PA PA - Star Dodson, 21, Hollidaysburg, 10 July 1976

[CarlK90245]

Here's a new NamUs listing for a 21 year old girl with blonde hair LKA in July 1976

Star Joy Dodson
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27610/0

The particulars are pretty close in comparison to Yuba Lake Jane

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate a photo of her. I looked in Classmates to see if I could find anyone named Dodson from Ebensburg Pennsylvania. There are four persons with the surname Dodson who went to school in Central Cambria HS in Ebensburg.

However, I called the Central Cambria HS, and found out that nobody named Star Joy Dodson ever attended Central Cambria HS. The woman I talked to even knew the Dodson Family, and says that she doesn't remember any member of that family named Star Joy.

 

[chaddylex]

Here's a new NamUs listing for a 21 year old girl with blonde hair LKA in July 1976

Star Joy Dodson
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27610/0

The particulars are pretty close in comparison to Yuba Lake Jane

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate a photo of her. I looked in Classmates to see if I could find anyone named Dodson from Ebensburg Pennsylvania. There are four persons with the surname Dodson who went to school in Central Cambria HS in Ebensburg.

However, I called the Central Cambria HS, and found out that nobody named Star Joy Dodson ever attended Central Cambria HS. The woman I talked to even knew the Dodson Family, and says that she doesn't remember any member of that family named Star Joy.

Ahhhh Carl....... My husband is from Ebensburg... How crazy is that? Anywho... Try Bishop Carroll High School which is also located in Ebensburg (It's a Catholic School) and Penn Cambria High School which is outside of Ebensburg in Cressson. I can ask my husband later if he knows the last name Dodson.

 

[alllads]

I've done some digging and Star Joy wasn't from Ebensburg, she was from Gallitzin, previously from Duncansville. Apparently she was last seen with her boyfriend, who was found deceased in his car. His death was ruled suicide by carbon monoxide.

 

[chaddylex]

Gallitzin is Penn Cambria School District, Duncansville is right down the mountain closer to Altoona. How long after Star went missing was her boyfriend found dead in his car?

 

[chaddylex]

Asked my husband if he knew anyone from the Ebensburg area with the last name Dodson. He doesn't recall. Mind you he was also born in 1976. Next time I talk to my MIL I will ask her if that last name rings a bell.

 

[CarlK90245]

Gallitzin is Penn Cambria School District, Duncansville is right down the mountain closer to Altoona. How long after Star went missing was her boyfriend found dead in his car?

If Star was 21 in 1976, she likely was in her HS class of 1973.

Unfortunately, Classmates only has the Penn Cambria HS 74, 75, and 78 books, but none of the 70-73 books.

ETA: RootsWeb has senior photos from all of the Penn Cambria HS yearbooks from the 1970's. Star isn't in either of the 72 or 73 books as a senior.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pacambr2/PCHS/

 

[carbuff]

There are articles about her disappearance in the July 29, 1976 issues of the Tyrone Daily Herald and the Lebanon Daily News -- looks like it's probably the same article. Unfortunately it's behind a paywall but it looks like Cresson police were initially involved. There's a followup article in the Tyrone paper on August 3 and the Lebanon paper on August 23.

If anybody belongs to Ancestry.com, it looks like the Lebanon Daily News articles are available there.

 

[CarlK90245]

There are articles about her disappearance in the July 29, 1976 issues of the Tyrone Daily Herald and the Lebanon Daily News -- looks like it's probably the same article. Unfortunately it's behind a paywall but it looks like Cresson police were initially involved. There's a followup article in the Tyrone paper on August 3 and the Lebanon paper on August 23.

If anybody belongs to Ancestry.com, it looks like the Lebanon Daily News articles are available there.

I found the Tyrone Daily Herald article. It is brief.

Cresson - Police have issued a missing person bulletin for Star Joy Dodson, 21, of Gallitzin, formerly of Duncansville. Miss Dodson was the girlfriend of Daniel Dupnock, 25, of St. Michael, who was found dead at 3:20 PM Tuesday in his car, which was parked in a wooded area off Old Portage Road in Cresson Twp. Dupnock's death was ruled a suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, and police are investigating the possibility of foul play.

A second article reads as follows:

Cresson - Searchers failed to turn up any clues to the whereabouts of Star Joy Dodson, 21, of Gallitzin, formerly of Duncansville, yesterday. Miss Dodson is the object of a search by police and volunteer firemen after the body of her boyfriend was found in his auto near Cresson earlier in the week, an apparent suicide victim.

Unfortunately, neither of the articles include a photo of Star.

 

[CarlK90245]

There is a girl who is a sophomore in the 1971 Hollidaysburg HS yearbook with the surname Dodson. But her first initial is "P".

