Identified! TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, Nov'80 #4 Sherry Ann Jarvis

[Tahlia Woodson]

I personally think they were retouched. There's a blur along the edge of her face in the front-view postmortem.

But why would they retouch the image to remove something that could be an identifier?

 

[Nell91]

I can see another mole in 2 of the 3 photos available of Sherri, just behind her nasiolabal fold line when she's smiling. Why, oh why weren't these mentioned?

 

[Kiranerys]

I’m not placing any blame on the family. I’m more amazed that a private investigator couldn’t make the match. Although I’m from a place with one central system for police/missing persons databases/etc as opposed to states operating in silos.

Sorry,I didn't mean to make it sound like you were blaming her family,I know you werent. I just meant that I think they tasked the P.I with finding a very much alive runaway,so I can see how the investigator missed her

 

[mastiphal25]

I noticed the mole too but didn't know whether it was a fault on the photo

The mole is clearly visible and very prominent in this recon:

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

I am shocked about this system. I googled the place, it is a real prison... how would that solve mental health problems/growing pains of adolescents?

My family is also from Stillwater and my cousin, who is about ten years younger, spent an extended period of time there at around the same age. I don’t know how much I can say to be respectful of my own family’s privacy, but it sowed the seeds of addictions the whole family including my aunt are still overcoming. I feel so, so awful for Sherri knowing what this place really is - honestly, good on her for getting away from it, but it’s devastating to see this kind of ending.
I’m probably gonna be pretty quiet on here for awhile to process this one, it hits really close to home.

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

I can see another mole in 2 of the 3 photos available of Sherri, just behind her nasiolabal fold line when she's smiling. Why, oh why weren't these mentioned?

Sometimes moles like that can fade/come off/be removed by a person who’s trying to modify their appearance. It’s not common, but it’s happened.

 

[Nell91]

I wonder if they were freckles that were only really noticeable in the summer months and not the colder ones, when she was found.
But one of the recons does feature the mole, so they were aware of it it seems. Just don't understand why it wasn't listed as a distinguishing feature anywhere IF they knew about it

 

[worldwatcher]

“We actually have some positive leads right now. We're very excited about some of these and definitely are following up with our other law enforcement partners, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Rangers,” he said in an interview.

Authorities believe she was last seen alive at a nearby truck stop, asking directions to a Texas prison farm.

Her family told investigators she’d been in trouble at home in Minnesota, and was sent to a foster home before she disappeared. It wasn’t clear how she got to Texas or if she had any connection to the prison. "

Body found 41 years ago in Texas finally identified as missing Stillwater teen

 

[oviedo]

Omggg, just saw the news pop up on my YT feed!!!!!!!

Congratulations @othram on tracing the DNA!!!!!!!!

Sherri Ann Jarvis, you have your name back!!!!

I really hope all this publicity surrounding her identification will help people remember small details that together may lead to identification of her killer - I don’t want her story to just fade away

and @CarlK90245 you have been tireless and I can see so much of Sherri in your work- well done!

now dateline and 20/20 need to do a segment on this
JMO

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

I wonder if they were freckles that were only really noticeable in the summer months and not the colder ones, when she was found.
But one of the recons does feature the mole, so they were aware of it it seems. Just don't understand why it wasn't listed as a distinguishing feature anywhere IF they knew about it

I have similar moles on my face - some of them didn’t become super visible until I got older and some faded with time. It could be quite possible that investigators thought it was some kind of facial trauma and deliberately blurred it out in the PMs; some of mine started off almost red and then turned brown with time.

 

[worldwatcher]

Just a question,I want to throw in here.. :
"Could the Ellis Unit prison have been, a sort of meeting point?"
Since no one came forward to recognize her?

ETA:

-Can minors visit an inmate at a prison facility?
Yes. Individuals under 18 years of age must be accompanied during the entire visit by their non-incarcerated parent/legal guardian or a designated escort (i.e., an adult approved by the Superintendent who is on the inmate's Approved Visitor List, or is a volunteer sponsor or sponsoring organization staff, and who has notarized written approval from the non-incarcerated parent/legal guardian). See the Prison Visits webpage and DOC Policy 450.300 Visits for Incarcerated Individuals

for more information.
Visiting Frequently Asked Questions | Washington State Department of Corrections

Surely (imo) ,an inmate must be aware of regulations,don't know how it was in the 80ss..

 

[worldwatcher]

Seems to me ,that she had a plan to make a new start,when reading this:

"According to her brother, Don, who exchanged a series of messages with administrators of the “Who Was Walker County Jane Doe?” Facebook group back in September, the last correspondence Jarvis had with her family came in the form of a letter to her mother postmarked in Denver. In it, Jarvis said she’d contact the family sometime between her eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays. Despite multiple attempts to locate her, including hiring a private investigator and keeping the same home phone number for decades in hopes she’d call someday, they never heard from her again."

