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

[cyberbunnie]

I was also thinking about the seated girl!

Ah, as was I! She was the first person I thought of: The hair and general facial structure looks similar.

At least we know Tammy might be remembered by members of the choir perhaps? We don't even know if this Tammy is alive.

 

[landis]

I went on Facebook a few days ago and I'm pretty sure I found one of the people that were in the same row as Tammy in the yearbook and, what is more, that person still lives in the Rockport area and has the high school that Tammy went to listed as the hs they went to. I'm not sure if doing stuff like that is allowed here, so I didn't post any names ofc and decided not to bother them, but I have a feeling that if anyone was able to tell us anything about Tammy, that person is like our best bet.

 

[cyberbunnie]

I went on Facebook a few days ago and I'm pretty sure I found one of the people that were in the same row as Tammy in the yearbook and, what is more, that person still lives in the Rockport area and has the high school that Tammy went to listed as the hs they went to. I'm not sure if doing stuff like that is allowed here, so I didn't post any names ofc and decided not to bother them, but I have a feeling that if anyone was able to tell us anything about Tammy, that person is like our best bet.

Ah, that's great! If they had a public friends list, did you search Tammy in it to see if there were any results?

If there was none, I'd personally message them saying something like: "Hi there, I'm looking for someone I haven't seen since 1980 who I believe you went to school with. Do you remember Tammy Young?" (and show a photo of her)

 

[landis]

Ah, that's great! If they had a public friends list, did you search Tammy in it to see if there were any results?

If there was none, I'd personally message them saying something like: "Hi there, I'm looking for someone I haven't seen since 1980 who I believe you went to school with. Do you remember Tammy Young?" (and show a photo of her)

No, the friends list isn't public. I'm hesitating wheter to message them or not, because not only I'm only 23 years old and in my profile photo I look like I was 16, but also I'm from a different country and I'm afraid that a message from someone like me would look very fishy.

 

[BigKeyManatee]

No, the friends list isn't public. I'm hesitating wheter to message them or not, because not only I'm only 23 years old and in my profile photo I look like I was 16, but also I'm from a different country and I'm afraid that a message from someone like me would look very fishy.

You did good!
Wish that I had time to deep dive into this, but my vacay finished last week. I will check back when I have some uninterrupted time to see if no one else has made contact.

 

[sonz82]

I am willing to message this person if you like? I tried to search her classmates on Facebook too but I couldn't find the right people.

 

[landis]

Try the first man, the one named Jeff. I think it's him on FB. He lives in Rockport area and has the high school that Tammy went to listed as his hs. And I think he's about the right age.

 

[daisy6441]

I have looked at several different Rockport/Aransas Pass pages and they had posted the story and picture from the WCJD fb page. No one yet seems to have any memory of her. The police also searched the yearbooks for the schools and came up with nothing so I wonder if Tammy Young was one of the girls they checked out?
I looked for historical records of Tammy Young in Texas. The closest I have come to a connection to that area is a Tammie Young born in Nueces County. If anyone has a membership to ancestry.com there is a high school record (not sure what that means) for a girl by that name but it doesn't let me view it without paying.

 

[maggiefrias]

Hi, I'm new on websleuths and I recently came across a video interview of Carl K about helping solve cases. That video was so inspiring, I joined Websleuths after I finished it, because I would like to help with the cases.

One thing I thought about WCJD and her wanting to go visit the prison was: "what if she was the daughter of a victim of one of the prisoners there? And maybe she found out about a crime and wanted to confront the perpetrator?" Or maybe she found out who her parents were and maybe her biological father was a prisoner there?

Just thinking out loud

 

[runningon3mpty]

I have looked at several different Rockport/Aransas Pass pages and they had posted the story and picture from the WCJD fb page. No one yet seems to have any memory of her. The police also searched the yearbooks for the schools and came up with nothing so I wonder if Tammy Young was one of the girls they checked out?
I looked for historical records of Tammy Young in Texas. The closest I have come to a connection to that area is a Tammie Young born in Nueces County. If anyone has a membership to ancestry.com there is a high school record (not sure what that means) for a girl by that name but it doesn't let me view it without paying.

I have an account. I'll check tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

[cherrymeg]

Is there a way the prison can put her picture out again. Maybe make sure to hit any that was there in in 1980. Maybe ho ever she was visiting wasn't in Ellis anymore. Maybe her death wasn't taken as seriously by guards or whoever was in charge of talking to inmates. It's possible they thought she was using the prison to sound tough and maybe assumed she was going to be claimed by her family quickly. Since that hasn't happened, why not start at the beginning?

 

[cherrymeg]

Hi, I'm new on websleuths and I recently came across a video interview of Carl K about helping solve cases. That video was so inspiring, I joined Websleuths after I finished it, because I would like to help with the cases.

One thing I thought about WCJD and her wanting to go visit the prison was: "what if she was the daughter of a victim of one of the prisoners there? And maybe she found out about a crime and wanted to confront the perpetrator?" Or maybe she found out who her parents were and maybe her biological father was a prisoner there?

