Identified! OH - Troy, Miami Co., 'Buckskin Girl' WhtFem 133UFOH, 15-25, Apr'81 - Marcia King

[chaddylex]

What about April Zane who went missing a couple of years earlier but could have been a runaway?
She fits the height range and could have put on weight after she went missing.
She also has freckles and a scar on her chin like Buckskin girl.

April Rose Zane
Missing since April 18, 1977 from Frankfort, Will County, Illinois
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: February 25, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 17 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4"-5'6"; 115-120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Dark auburn hair; blue-grey/green eyes. She has a long back which makes her appear tall. April has freckles on her face.
Marks, Scars: Scar on her right hip from appendectomy; scar on her right knee; scar on her chin.
Clothing: Last seen wearing a brown flannel jacket.
Dentals: Available
DNA: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
Circumstances of Disappearance
Zane was last seen in Frankfort, Illinois on April 18, 1977. (It is possible that she went missing the year prior - 1976). She was going into town to visit a friend. She never made it to the friends' house and was never heard from again.
April had a record of running away from home, but always turned up later. She was found several times in the Chicago land area and arrested for curfew violation.

April Zane is listed on the ruleout list.

 

[rcoope23]

whoops, I did scan the ruleout list quickly but must have missed her.

 

[Ambercat]

I went ahead and asked about Sheila Pierce and I received an e-mail today from Steve Lord of the Miami County Sheriffs Office saying that she had been compared and ruled out

I had been in touch with the West Virginia State Police about at month ago and have learned that our Jane Doe and Pierce have DNA input into the system and no match was made. The description and circumstances got my attention also. I have sent our combined DNA profile to the West Virginia authorities to have a side by side comparison conducted to make sure no computer glitch has occurred.

 

[Shamrocker99]

Just got an update with added exclusions and Barbara Cotton is still not excluded...

 

[chaddylex]

I have this UID flagged in NamUs for updates too... I went and looked at my last list of exclusions (before the update) The newly added girl is Ingrid Bauer, missing from Ohio (NamUs States) but I googled Ingrid Bauer Missing and an Ingrid Bauer is missing since 1972 from Ontario Canada. http://doenetwork.org/cases/908dfon.html

 

[CarlK90245]

I've had this quarter-view on my computer for quite a while and never put it up here.

I incorporated the side-view and the frontal-view to get a better portrayal of her prominent nose.

 

[nerosleuth]

I've had this quarter-view on my computer for quite a while and never put it up here.

I incorporated the side-view and the frontal-view to get a better portrayal of her prominent nose.

Carl, that's an excellent drawing of Buckskin Girl with the sweater.

When I look at the sweater she's wearing, in a way the sweater looks similar to the shirt style that a jockey would wear at a horse track.

It still makes me wonder if she had some kind of an occupation involving horses. She may have worked at a horse riding stable somewhere. Maybe she was a horse trainer, horse groomer, or gave horse riding lessons.

 

[Shamrocker99]

Not to discount your theory in any way, but her sweater totally has the Brady Bunch late 60's/early 70's vibe to me...hope this picture posts correctly to give an idea of what I mean

Hippyish (is that even a word??) is the sense I get from her whole outfit, which would fit in the time frame of when she was found. Kind of like someone dressing "bohemian" today.

 

[carbuff]

I get the horse vibe really strongly, also. Hippy/free spirit maybe too, but not necessarily.

I guess part of it depends on what you mean by hippyish. The Brady Bunch shows popular culture, which was influenced by the hippy subculture, but the people in it aren't part of that subculture. They're rich Californians. You're right that this girl would have looked right at home on the set, though. She would have fit in in many places. She seems a bit too scrubbed and wholesome for most communes and such, though...but the homemade tunic certainly seems to fit.

1981 is also quite a bit past the hippy movement, which kind of lingered into the mid-seventies but was pretty much gone by 1980. Still communes around, and people on the road, and the San Francisco lifestyle. Was Ohio a place where there were lots of communes and other settlements.

 

[CarlK90245]

OK ... Here she is in her buckskin jacket. ... and with the right colored sweater.

:bump: Bumping these recons forward. I did some much needed fine-tuning on the frontal view reconstruction.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

:bump: Bumping these recons forward. I did some much needed fine-tuning on the frontal view reconstruction.

When I think about her side view photo, I think you really nailed it with this one...looks so much like her.

 

[nerosleuth]

I get the horse vibe really strongly, also. Hippy/free spirit maybe too, but not necessarily.

She would have fit in in many places. She seems a bit too scrubbed and wholesome for most communes and such, though...but the homemade tunic certainly seems to fit.

1981 is also quite a bit past the hippy movement, which kind of lingered into the mid-seventies but was pretty much gone by 1980.

Was Ohio a place where there were lots of communes and other settlements.

I agree with you that she would have fit in many places. And yes the hippy movement was pretty much gone by 1980. I honestly don't know if Ohio really was a place for communes back then.

