On January 18, 1990 long haul truck driver James Edward Taylor crashed his truck on highway 259 near Big Cedar. Taylor would survive the crash, however his passenger would not. While in and of itself this isn’t an odd occurrence- the fact that his passenger would die while not having her identity known, is.
Taylor would tell authorities that he picked the woman up about fifteen minutes before the crash happened. However, Taylor’s sister told Oklahoma State Troopers that Taylor had picked up Jane Doe in Cleveland, Ohio- some 1.000 miles away from the crash site in Oklahoma. She also told troopers that she believed Jane Doe might have gone by either “Beth” or “Baby”, but wasn’t sure. Taylor was charged with Jane Doe’s death, however charges were eventually dismissed. Whether he actually killed Jane Doe or knew her identity at this point is irrelevant, because James Edward Taylor passed away in 2008.
Jane Doe is believed to have been between 30 and 50 when she died. She had an abdominal scar believed to have been from a c-section, as well as scars on her forehead and on her upper left arm. She was African American with brown eyes and short, curly black hair. She was wearing a long sleeved blue and grey striped shirt, a long sleeved beige sweater, blue corduroy pants, a tan fabric belt and pantyhose. She also had on a gold ring with a small pink or purple stone that she wore on her left middle finger. I have included a picture of the ring.
DNA is on file for Jane Doe, and I have included screenshots of the comparisons that have been completed for her.
If you have any information about Jane Doe’s identity, please contact Oklahoma Highway Patrol - Troop D at (918) 423-3636
oklahomacoldcases.org