Just thinking out loud

Welcome! I think they should check prison recorders and see if anyone in Ellis or other units recognizes her. She might have had the last location for someone in ellis unit but they could have been in another unit or moved to one. They should go back to lifers and not stick with one unit. Maybe they can try the whole state of Texas and get her picture out there. It's not like her identity is something a snitch can use offering potential names is something there is no shortage of. If she visited before or someone expected a visit from their daughter, friend, relative, victim etc. in 1980 and they never showed maybe this is why. I don't know if your family or friend not showing up to see you in prison is cause to get them listed as missing or have authorities involved if you trusted them enough. I'm going with probably not. When you are separated from people by incarceration people lose touch. If you are in prison you might think someone moved on and if you don't have solid contacts outside you can't confirm if a daughter, granddaughter, girlfriend, or friend is safe and alive.

 

[daisy6441]

Hi, I'm new on websleuths and I recently came across a video interview of Carl K about helping solve cases. That video was so inspiring, I joined Websleuths after I finished it, because I would like to help with the cases.

One thing I thought about WCJD and her wanting to go visit the prison was: "what if she was the daughter of a victim of one of the prisoners there? And maybe she found out about a crime and wanted to confront the perpetrator?" Or maybe she found out who her parents were and maybe her biological father was a prisoner there?

Just thinking out loud

Both ideas have been suggested since the reports always said she claimed she was visiting "a friend". However, recently we found an article which interviewed a detective who worked on the case and he said it was a "boyfriend" she claimed she was going to see. That doesn't mean she was actually telling the truth about her reasons for going there. It has crossed my mind that she could have been a protester and was going to protest an execution. That would explain why she wasn't worried about getting there during visiting hours because most of the time I think the executions take place in the middle of the night or very early morning.

Welcome! I think they should check prison recorders and see if anyone in Ellis or other units recognizes her. She might have had the last location for someone in ellis unit but they could have been in another unit or moved to one. They should go back to lifers and not stick with one unit. Maybe they can try the whole state of Texas and get her picture out there. It's not like her identity is something a snitch can use offering potential names is something there is no shortage of. If she visited before or someone expected a visit from their daughter, friend, relative, victim etc. in 1980 and they never showed maybe this is why. I don't know if your family or friend not showing up to see you in prison is cause to get them listed as missing or have authorities involved if you trusted them enough. I'm going with probably not. When you are separated from people by incarceration people lose touch. If you are in prison you might think someone moved on and if you don't have solid contacts outside you can't confirm if a daughter, granddaughter, girlfriend, or friend is safe and alive.

Some times law enforcement has made decks of playing cards with victims or Does and passed them out in the prisons. I don't know much about them though. I made a list of the current death row inmates that have been there since 1980 or longer. I only came up with 6 names.

 

[cherrymeg]

Both ideas have been suggested since the reports always said she claimed she was visiting "a friend". However, recently we found an article which interviewed a detective who worked on the case and he said it was a "boyfriend" she claimed she was going to see. That doesn't mean she was actually telling the truth about her reasons for going there. It has crossed my mind that she could have been a protester and was going to protest an execution. That would explain why she wasn't worried about getting there during visiting hours because most of the time I think the executions take place in the middle of the night or very early morning.

Some times law enforcement has made decks of playing cards with victims or Does and passed them out in the prisons. I don't know much about them though. I made a list of the current death row inmates that have been there since 1980 or longer. I only came up with 6 names.

6 is more than zero. IDo they have lifers around and not just in Ellis unit. Would contacting them be insane? Maybe at the time it was assumed that a healthy white teenage or young adult female would have someone looking for her. People might be looking or were looking but after 29 years why not revisit the prison angle.

 

[daisy6441]

6 is more than zero. IDo they have lifers around and not just in Ellis unit. Would contacting them be insane? Maybe at the time it was assumed that a healthy white teenage or young adult female would have someone looking for her. People might be looking or were looking but after 29 years why not revisit the prison angle.

They keep death row in a different unit now but I don't remember which one. I am curious if they showed them a picture when they questioned prisoners and if so what picture.

 

[cherrymeg]

They keep death row in a different unit now but I don't remember which one. I am curious if they showed them a picture when they questioned prisoners and if so what picture.

It's possible they didn't. They might not have shared her morgue photos with inmates (that could be porn for some). It's possible the person she was visiting was transferred to another unit. The facial reconstruction might not have been as good as they are now and describing her clothing to someone who she was going to see would mean they wouldn't know what shirt she was wearing. Saying you are looking for connections to a dead girl might scare inmates off, no one wants another crime pinned to them. When you are asking about something that happened in 1980 and just want to know if someone knows her name it might be different. idk

 

[runningon3mpty]

They keep death row in a different unit now but I don't remember which one. I am curious if they showed them a picture when they questioned prisoners and if so what picture.

The Polunsky Unit now houses male death row inmates.

