left the area though, because everyone here tends to know everyone else one way or another. If we're going to look at stables as a possible lead, I think we need to look west. The family checked the ones up and down the east coast as far as I know.

 

[Alleykins]

I just noticed that NCMEC featured Jan today on their FaceBook page.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

I have submitted this case to namus as a possible match for Jan.
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/11902

I am also posting the uid's that have been ruled out on the Facebook group that I posted to. If someone in that group knows something, I really hope that it will encourage them to speak up.

 

[Alleykins]

Good find. NamUs reads DNA not available. I wonder what they do in that case? Do you know, Kaylara?
Is that a FB group for Jan, by chance?

 

[KaylaraOwl]

Well, I'm hoping that it spurs on a detective to try get DNA. The one we were were looking at in NJ they lost the uid's body because the cemetery didn't properly document where they buried her. Still hoping to work on that one, Neptune Jane Doe has become one of the cases I'm working on as much as possible. Jan's, Jennifer Prince, and Nicole Russo are others in the area that I'm working on.

The group I posted to is the Wall Alumni group on Facebook. There are a bunch of people on there who went to school with Jan. I used to live in Wall, and had never heard of the case until after I moved away.

Speaking of which, I asked people to send me any rumors that they remembered, and one person contacted me and told me that at the time there was a rumor in the neighborhood that the father of the baby had done something to her, and she was possibly buried somewhere on the family's property. They asked if police checked the property, and they think it was checked at the time. But who knows how well it was checked. I may contact the detective and let him know this tip, and see if I can find out where on the property was checked.

 

[Alleykins]

The one we were were looking at in NJ they lost the uid's body because the cemetery didn't properly document where they buried her.

That's got to be frustrating. I think that's what happened to the UID that we've been trying to match up to Donnis Redman. It's so obvious, based on the items found at the crime scene, that it was her-the clothing is nearly an exact match, and so is the location, but we can't get a rule out on it.

one person contacted me and told me that at the time there was a rumor in the neighborhood that the father of the baby had done something to her, and she was possibly buried somewhere on the family's property

That's quite a rumor. Did anyone offer any ideas as to whom the father might be? Or did they know who the Eric guy was and how he was associated with her?
I'd also like to know why the friend who picked her up hasn't offered up anything.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

Well, looking at maps of the area now, it looks like they cleared a lot of the woods and it borders open space w/trails through it so I might go wander around and see if there is anything to be found on the former property. No one seems to know who the father of the baby was, and I can't find anyone who knows who Eric shore was. I might be able to find out who his girlfriend is if I had her name. (I know people in Deal.)

With the uid from Neptune, we at least know where the grave yard is. I think it would be a matter of finding the potters field there, tbh. I think she's findable, they just weren't properly motivated.

I saw on either charley or doe network a story about a uid that was found in Washington state, around the time that Bundy was active and fitting his victim type. They kept her in the office for like two years, and then sent her remains to the Tacoma landfill. WTF.

I hope they can find something to match Donnis. She's been missing for so long.

 

[Alleykins]

I saw on either charley or doe network a story about a uid that was found in Washington state, around the time that Bundy was active and fitting his victim type. They kept her in the office for like two years, and then sent her remains to the Tacoma landfill. WTF.

You're freakin' kidding me? Who in their right mind does that? I'm floored.
You still may be able to put the feelers out for a hairdresser that was dating a man named Eric from Staten Island-she may have married him, eventually. Are hair dressers licensed? She may have had a shop of her own at one point.

 

[KaylaraOwl]

Ikr?! Yes, in NJ they are licensed. I've been searching on the name Eric shore and Eric schorr. Still looking.

(The uid I was talking about is this one: http://doenetwork.org/cases/915ufwa.html )

 

[Jmoose]

It would help if we knew how to spell Eric's last name; it could be Shore, Schorr, Schor, Scher, Scheuer. I have to think that some of the rumors have some basis in reality. There are so many girls from that time who've disappeared, and were treated as runaways...shades of "Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring", I guess.

 

[Alleykins]

Beauticians talk
I think my sister knew everybody's business when she had her own shop, and she was just as candid about herself as her clients.
It got to the point to where she was more like a social worker or psychiatrist than a hairdresser.

 

[Jmoose]

Yep-my hairdresser knows everything and everybody, at least locally. I'd like to know what the local scuttlebut was back then

 

[Alleykins]

Ikr?! Yes, in NJ they are licensed. I've been searching on the name Eric shore and Eric schorr. Still looking.

(The uid I was talking about is this one: http://doenetwork.org/cases/915ufwa.html )

Makes me wonder how many other UP's in their care ended up like this, which is too bad.