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

[Cupofcare]

I can also understand the psychology behind the perp wanting to place back the victim where he picked her up maybe. Say , for example, he picked her up close to the Hitchin Post. Maybe saw her starting to walk and followed in his vehicle sensing her vulnerability as sunset crept closer. At night then he placed her back there, maybe to make it look like she never was picked up there "tried to get in a vehicle but never quite made it to one". In his mind it was also a way of cancelling what he had done ; as if pretending she were still there all along next to the road like he never picked her up. Criminals experience a strange sense of guilt sometimes

 

[Rbkidk]

She was from Forest Lake, Minnesota

Regarding FLake, it seems that Forest Lake High and Middle School are really close to each other, and they're located on the 2nd-most unsafe part of the the community (the 1st is almost bordering the schools).
This is obviously a nowadays record, but it might have been similar in the 1970s. School proximity to those places might have played a role (speculation)

 

[CarlK90245]

A few additional details not previously mentioned.

14-year-old girl identified as victim in 1980 Texas cold-case homicide, had Forest Lake, Stillwater connections – Twin Cities

 

[sketchyjen33]

This is a good point. I keep forgetting the Denver detail in her story, as fresh as it is. Colorado is really close to Texas so it wouldn't have taken that long to get there.

LOL. As a Texan....do you know how long it takes to get from Denver to Huntsville? Much less Aransas Pass?? jk but really.....Now you have a lot of major highways. 1980s Texas didn't have these nice 85mph tollways/highways.

 

[Friday Fan]

Also, has anyone considered the possibility that the "bad guys" she hung out with may have been bikers? That would explain the distances she travelled. She didn't necessarily have to hitchhike across the country

A 17 yo I knew in 1971 was either killed or jumped to death after she ran away to Chicago. (200 miles away) She was last seen with a biker gang. But, she was 17 and this was 1971. Biker gangs were more common and this girl was older. She was gone for about a month and was staying in an apartment.

(I can't find any follow up on this case. I don't believe anyone was charged. Her family believes she was murdered. There were numerous people in the apartment at the time, so that might be one reason why no one was charged. However, her death was a big deal on Chicago radio)

ETA: Sherri was apparently in Green Bay. I lived in small town 30 miles from Green Bay. However, there is a big difference from living somewhere and wandering around the area. The girl from my town had numerous older boyfriends. I'm pretty sure there is no connection to Sherri.

 

[worldwatcher]

A few additional details not previously mentioned.

14-year-old girl identified as victim in 1980 Texas cold-case homicide, had Forest Lake, Stillwater connections – Twin Cities

Thanks @CarlK90245

From your link:
"Now, she said, they need to find Sherri’s killer."

 

[squish]

Could be, but doubt that would be relevant because Ashkenazi populations would be highly unlikely to be going to the specific area KLZ was raised - at that time and even now those areas are deeply, deeply antisemitic. Based off immigration dates and the census I highly doubt it. As someone who is half Sephardi and half Ashkenazi that's done way too much in public records research this is one that I think can be easily put to rest.

That puts that idea firmly to bed! Thanks for the info

 

[Friday Fan]

The sandals seem to me exactly like something a 14 yo girl who wanted to seem older would have. We established they were likely Candies, which was a very trendy brand at the time. (I'm a few years younger, and remember the ads everywhere.) Those slip on Dr. Scholl's sandals were another. Totally impractical if you were on the run, walking, hitching rides, so probably someone with more life experience would have worn more practical shoes. A young teen though? Especially one going to meet someone? They would have wanted to look cute, IMO.

I wonder if there is an image of her sandals? I found an image of Ventura County Jane Doe's sandals. Based on the sandals, it appears that VCJD was dressed to be "out on the town"
Sherri was carrying the sandals, so Sherri's sandals were already hurting her feet.

 

[CarlK90245]

I don't think it was Sherri. Their teeth look pretty different, IMO, and I think they have different face shapes. I imagine Sherri's family is probably aware of Kathy, but I could be wrong. Wherever Kathy is, I hope she's OK!

Sherry is definitely not "Kathy". Sherry had very clearly broader cheekbones.

 

[Springrain]

A few additional details not previously mentioned.

14-year-old girl identified as victim in 1980 Texas cold-case homicide, had Forest Lake, Stillwater connections – Twin Cities

AMAZING article! Great news in it! Providing a quick rundown of the new news in the article:

• Was living in an "emergency state-licensed crisis home" in Stillwater when she ran away from the courthouse in Stillwater. It was a home for youth 12-18 with troubles. It was run by a couple, with the husband being interviewed for the article. Unclear if wife is still alive.
• She, according to her friend, escaped the courthouse with two sisters and went to Green Bay, Wisconsin. They returned back to Minnesota without her because she told them she was not going back. She was last seen by them leaving on foot.
• The letter from Denver was sent in August.
• Det. Bean is traveling out of state (unclear where) to interview a possible POI or witness to her murder!

 

[fhesse]

A few additional details not previously mentioned.

The article says her letter was from August, some time after her running away. I wonder if she was living in Denver at the time or still more mobile and only posted the letter in Denver to prevent anyone from finding her.