Now the only settlement in Ohio that I can think of that are around horses are the Amish. There are Amish settlements in Ohio.

I don't know, but one small possibility is that she may have came from an Amish settlement. She may have left her Amish family and was shunned. If this is the case, then it would explain why she hasn't been identified for so many years.

 

[carbuff]

I agree with you that she would have fit in many places. And yes the hippy movement was pretty much gone by 1980. I honestly don't know if Ohio really was a place for communes back then.

Now the only settlement in Ohio that I can think of that are around horses are the Amish. There are Amish settlements in Ohio.

I don't know, but one small possibility is that she may have came from an Amish settlement. She may have left her Amish family and was shunned. If this is the case, then it would explain why she hasn't been identified for so many years.

True. There were also a lot of regular families disrupted by the political and lifestyle changes of the 70's. I know people who haven't talked to their parents for 30 years, and parents whose children who came out as gay and were rejected, but sometimes just different lifestyles. It's very sad, but yes, if she came from a background like that, she might well not be reported missing.

On the other hand, there are so many people hunting for missing people who they can't find that I have to think her people are out there and we just haven't managed to hook them up with each other yet.

 

[Shamrocker99]

So very true--it makes me so sad that there are so many unidentified that no one seems to care about!! Even if I was estranged from a family member, I would still identify their body if I saw a recovered unknown that looked like a match! I never considered her possibly being of an amish background-we have lots in Ohio that you hear about leaving now, but I never really heard about anyone leaving when I was younger. Definitely something to consider.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

So very true--it makes me so sad that there are so many unidentified that no one seems to care about!! Even if I was estranged from a family member, I would still identify their body if I saw a recovered unknown that looked like a match! I never considered her possibly being of an amish background-we have lots in Ohio that you hear about leaving now, but I never really heard about anyone leaving when I was younger. Definitely something to consider.

It's certainly possible. When I think of Amish, I think of either out near Middlefield, or the more "touristy" area down past Orrville near Sugarcreek. Around here, people will just say "we went down to Amish country for the day," meaning that area. Lehman's there, in Kidron, caters to the Amish customer, and sometimes there is a bazaar set up near there where some of the Amish sell things. Kind of a cool place.

But this area is pretty far from where BG was found. I'm not saying there aren't Amish settlements in that part of the state, but I don't know if there are that many. I did look on the map and see that there seems to be a decent Amish settlement and school in Richmond, Indiana, which would not have been too far away.

She is definitely not dressed Amish. Also, most of the Amish areas that I know of are on well water and not city water, so if she grew up Amish, she would probably have been drinking non-flouride water her whole life. BG's teeth were in very good condition, but I suppose that's possible without flouride - maybe just less likely.

But an Amish girl might wear her hair braided like that, and certainly wouldn't have pierced ears, so those things do fit.

Wonder if they would ever consider doing isotope testing with BG like they did with Little Miss Panasofkee?

 

[carbuff]

So very true--it makes me so sad that there are so many unidentified that no one seems to care about!! Even if I was estranged from a family member, I would still identify their body if I saw a recovered unknown that looked like a match! I never considered her possibly being of an amish background-we have lots in Ohio that you hear about leaving now, but I never really heard about anyone leaving when I was younger. Definitely something to consider.

I would too -- but the odds are that they've never even seen the reconstructions or anything to cause them to look.

 

[nerosleuth]

It's certainly possible. When I think of Amish, I think of either out near Middlefield, or the more "touristy" area down past Orrville near Sugarcreek. Around here, people will just say "we went down to Amish country for the day," meaning that area. Lehman's there, in Kidron, caters to the Amish customer, and sometimes there is a bazaar set up near there where some of the Amish sell things. Kind of a cool place.

But this area is pretty far from where BG was found. I'm not saying there aren't Amish settlements in that part of the state, but I don't know if there are that many. I did look on the map and see that there seems to be a decent Amish settlement and school in Richmond, Indiana, which would not have been too far away.

She is definitely not dressed Amish. Also, most of the Amish areas that I know of are on well water and not city water, so if she grew up Amish, she would probably have been drinking non-flouride water her whole life. BG's teeth were in very good condition, but I suppose that's possible without flouride - maybe just less likely.

But an Amish girl might wear her hair braided like that, and certainly wouldn't have pierced ears, so those things do fit.

Wonder if they would ever consider doing isotope testing with BG like they did with Little Miss Panasofkee?

I do know that there is an Amish settlement outside of Columbus. It’s in Plain City, which is near the Madison and Union County line. Plain City would be about 55 miles from where Buckskin Girl was found.

I honestly don’t know if there were any Amish settlements in the western part of Ohio back then.

In December of 1982, a body of a unid woman was found in a remote wooded area 15 miles west of the Ohio-Indiana border not far from Richmond, Indiana. She was wearing clog shoes and her death was estimated to have occurred in April 1982.