I have looked at several different Rockport/Aransas Pass pages and they had posted the story and picture from the WCJD fb page. No one yet seems to have any memory of her. The police also searched the yearbooks for the schools and came up with nothing so I wonder if Tammy Young was one of the girls they checked out?
I looked for historical records of Tammy Young in Texas. The closest I have come to a connection to that area is a Tammie Young born in Nueces County. If anyone has a membership to ancestry.com there is a high school record (not sure what that means) for a girl by that name but it doesn't let me view it without paying.

I searched Tammie Young born in Nueces County, but was not who we are looking for. I also just looked up Tammy Young and only found the yearbook photo we already have of her, but I saved in my shoe box on Ancestry. I kept looking up both spellings of that name and have yet to find anything, but I will keep trying. If anyone has anything they would suggest I look up specifically on Ancestry, I will be happy to do so.

I will be in Rockport tomorrow in the morning. Rockport, Port Aransas, & Corpus Christi are all very close to each other. Maybe while I am there I can go to the local libraries and look for any information. I mean, it doesn't hurt to try at least to find something.

 

[Mockturtle22]

I think modern self-defence tips give a false sense of complacency and feminist justice to women. Yes, with modern techniques, he'll probably be caught (qualifying word "probably"). But if he kills you, you'll still be dead and dead people can't come back.

It's better than not knowing how to fight at all. Sometimes just trying to make your last actions something that saves others matters. It still sucks. And YES, when you're dead you're dead, but what would you prefer? If you find yourself IN that situation, you should fight. You could survive. Again, if you don't? You might be saving someone who would've become another victim. Otherwise, you're just giving up. The real answer is a mixture of knowing these techniques and also ways to protect yourself from getting into these situations. Some of these people are relentless though, and if they set their scope on you, it doesn't really matter what you do to protect yourself. They will pounce during that one vulnerable moment.

 

[Mockturtle22]

Being the daughter of an inmates it hasn't always been difficult to get in to visit someone. Not sure if a minor would've been able to visit an inmate without adult supervision though, so perhaps she was at least 18.. I may do some digging later to see if a minor could've visited a inmate without ID here in Texas.I am willing to bet that most inmates now have DNA on file, I wonder if they match Jane Doe's to inmates DNA.

She could've had a false ID, although security has always varied depending on the decade...

 

[christyleigh333]

Hi, I'm new on websleuths and I recently came across a video interview of Carl K about helping solve cases. That video was so inspiring, I joined Websleuths after I finished it, because I would like to help with the cases.

One thing I thought about WCJD and her wanting to go visit the prison was: "what if she was the daughter of a victim of one of the prisoners there? And maybe she found out about a crime and wanted to confront the perpetrator?" Or maybe she found out who her parents were and maybe her biological father was a prisoner there?

Just thinking out loud

Hi! I actually worked at Ellis from 2005-2010 and you learn a lot about it’s history! While the death row inmates were executed at the Walls or Huntsville Unit (right next to the college and middle of town) the Ellis Unit is where they were HOUSED until 2000 following the ‘99 escape of Gurule. So, that means there were not just regular maximum security and trustees housed there at that time but also condemned inmates.

I don’t feel that she actually made it to the unit however since it’s in a rather remote location & is not easily seen or provides access like the Goree, Huntsville, Byrd or Wynne units. She also had to actually KNOW the unit name in order for her to just let it roll off her tongue naturally or think quickly enough to say it...I also agree that she’s a Texan because the towns also just seem to have naturally came out (I would’ve said something like Austin or Dallas first & the prison unit that I probably would’ve said was Huntsville...if you know nothing about TDCJ she probably would’ve just said the prison).

There’s no way that an 18 wheeler would’ve made it to the unit anyway unless it was a skilled TDCJ driver. I worked there 30 years later and the FM road is long, winding and DARK! Also, unless someone was going specifically that route and knew exactly where it’s located I find it very hard to believe that she was picked up hitchhiking UNLESS she was picked up specifically by a predator that sees her vulnerability.

This case is all around baffling! If she truly knew someone incarcerated there and was corresponding with them then she would’ve known that you just can’t show up anytime to visit any inmate! The visitation policies and the requirements were probably different back then BUT Ellis was considered the most high secure due to the level of offenders that it housed! Also if she was going with the expectation of her pen pal, friend or boyfriend being released into her arms well then she was going to the wrong unit...inmates being released are brought to the Huntsville unit for final release (you’re either released from that unit when your time is done or after execution)!

Idk what was going through her mind but maybe it was her dad, stepdad or a brother being housed at Ellis? From the answer she gives to the waitress about if her parents knew where she was...I think that something tragic happened to her family and they’re either dead or at Ellis!

One more thing to add...my name is Christy Booth and the way that I was introduced to this case was through someone making a suggestion for comparison...obviously there’s a Kristy Booth (sp) missing from west Texas and I just thought it was all too weird knowing my connection to Ellis with my name