How Walker County Jane Doe Was Identified at Last

 

[Sierras]

I'm so glad Sherri has finally been identified after all of these years. I find it very touching.

I think the recons were not really that far off from what she actually looked like. Her face was thinner than what they showed. Of course that is understandable considering what happened to her.

Sherri sure had a cute smile. I can imagine her face lighting up every time she smiled.

Rest in peace, Sherri. Peace and comfort to your family and to all of those who loved you and cared about you.

 

[Bit of hope]

God Speed beauty.....I'm so grateful the family released her name. So sorry.....feel with you all the way.....

 

[fantascination]

For me, at least, it's very hard to find a resemblance between the post-mortem photos and living pictures of Sherri. Even if there had been inter-state communication on missing/unidentified persons, I can see how an immediate connection wouldn't be made.

Of course - and this has been said already - most of the living pictures of Sherri seem a bit younger than 14, so maybe she looked a bit different/older in November of 1980. But as it stands, if I didn't know beforehand, I would not identify the post-mortems and pictures of Sherri as the same person.

But regardless - I have been following this case for ten years. When I first started following this case, I was younger than Sherri was when she died. I am so happy, and so overwhelmed with emotion, that she has her name back. <3

 

[CarlK90245]

Minnesota can be very harsh on chronic truants. When our Mom died in 1989, my, at the time, 13 year old sister, kept skipping school because she was afraid that if we left him alone, something would happen to him. They sent her to Lino Lakes Juvenile Detention Center for 2 mos. I'm betting that's where Sherri was placed also. Back in the 80s, security was pretty lax for juveniles that weren't charged with violent crimes. The truant kids were barely watched. It would have been very easy for Sherri to slip out after dark and have a friend pick her up.

I was told she ran away from the courthouse, where she was taken to determine whether she should be placed in a juvenile detention facility. I am guessing that she somehow arranged for a friend to wait outside for her.

 

[DSCrime]

I was told she ran away from the courthouse, where she was taken to determine whether she should be placed in a juvenile detention facility. I am guessing that she somehow arranged for a friend to wait outside for her.

Thank you @CarlK90245 & @othram for all the hard work you do on these cases

 

[Wossy]

I know I thanked Science and technology in the past but after reading articles on here I think Detective Tom Bean saved the day giving the preserved brain tissue to Othram. Had he lost it or gave it to the wrong genealogists everyone viewing this thread would have gone to their graves without ever knowing who she was.

Now that she has been identified Arroyo Grande Jane Doe, Princess Doe, or Boy in the box will probably be the new Doe everyone wants to see identified (not trying to make it into a ranking system) but I still look forward to seeing who murdered her. I 100% wanna know that

 

[Springrain]

For me, at least, it's very hard to find a resemblance between the post-mortem photos and living pictures of Sherri. Even if there had been inter-state communication on missing/unidentified persons, I can see how an immediate connection wouldn't be made.

I agree. It's really been bothering me. I can legitimately see how a family member could look at her post-mortem and think "No, that's not Sherri." It has been hard for me to reconcile that they're the same person. Her facial swelling from the severe beating totally changed her appearance IMO. I feel like none of us could have realized how much it changed her face. It really shows how bad it was. Compared to someone like Marcia King or Tammy Jo Alexander, who IMO strongly resembled their recons, there was a big difference in their manners of death, because Marcia and Tammy Jo didn't experience severe facial swelling.

I was told she ran away from the courthouse, where she was taken to determine whether she should be placed in a juvenile detention facility. I am guessing that she somehow arranged for a friend to wait outside for her.

With the Colorado connection, I wonder if this friend who helped her sneak away from the courthouse and they had a plan to escape to Denver. I can't stop thinking about the letter being postmarked from Denver. That's very important IMO.

 

[EGirl]

I agree. It's really been bothering me. I can legitimately see how a family member could look at her post-mortem and think "No, that's not Sherri." It has been hard for me to reconcile that they're the same person. Her facial swelling from the severe beating totally changed her appearance IMO. I feel like none of us could have realized how much it changed her face. It really shows how bad it was. Compared to someone like Marcia King or Tammy Jo Alexander, who IMO strongly resembled their recons, there was a big difference in their manners of death, because Marcia and Tammy Jo didn't experience severe facial swelling.



With the Colorado connection, I wonder if this friend who helped her sneak away from the courthouse and they had a plan to escape to Denver. I can't stop thinking about the letter being postmarked from Denver. That's very important IMO.

The letter being postmarked Denver, doesn't mean she was ever in Colorado. She could have had someone else mail the letter for her. JMO