IN IN - Wayne County - White Female 491UFIN, 18-22, Dec 1982


IN IN - Wayne County - White Female 491UFIN, 18-22, Dec 1982 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


http://doenetwork.org/cases/491ufin.html


The area where Buckskin Girl and Clog Shoe Girl were found is about 42 miles apart from each other. I don’t know if these two unid cases are related to each other. What they have in common is that both were found in a rural area and their age ranges are similar.

The fact that Buckskin Girl was found without her shoes makes me wonder if perhaps she wore a special kind of shoes.

As far as shoes are concerned, would an Amish girl wear any kind of a clog type shoe?

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I do know that there is an Amish settlement outside of Columbus. It’s in Plain City, which is near the Madison and Union County line. Plain City would be about 55 miles from where Buckskin Girl was found.

I honestly don’t know if there were any Amish settlements in the western part of Ohio back then.

In December of 1982, a body of a unid woman was found in a remote wooded area 15 miles west of the Ohio-Indiana border not far from Richmond, Indiana. She was wearing clog shoes and her death was estimated to have occurred in April 1982.


IN IN - Wayne County - White Female 491UFIN, 18-22, Dec 1982


IN IN - Wayne County - White Female 491UFIN, 18-22, Dec 1982 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


http://doenetwork.org/cases/491ufin.html


The area where Buckskin Girl and Clog Shoe Girl were found is about 42 miles apart from each other. I don’t know if these two unid cases are related to each other. What they have in common is that both were found in a rural area and their age ranges are similar.

The fact that Buckskin Girl was found without her shoes makes me wonder if perhaps she wore a special kind of shoes.

As far as shoes are concerned, would an Amish girl wear any kind of a clog type shoe?

Wow. That's interesting about the 1982 case.

You know, I'm in Amish country every other weekend, and see the people out frequently, and for the life of me I cant remember anything about their shoes, but probably clogs, loafers, mary janes - simple looking shoes in conservative colors without a lot of design to them. That's the Amish way. If you drive through Amish country here, all the houses are white, no fancy color shutters, etc. I guess that's why it always strikes me as a little funny when I see an Amish buggy pull through the McDonalds drive thru, horses and all - such a contradiction, you know? I guess you know you're really in Amish country when the McDonalds has a hitching post Sunday nights in warm weather I've seen Amish teens congregating there...once I even saw an Amish girl smoking a cigarette right out front while her friends played lookout - so they are certainly like other teenagers in that they are not above being a little rebellious!

I've done some research on the Amish in Ohio from a genealogical standpoint. My husband's family was actually one of the original Amish immigrating families during colonial times. Of course, we didn't know that until we started researching it, they left probably four or five generations ago, but it did explain our very Amish last name. There were many schisms among the plain folk in Ohio and what we call Amish tend to be more in the northeast and east side of the state. The Northwest was settled by those who became the Mennonites.

From what I understand, Mennonites dress in a more secular fashion, don't abstain from technology, and don't shun. So if she were Mennonite, that wouldn't really explain why she hasn't been identified any more or less than if she were anyone else.

I didn't know about the Plain City settlement, that is very interesting, I will have to look into that.

As far as BG goes, I doubt it was thought her shoes would identify her. If the rest of her clothing was rather modern then I don't know why she'd be wearing Amish shoes. Also, I don't know that if they were clogs, mary janes, etc. that would have been a dead giveaway since a lot of other people wear those too.

Come on, BG....give us one tiny clue in 2013!

 

[CarlK90245]

For the past couple of weeks, I've been going through the Classmates yearbook library book-by-book, covering every available 1974-1981 book from the entire southwestern corner of Ohio (i.e. all the counties marked red on the map below which includes the cities of Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton).

I intend to continue North/South for all the Ohio and Kentucky counties along the I-75 Corridor, and East/West for all Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois counties along the I-70 Corridor. I am absolutely certain that BG is not currently listed on any public missing persons listing. So as I see it, this is going to be the only way that we are going to find this woman. (Unless a relative of hers decides to check Websleuths or NamUs - Like with Paula B Davis, the Blue Bandanna Girl).

So far, I've only found a few close possibles, all of whom I was able to rule-out.

But when I ran across this girl BJW in the 11th grade section of the 1977 Thomas Worthington HS yearbook (Worthington OH), my heart skipped a beat. :what:

She has it all - High Forehead, arching eyebrows, no cheekbone definition, pointy nose, and round chin. And of course, the pigtails and even a turtle neck sweater. She even has, in her junior and senior portraits, what appears to be a horizontal scar under the right side of her lower lip, just like BG does. (Her 1978 Senior book is in Ancestry, but not Classmates).

But THIS IS NOT BUCKSKIN GIRL. I was able to verify her existence past 1981.

But I had to put the photo up anyway just because she was so close. Oh well - The search goes on.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

As soon as I saw that picture, I said...the cheekbones! Then I laughed when I saw you mentioned it too I agree she is not anyone currently listed.