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

[cvaldez1975]

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.

i feel like she prob went through denver, but idk that she went w the original friend. i think she was drifiting and meeting new ppl along the way.

 

[strawberry]

Sherry Ann Jarvis

Steelwater, Minnesota
(3/9/1966 - 11/1/1980)

She was born a day after i was

 

[cvaldez1975]

I feel like she must have been staying with someone. I mean, she ran away from Minnesota in March or April and died on either October 31st or (probably) November 1st. That's at least 5 months, probably closer to 6 or 7 months, that she was unaccounted for. It is extremely unlikely IMO that 14-year-old Sherri was catching rides and roaming aimlessly around the country consistently for longer than half a year, before being murdered. I cannot imagine it. Not just because of the safety issues surrounding an 8th/9th grader hitchhiking with strangers around the country, but also because where did she sleep? She was clean, did she manage to use truck stop bathrooms to shower everyday (or at least often)? Did she sustain herself for 6-ish months with food she paid for using an abnormal amount of money for a 14-year-old to have, much less carry? Her family clearly said she left Minnesota shortly after her 14th birthday, and I believe them - they would know. I just want to know how she was able to sustain herself for that long.

I very well might be looking too much into the Denver connection, but I wonder if a "friend" arranged for her to stay with them in Denver. What I don't get it the Texas and Ellis Unit connection. I briefly wondered if she was killed by a "friend" she was staying in Denver with and drove to Texas with, but that doesn't fit in with the hitchhiking thing, and she was clearly hitchhiking. IDK. I just want her killer to be found.

i feel she stayed from house to house with friends in the beginning but then drifted. be it hitching to another city then making new friends to stay with then drifting again.

 

[cherrymeg]

I know this is currently being discussed, but the fact that a 13/14 year old had the capability to hitch hike from Minnesota to Texas successfully is beyond me. I could barely go to the store three blocks away at 13. And, yeah she definitely had some help because to be gone that long and still look put together and healthy (ie. the good teeth, winged hairstyle, and clean appearance), there must be someone out there that knows her when they helped her, and I'm guessing it's multiple people unless she had a sole companion that left her when they got to Texas. There's a lot to be investigated here.

I think kids had more freedom then and hitchhiking wasn’t considered dangerous. When you are 13 and 14 you are in a weird in between age. She probably did meet people along the way. Maybe people will remember her now that she has a name and place she left from. Sherri’s face has a picture to go with these new details that someone might remember. I still wonder if all the sightings of her were truly her. Having access to hair products could mean she was with another female at some point. If you are traveling curling irons and hairspray take up room that you might want for clothes and basic essentials unless a body wave perm would do that naturally (IDK).
Hopefully her movements can be tracked and her killer can be found.

 

[Friday Fan]

I think kids had more freedom then and hitchhiking wasn’t considered dangerous. When you are 13 and 14 you are in a weird in between age. She probably did meet people along the way. Maybe people will remember her now that she has a name and place she left from. Sherri’s face has a picture to go with these new details that someone might remember. I still wonder if all the sightings of her were truly her. Having access to hair products could mean she was with another female at some point. If you are traveling curling irons and hairspray take up room that you might want for clothes and basic essentials unless a body wave perm would do that naturally (IDK).
Hopefully her movements can be tracked and her killer can be found.

If you're talking about in Huntsville, her appearance was disheveled. When I look at her actual photos, it appears her hair naturally conformed to that particular style.

 

[Adrian_Almost_Sleuth]

I’m wondering if the waitress may have confused Sherri with another girl who looked similar to her.

I've always thought this was a possibility. With it being Halloween there were probably quite a few teens out and a brunette Caucasian girl in the middle of Texas are a dime a dozen. I mean, it was the early 80s, cell phones obviously weren't a thing yet, it could've been a pick me up here at so and so time situation. Who knows if it was her or not.

 

[onceuponadecember]

I've always thought this was a possibility. With it being Halloween there were probably quite a few teens out and a brunette Caucasian girl in the middle of Texas are a dime a dozen.

I think that the fact that heels were the same and there being a teenage attitude, as well as the physical similarities are enough proof IMO.

 

[cherryzard]

Literal chills! So glad she was identified, let's hope this a huge step for DNA identification. May Sherri rest in peace.

 

[PawneeDew]

ID'd with Othram from tissue samples taken from her to build family tree. In March 2021 Othram presented WC Sheriff Department with possible relatives.

They showed a picture of her. She was so beautiful.

Just as Beautiful as I thought she would be.

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

With regards to the Forest Lake vs Stillwater debate, I just found 11+ public records for Sherri's mom that would have placed the family's address in either Forest Lake or Wyoming from 1970 on, which means yes, Forest Lake schools.

 

[PawneeDew]

Is it me, or can anyone else see 2 moles on Sherri's face, near her mouth, on the initial photograph of her in life?
Beautiful beautiful girl she was, she looked like she had a wicked sense of humour.

Yes, I absolutely do see that..

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

I am 110% convinced that whoever did this to Sherri offended again, and that we are likely dealing with a serial killer/rapist here. If anyone knows of any other cases unrelated to the three Texas ones that have been referenced as potentially linked to Sherri's, particularly with similar MO, it may be good to bring them into the discussion since Sherri was known to have been as far west as Denver and as far north as the WI/MN counties bordering Canada (this is per public records and family locations - we are looking at Bayfield County, WI and Pine County, MN for sure as places she had roots apart from Stillwater/Forest Lake)

 

[cherrymeg]

If you're talking about in Huntsville, her appearance was disheveled. When I look at her actual photos, it appears her hair naturally conformed to that particular style.