There are three more Dodsons who were juniors in 1971. Two are males, and the female has the first initial "G".

There are five Dodsons who were seniors in 1971. There is a S. Dodson who was a senior in 1971. But she is not blonde, and it would seem that she would be two years too old. ETA: I checked the index in the back of the book. Her name starts with S, but it is not Star

 

[alllads]

There is a girl who is a sophomore in the 1971 Hollidaysburg HS yearbook with the surname Dodson. But her first initial is "P".

There are three more Dodsons who were juniors in 1971. Two are males, and the female has the first initial "G".

There are five Dodsons who were seniors in 1971. There is a S. Dodson who was a senior in 1971. But she is not blonde, and it would seem that she would be two years too old. ETA: I checked the index in the back of the book. Her name starts with S, but it is not Star

Just found a listing in a newspaper - Star was in 8th grade at Hollidaysburg in 1969-1970, so would have been in the class of 74 I think. Sophmore in 1971-1972. In 1972, the newspaper says she was going to be a junior at the school, so a junior for 72-73. Unfortunately, the Hollidaysburg High School yearbooks only cover sophmores through seniors, so none of the ones on Classmates are any good since we'd need 1972, 1973, or 1974 for a photo of her (provided she graduated). At least 1972 should definitely have her since she definitely progressed to her junior year...

 

[chaddylex]

Should Star have her own thread?

I think I found a pointer to the boyfriend's grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=67238970 Right name and death date, in PA. It looks like he we was older than her: 25 if my arithmetic is correct.

The boyfriend was buried in a cemetery in South Fork PA which is off of Route 219 between Ebensburg and Johnstown. His body was found in St. Michael which is right by Cresson. This is all so close to my In laws, it's crazy. My husband wasn't even born when this happened but I would really like to ask my mother in law next time I talk to her to see if she remembers this.

 

[alllads]

Star Joy Dodson
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27610/0

Missing 10th of July 1976, last seen at Hollidaysburg Memorial Park with her boyfriend. She was last seen on a Saturday, and on Tuesday her boyfriend was found deceased in his car in a wooded area off Old Portage Road near Cresson Township. His death was ruled suicide by carbon monoxide. A woman's clothing was found in the car (no details if it was Star Joy's).

She was not from Ebsebsburg, but from Gallitzin, and before that Duncansville. She had attended Hollidaysburg High School, class of 1974. No photos are available, so if you find a Hollidaysburg High School yearbook for 1972, 1973, or 1974 do have a look!


Height: 61 inches
Weight: 120
Hair colour: Strawberry blond
Eye colour: Blue

No distinguishing features listed, no dentals available, DNA has been run. I found an article mentioning her as a small child (minor incident), and have calculated that she was born in approximately August of 1955.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27610/0


Currently being discussed as a possible for http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...a-Lake-Sep-78/page3&highlight=star+joy+dodson

 

[carbuff]

Star Joy Dodson
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27610/0

Missing 10th of July 1976, last seen at Hollidaysburg Memorial Park with her boyfriend. She was last seen on a Saturday, and on Tuesday her boyfriend was found deceased in his car in a wooded area off Old Portage Road near Cresson Township. His death was ruled suicide by carbon monoxide. A woman's clothing was found in the car (no details if it was Star Joy's).

She was not from Ebsebsburg, but from Gallitzin, and before that Duncansville. She had attended Hollidaysburg High School, class of 1974. No photos are available, so if you find a Hollidaysburg High School yearbook for 1972, 1973, or 1974 do have a look!


Height: 61 inches
Weight: 120
Hair colour: Strawberry blond
Eye colour: Blue

No distinguishing features listed, no dentals available, DNA has been run. I found an article mentioning her as a small child (minor incident), and have calculated that she was born in approximately August of 1955.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27610/0


Currently being discussed as a possible for http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...a-Lake-Sep-78/page3&highlight=star+joy+dodson

Pointer to the boyfriend's grave in Find a Grave:

Daniel Dupnock
Birth: Nov. 27, 1950
Death: Jul. 27, 1976

Burial:
Mount Hope Cemetery
South Fork
Cambria County
Pennsylvania, USA

According to the marker and also to the newspaper articles, he died on July 29. So that's 19 days after Star was last seen.

There may be other information about him in Ancestry.com, but otherwise all I can find is that he was born and he died. I have the ssn also if anybody needs it for searching.

 

[alllads]

Pointer to the boyfriend's grave in Find a Grave:

Daniel Dupnock
Birth: Nov. 27, 1950
Death: Jul. 27, 1976

Burial:
Mount Hope Cemetery
South Fork
Cambria County
Pennsylvania, USA

According to the marker and also to the newspaper articles, he died on July 29. So that's 19 days after Star was last seen.

