OH OH - Cleveland, WhtFem UP76251, 45-60, bones in house, possible name Anne Elko, Nov'83

[Romulus]

Unidentified Person/NamUs #UP76251
Female, White/Caucasian
Date Body Found: November 29, 1983
Location Found: Cleveland, Ohio
Estimated Age Range: 45-60 Years

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Circumstances of Recovery: A man called Cleveland PD to do a welfare check on his neighbor, whom he hadn't seen in a week. CPD arrived and observed numerous dogs inside the home. The dog warden arrived and removed 22 live and 8 dead miniature poodles. A portion of a human skull and fragments of bones were located primarily on the kitchen floor under debris, on the landing of the stairs, and in the basement Anthropologist and radiologist determined bones were from a white female, 45-60 years of age. The Coroner's Verdict stated, "On December 7[sic], 1983, a request was made by Dr. Samuel Gerber, Coroner of Cuyahoga County, that an investigation be made into the death of a female, who is believed to be Anne Elko of... Cleveland, Ohio. Further investigation revealed that the remains had apparently been eaten by the dogs in the home. However, after all the evidence presented, no positive identification will ever apparently be made." ENTERED FOR POSSIBLE DNA TESTING IN THE FUTURE.

 

[The4TierBridge]

This case got a lot of attention in local newspapers in 1983 (I guess "WOMAN RECLUSE EATEN BY OWN DOGS" makes for good sensational journalism). The articles I found mentioned a nephew who lived nearby who refused to speak with the press out of shame, some in-laws who tried to get all her nice stuff after she "disappeared," and a recently predeceased sister that she was close with. They also mention that she never married or had kids.

I don't see what's stopping them from doing a DNA comparison with a family member so long as the bones are still around and the whereabouts of her family members are still known (besides time/money obviously). This isn't one of those cases where the person's identity was stolen or didn't legally exist and *seems* like an easy solve.

All the research I did was without newspapers.com though because I don't have an account. I bet there's even more useful information through there.

Search Results | The Plain Dealer Archives

Authorities are trying to determine whether a human skull... - UPI Archives

Authorities are trying to determine whether a human skull and bones found in a home full of hungry dogs belong to a reclusive woman who lived there....

www.upi.com

 

[The4TierBridge]

The facts on her I've been able to gather on "Anne Elko" so far:

• She was 60 years old.
• She lived at 17304 Talford Ave.
• She worked as an animal trainer and dog groomer out of her house.
• She had relatives in Library, Pennsylvania.
• She was last seen one or two weeks before the bones were found in her house.
• She was interested in animals and travelling.
• She was probably was at least a bit well-off (I found a list of all the things in the house that were ruined by dog feces and it's all pretty expensive nice stuff).
• There are some other people around Cleveland in the same time period with the same last name who I suspect are related.

I'm curious what exists on her on websites like Ancestry.com, but those are also subscriptions I don't have.

This is the home in recent times:

 

[The4TierBridge]

I'm also certain that the discovery date in NamUs is wrong and that the remains were found November 25 and not on the 29.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The facts on her I've been able to gather on "Anne Elko" so far:

• She was 60 years old.
• She lived at 17304 Talford Ave.
• She worked as an animal trainer and dog groomer out of her house.
• She had relatives in Library, Pennsylvania.
• She was last seen one or two weeks before the bones were found in her house.
• She was interested in animals and travelling.
• She was probably was at least a bit well-off (I found a list of all the things in the house that were ruined by dog feces and it's all pretty expensive nice stuff).
• There are some other people around Cleveland in the same time period with the same last name who I suspect are related.

I'm curious what exists on her on websites like Ancestry.com, but those are also subscriptions I don't have.

This is the home in recent times:

View attachment 607799

I'm actually not seeing a ton on her in Ancestry records.

 

[ninetimesfifteen]

I'm actually not seeing a ton on her in Ancestry records.

There's an Anne Elko on the 1930 census, living on Piney Fork Rd in Library, Pa, with her widowed mother and six siblings. She's 6 y.o. at the time. That matches with being 60 in 1983. This was pretty easy to find, so it all comes down to her siblings/family refusing to cooperate. I do not understand how is this an unidentified person case, and not just an unclaimed person? There has to be at least one relative willing to give their DNA.

 

[The4TierBridge]

There's an Anne Elko on the 1930 census, living on Piney Fork Rd in Library, Pa, with her widowed mother and six siblings. She's 6 y.o. at the time. That matches with being 60 in 1983. This was pretty easy to find, so it all comes down to her siblings/family refusing to cooperate. I do not understand how is this an unidentified person case, and not just an unclaimed person? There has to be at least one relative willing to give their DNA.

• The remains were skeletal and incomplete, so visual ID of face/scars/tattoos was impossible.
• The remains were skeletal and incomplete, so fingerprint comparison was impossible.
• The normal method for identifying remains in this state would be dental records, but all that was found of the skull was a large cranial fragment, so there were no teeth to compare to.

I understand why she was technically unidentified back in 1983, but you're right about DNA work needed to "solve" this being entirely possible in the modern era (and they seem somewhat interested in doing this). Do you think sending in what you found from the census to the point-of-contact listed on NamUs would be helpful? The problem might be that they just can't find the right people, not that they refuse to cooperate.

 

[ninetimesfifteen]

• The remains were skeletal and incomplete, so visual ID of face/scars/tattoos was impossible.
• The remains were skeletal and incomplete, so fingerprint comparison was impossible.
• The normal method for identifying remains in this state would be dental records, but all that was found of the skull was a large cranial fragment, so there were no teeth to compare to.

I understand why she was technically unidentified back in 1983, but you're right about DNA work needed to "solve" this being entirely possible in the modern era (and they seem somewhat interested in doing this). Do you think sending in what you found from the census to the point-of-contact listed on NamUs would be helpful? The problem might be that they just can't find the right people, not that they refuse to cooperate.

Anne appears to have a niece that is a reverend. She might be their best shot, being religious and all. How does one send a tip? I'm not in US.