Her overall condition when she was seen in Huntsville suggests that she was not living on the streets for an extended period of time so more likely she was permanently housed somewhere.

 

[Friday Fan]

AMAZING article! Great news in it! Providing a quick rundown of the new news in the article:

• Was living in an "emergency state-licensed crisis home" in Stillwater when she ran away from the courthouse in Stillwater. It was a home for youth 12-18 with troubles. It was run by a couple, with the husband being interviewed for the article. Unclear if wife is still alive.
• She, according to her friend, escaped the courthouse with two sisters and went to Green Bay, Wisconsin. They returned back to Minnesota without her because she told them she was not going back. She was last seen by them leaving on foot.
• Det. Bean is traveling out of state (unclear where) to interview a possible POI or witness to her murder!

I wonder how long they were in Green Bay?
It probably would have been fairly easy for Sherri to hook up with someone in Green Bay. It's a small town, (Even though it has a population of about 100 K) I lived and worked their for awhile in 1979. It was a place where everyone knew everyone and where people talked and gossip.

If she was in Green Bay for any length of time, someone will remember her.

 

[worldwatcher]

@CarlK90245 Maybe you can edit.the correct spelling of Sherry in the thread -title?

 

[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.

So, I checked with my connection...visitor logs/approval lists have always been in use (in some capacity, at least). Whether they signed in after they got there or had to be approved--so not really helpful since it sounds like this was probably her first visit. Visitation has always been on Saturday and Sundays (until 2020 happened). Saturday prisoner/inmate releases are very rare (and probably would not happen at Ellis). I still think visitation at Ellis back in 1980 would have been incredibly difficult for anyone just due to the status of most inmates at that time. So I flip back to an employee OR someone else visiting an inmate on Saturday. And the main reason I do that is because of the time of day. Now, she seems like she was a very resourceful girl to have made it so far but either she didn't know about visiting hours or she planned on just trying her luck the next day. But where did she plan on going for the night? The rodeo might have been a draw for her but then again, she would have needed a place to stay. And with the question posed to both people at the different stops...I'm guessing she wanted the general direction....and then she would figure out the sleeping issue when it came time? I just imagine her having someone drive her out to the unit and then realizing that's there's NOTHING out there. Again, she would have had no way of knowing there was nowhere to stay unless...it was an employee that could then drive her to a safe place. I don't really subscribe to the whole "take this message to Paulie for me". It just doesn't seem plausible to me. Sure it could happen but her visiting someone she actually had talked to or interacted with previously seems more likely. And I kind of feel like if someone sent her there with a message...they would have made arrangements for her. And told her that visitation is only on Saturday and Sunday--i.e. "we'll take you on Saturday and drop you off at the entrance before the check in spot". You can't just drive in either. You have to stop at a gate way before you get to the buildings and get checked in, then you drive in. You can't just walk up to the building (some units are that way, but not Ellis). Furthermore, on the Prison Rodeo, if she just found out about it by word of mouth or poster....she wouldn't have asked for the Ellis Unit. The rodeo was at a separate unit in town. There are multiple units in Huntsville. Someone specifically told her "Ellis Prison Farm" for a reason.

Just my input. See images for units and distance of Ellis from town.

 

[CarlK90245]

@CarlK90245 Maybe you can edit.the correct spelling of Sherry in the thread -title?

I had thought it was "Sherry" until the Sheriff stated in the presser that it was spelled "Sherri". That was one of a couple things he got incorrect in the presser - the other being her hometown. She lived in Forest Lake, and the facility was in Stillwater. The Sheriff stated that she was "from" Stillwater.

 

[CADwrest]

Regarding the prison visit:
What if the person see was going to see wasn't expecting her and didn't even know her, but was someone on the inside who was still "connected"? Like, maybe she'd been involved in some low-level criminal activity up until then, but she was trying to "move up", if for no other reason than that she was trying to find some means of providing for herself/stabilizing her situation? And the people she'd been hanging around with in Aransas Pass told her "You need to go see X- he's in Ellis Prison in Huntsville now. If he says you're in, you're in."

 

[worldwatcher]

I had thought it was "Sherry" until the Sheriff stated in the presser that it was spelled "Sherri". That was one of a couple things he got incorrect in the presser - the other being her hometown. She lived in Forest Lake, and the facility was in Stillwater. The Sheriff stated that she was "from" Stillwater.

Saw the correction of her origin Forest Lake,in this thread,

You and many others have put in a lot of time & work,finding out, -her real name,

After following your link,I read her father's obituary,which Sherry is mentioned.

 

[CarlK90245]

Saw the correction of her origin Forest Lake,in this thread,

You and many others have put in a lot of time & work,finding out, -her real name,

After following your link,I read her father's obituary,which Sherry is mentioned.

The obit mentions that he died "tragically", though it did not elaborate that his death was in a house fire.

 

[MadMcGoo]

From the latest article:

"She was my bestie,” LeTourneau said. “We called her Totti."

 

[Beekarina]

Wow. So much more information. I really hope there will be justice of some sort.

So sad her parents passed away so recently too.