Usually some type of styling goes into shaping hair a certain way. Even if its a hairdryer and a brush and hair spray. I know she was described as disheveled which could mean she woke up from a car ride.

 

[cherrymeg]

Would people be hesitant to admit they traveled with Sherri when she first went missing. Taking a minor across state lines can be a big deal. I bought my son’s aunt a bus ticket to Florida to see her dad when she was in foster care. The state of Delaware had to get her when it didn’t work out. I didn’t realize how stupid that was at the time. It could have been illegal.
If Sherri traveled with other minors they wouldn’t have thought about that. Adults might have realized it was illegal or even kids might have freaked out if she didn’t show up or meet them somewhere. Also if she as in foster care or a group home some might let kids go a few days before they call the police. Many kids go back to their families so even when the police or social workers are called it’s not hard to find them. If Sherri was scared of truancy officers to the point where she was ready to run for years, what did they say to her? It would be easy to threaten her with getting her arrested or sending her back to a foster home or a group home. She was young and probably obviously so.
Someone decent might have given her a ride or maybe she didn’t start out alone. I didn’t think this case could get worse but somehow she was taken from her family lost in the system and her finger prints weren’t taken - wtf? Sherri and her family deserved more.

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

Would people be hesitant to admit they traveled with Sherri when she first went missing. Taking a minor across state lines can be a big deal.

Yes, I absolutely think that there were people, both at the prison farm and in Minnesota, that know more than they told LE.

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

https://prisoninsight.com/correctional-facilities/state/texas/ellis-unit/
More info on the Ellis Prison Farm for those unfamiliar. It hosted the TX death row at the time Sherri would have been going there.

 

[Friday Fan]

Would people be hesitant to admit they traveled with Sherri when she first went missing. Taking a minor across state lines can be a big deal. I bought my son’s aunt a bus ticket to Florida to see her dad when she was in foster care. The state of Delaware had to get her when it didn’t work out. I didn’t realize how stupid that was at the time. It could have been illegal.
If Sherri traveled with other minors they wouldn’t have thought about that. Adults might have realized it was illegal or even kids might have freaked out if she didn’t show up or meet them somewhere. Also if she as in foster care or a group home some might let kids go a few days before they call the police. Many kids go back to their families so even when the police or social workers are called it’s not hard to find them. If Sherri was scared of truancy officers to the point where she was ready to run for years, what did they say to her? It would be easy to threaten her with getting her arrested or sending her back to a foster home or a group home. She was young and probably obviously so.
Someone decent might have given her a ride or maybe she didn’t start out alone. I didn’t think this case could get worse but somehow she was taken from her family lost in the system and her finger prints weren’t taken - wtf? Sherri and her family deserved more.

Yes, but it has been 40 years and statutes of limitations have run out for any charges. Plus most of them are old and are probably fairly law abiding.

I theorized, she was staying in Rockport/Aransas with some "friends in low places" and they asked(they probably pressured her), "Can you go to Ellis Unit and give a message to so and so for us?" Errands like this would be how people "paid people" back in the day. They probably had criminal records themselves and couldn't visit the Ellis Unit. But now all those people are getting up in years and any charges they had pending at the time are gone. I also think having a photo of her and name will bring people out. Most of the people that Sherri was with while she ran away were not upstanding citizens, but after 40 years any charges are pretty much gone.

Young people are horrified of being confined. To them, one year in juvenile hall is like 20 years in prison. I myself got put in juvenile probation for one year. I tried to commit suicide afterward. I thought it was the end of the world. This was 48 years ago. Just being confined to home was hell for me. The law required me to be in by 8 pm for 30 days, then after that I could stay out until 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. It was hell. I was a freak before all this and now I was really a freak because everyone had to stop what they were doing. I couldn't be with my friends. I was "toxic" because I was on probation.

My friends were mostly 18 and older and I was being treated like a 10 year old. I was 17 at the time. I did not turn 18 until 6 months after I graduated and my probation was until my 18th birthday. Fortunately, I got off probation for good behavior.

 

[LucyOso]

RIP Sherri!

 

[summergirl1]

I'm surprised she was from Minnesota. I am and I've been to Stillwater once. Texas and Minnesota are very different places- although I've never been to Texas myself. I hope they find her killer.

 

[sketchyjen33]

Here's my thoughts on the Ellis Unit connection. I might have to do some calling but for the last 25 years (at least) visitations have been only on the weekends, basically 7-5. And you have to be on an approved list. So....if she was at the gas station, it was too late to visit and someone would have to get her on their list of approved visitors. She couldn't just walk up to the gate with a minor ID. Like I said, I would need to do some asking but the only way she was seeing anybody would be if they were getting off their shift. And with Ellis being Death Row at the time, you're definitely not getting in without prior authorization. PRIOR meaning weeks in advance. Now, someone could have listed her under her fake ID name but the time of day she was there....she would have needed somewhere to stay the night to show up on Saturday. And I'm pretty sure they don't do inmate releases on Saturday but it might have been different back then. So that leads me back to an employee connection. I'll do some research and get back to y'all.