There may be other information about him in Ancestry.com, but otherwise all I can find is that he was born and he died. I have the ssn also if anybody needs it for searching.

He was found on Tuesday the 27th of July 1976 - the 29th is the date most of the news articles were published. He may well have died earlier than the 27th though, I think that's put as his day of death because that's when he was found.

It's really weird circumstances!

 

[alllads]

I have what is likely to be a photo of her, but I can't be sure. The yearbooks for 1972 and 1973 have appeared on Classmates. She is NOT in the 1972 yearbook, but an S. Dodson that fits the description is in for 1973, as class of 1974. Maybe for her sophmore year she was somewhere else, or had a year out or something.

 

[rainwater]

Star Joy Dodson also fits eye, hair color, and height parameters for Arroyo Grande Jane Doe, found in Henderson NV on October 5, 1980.........
I sent a short email to Clark County Coroner's office earlier this week, telling Mr. Jones of that office we are trying to locate a picture of Star to compare her to Carl's reconstruction of Arroyo and Arroyo's PM photo on Namus.
Arroyo Grande Jane Doe has a long thread in the "Unidentified " forum on websleuths.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...de-quot-WhtFem-258UFNV-14-25-Oct-80-*GRAPHIC*

 

[CarlK90245]

I have what is likely to be a photo of her, but I can't be sure. The yearbooks for 1972 and 1973 have appeared on Classmates. She is NOT in the 1972 yearbook, but an S. Dodson that fits the description is in for 1973, as class of 1974. Maybe for her sophmore year she was somewhere else, or had a year out or something.


View attachment 70271

Thanks, Allads. I sent the photo to NamUs Regional Admin Amy Dobbs, and she uploaded it to Star Dodson's MP casefile.

 

[alllads]

Thanks, Allads. I sent the photo to NamUs Regional Admin Amy Dobbs, and she uploaded it to Star Dodson's MP casefile.

Great! It's from quite a few years before she went missing, but at least it's a pretty clear shot of her face, front on, not in a shadow, etc. I tried to flip through the 1973 yearbook a bit more to see if there are any more obvious photos of her, but I didn't find any.

 

[carbuff]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dodson_star.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27610/0

http://pennsylvaniamissing.com/dodsonstarjoy.html

The only new information I see is that they confirm they don't know whether the clothing in her boyfriend's car was hers.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

PA – Star Joy Dodson, W/F, 21, Ebensburg, Cambria Co, 10 Jul 1976


Star Joy Dodson



Last Seen: July 10th, 1976

Missing From: Ebensburg, Cambria County, Pennsylvania


Physical/Clothing/Medical
Race: White
Sex: Female
Age: 21 Years Old
DOB: 1955
Height: 5’1” (61”)
Weight: 120 lbs.
Hair: Blonde/Strawberry
Eye Color: Blue
Clothing: Blue jean jacket with patch on it and blue jeans
Jewelry:
Characteristics/Medical/Scars: Pierced ears
Transportation:
Fingerprint Status: Not Available
Dental Status: Not Available
DNA Status: Available

Circumstances:
Star was last seen on Saturday, July 10th, 1976 with her boyfriend Daniel Dupnock at Legion Memorial Park in Hollidaysburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania.

On Tuesday, July 27th, 1976 Daniel was found in his car deceased in a wooded are in Cresson, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Daniel’s death was ruled a suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Women’s clothing was found in Daniel’s car however, it is unknown if the clothes belonged to Star or someone else.

To note Daniel was in a car accident along with a friend that was killed, Daniel incurred serious head injuries from the accident. I do not know exactly the extent of the injuries but a traumatic events experience coupled with brain injuries makes me wonder about his mental health state.


Investigating Agencies:
Pennsylvania State Police, Troop A
100 Casale Court
Ebensburg, PA. 15931
Tele: 814.471.6500
MP Case #
Contact: Trooper Kenneth Durbin
Web: Troop A


Information Sources:
NAMUS
MP Case # 27610: Missing Person Case
Case Manager: Amy Dobbs
Tele: 865.235.6523
E-Mail: Amy.Dobbs@unthsc.edu

The Charley Project - Star Joy Dodson – The Charley Project

Pennsylvania Missing Persons - Pennsylvania Missing Persons and Unidentified Victims

News
11/15/71 – Somerset Daily American, Car Accident
07/29/76 – Lebanon Daily News
07/29/76 – Tyrone Daily Herald
08/03/76 – Tyrone Daily Herald
08/23/76 – Lebanon Daily News