PA PA - French Creek State Park, Union Twp, BlkFem 21-28, 349UFPA, bag w/ "FA", "O" & "ATER", Jul'88

[chicoliving]

Anyone want to check out that this may be a FAMILY DOLLAR bag?

 

[STEADFAST]

Anyone want to check out that this may be a FAMILY DOLLAR bag?

That was discussed somewhere earlier in the thread. Not sure it was ever resolved because no poster knows what the Family Dollar logo looked like back then. I think it's a good possibility.

 

[Beyond Belief]

Fapy Lafertin may have performed at the jazz festival in Harrisburg. I wonder if they sold things in a bag with his name on it?

 

[Cubby]

Any one have any idea what grocery store could have those letters???


Pieces of a white, plastic bag resembling a grocery bag were found in the grave with the remains. The bag had red lettering. The letters are believed to be "FA", "O" and "ATER".
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/349ufpa.html



JBEAN ETA: ADDING SOME UPDATED LINKS FOR THIS COLD CASE >>COURTESY OF MAYFAIRLIGHT

Updated links for "Help on a cold case puzzle/grocery bag "

Doenetwork:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/349ufpa.html

Page at Pennsylvania missing, also pics of bag
http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/349ufpa.html

Direct links to bag pictures
(maybe should be uploaded to here so everyone can view them easily?)

http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/images/600_349ufpa_-_Bag_1.jpg

http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/images/600_349ufpa_Bag_2.jpg

It's been a long time since I looked at this thread. Taking a fresh look at this. Thank you Beyond Belief for 'bumping' the thread with a post.

Zooming the jpg links to 200%

Bag -1: I see the number 4 the A below the FA

I don't know how to copy the picture and circle what I am seeing but I clearly see a very large nunber 4 several sizes larger than the FA. But what appears to be a 4 is directly centered beneath the A in FA.

Bag-2: Imo the letters read ated rather than ater as in 'rated'.

I can't make out what the letter? is following the 4.

Ok, off to refresh myself on the details in the thread.

 

[Cubby]

I see the 4 was mentioned very early on in the thread.

I think the farmer jack logo looks very much like the logo on this bag.
Unsure if Farmer Jack was officially ruled out.

will have to look more later.....

 

[Beyond Belief]

I have started staring at this alot lately. I keep moving toward "rated" also. I have discovered three letters which I hadn't seen before but have no idea what they mean.
to the left of the F, three letters in margin which i believe are WER. Obviously the end of a word, the bottom of the letters are on the left edge of the F, but run from bottom to top.
I see what looks like a 4, but just can't believe it because of the way the top looks. For some reason it looks like a bottle cap on top of a bottle. I keep looking at it thinking beer bottle, maybe the word is COORS, but I have pretty much ruled that out with the rest of the things my overactive imagination sees.

The other avenue I keep looking at is that ATER is part of GREATER PA OR GREATER READING, which are terms commonly used in that area.

Do we know what part of the park she was located thats a big place. It would help with the closest city.

 

[Cubby]

I see what I think are the WER, they look like they were scratched in? In other words thin letters? I also see what you mean about the 'bottle cap" shape at the top of the 4. I don't think either were part of the original logo but rather part of the decay of the bag were the imprint faded or was worn.

Good question on where in the park she was located.

I will look at this more a bit later.

 

[STEADFAST]

I'm so glad to see people working on this again! I've been fairly obsessed with identifying this bag from time to time.

 

[Beyond Belief]

I hear ya, this could drive u crazy.

 

[Billylee]

A picture of the Farmer Jack's grocery logo:

Could the bag say "keep refrigerated"?

 

[STEADFAST]

I hear ya, this could drive u crazy.

I get to thinking that if we can identify this bag it will automatically identify the victim and the perp. I've even messaged with old-grocery-store afficianados. I've walked (using Google street view) down neighborhoods hoping to find an store with this logo. I've studied postcards and old street pictures.
The bag . . . the bag . . .:treadmill::whipper:

 

[Beyond Belief]

i wish we knew which town it was close too and what road they would have to take into the park

 

[joeskidbeck]

I think they just said it was in the grave without specifying, but I think it was tightly around her head because . . . isn't that her face imprinted on there? Am I imagining it?

Thanks, STEADFAST. If you are imagining it, I am too. Shared delusion?
I don't think so. I can see the imprint of this woman's face in the bag.

 

[Beyond Belief]

French Creek State Park is in Berks and Chester counties. You may reach the park from PA 345 south of Birdsboro, north of PA 23, and from the Morgantown exits (1A and 1 B) of the PA Turnpike.

The main roads in there look like they come from Birdsboro, Morgantown, and the turnpike.

More close cities: Kulptown, Geigertown, Elverson, Coatesville.

She was found in Union Twp, which Kulptown is part of, its just southof Birdsboro. Just little roads running from Birdsboro to French Creek.

 

[Billylee]

Maybe the bag is from a Farmer's Co-op. I seem to see the letters "O" and maybe a "C". And maybe it's a type of feed bag for some kind of livestock and maybe the bottom word is Medic"ated". ?

 

[Beyond Belief]

After spending sometime on google earth, it seems almost ridiculous to drive into the park to dispose of a body, theres acres of woods heading in there that could be used.

 

[STEADFAST]

After spending sometime on google earth, it seems almost ridiculous to drive into the park to dispose of a body, theres acres of woods heading in there that could be used.

Maybe they were camping. That might mean it was a husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend. Or someone could have snatched her and driven to his campsite to kill her.
Are there campsites there? I wish there was more info about exactly where she was!

 

[Beyond Belief]

The way she was dressed i would agree camping. Those towns surrounding where he entered the park are not the kind of places you have prostituition. Very country area with long winding roads. I think the closest one that might fit would be Pottstown.
I did find some info on the Turkey Hill convenience stores that was interesting it is that they are affliliated with Farmland Industries. I don't know if they put that on their label on their bags tho.

 

[Cubby]

Thinking outloud. Back in the 90's I worked for a redistributor of disposable paper and plastics for the hospitality industry. I don't recall grocers being part of our customer base but that doesn't mean some of our distributor customers didn't sell to grocers.

It was a little more costly to imprint a bag the way this one was, with the background print - I forget the exact term for it. There was a lot of competition with this style bag as well, and our midwest market pricing was not as competitive as the east coast market.

We had a sales rep in the western PA market, but unfortunately he died in an automobile accident or I'd track him down.

I remember bagcraft and Duro bag were the MFG's we purchased from, though I can't recall if they mfg both paper and plastic bags.

I think if we can identify which bag mfgs were in the area at the time, perhaps we can find a sales rep who might recognize the bag. Unfortunately the two I knew - one is deceased and the other is retired. ugh!

I'm hoping maybe someone else here at WS has some experience in the industry and might recall someone? I'm going to try digging but it is going to be more like cold calls than warm leads going that angle with the industry due to the time and those people not being around anymore.

 

[Beyond Belief]

I think we could place the time on during early summer thru early fall since she is wearing a light jacket. Minimum of two years, so summer of 86 back. Bonjour jeans, I cant remember what years they were popular.

Bonjour commercial 1983
http://www.retrostatic.com/videos/p803_sectionid/6/p803_fileid/648/p803_js_on/1