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

[Springrain]

Welcome to WS Zelda_s! I just joined recently as well. Such a great community.

Anyhow, none of the matches you suggested were on the NamUs ruleouts, but those ruleouts are ones that have manually been ruled out. They don't list all the ones ruled out by default, like DNA not matching, because the list would have thousands of people. Those 3 girls all have DNA in Codis, though I can see resemblances between them and WCJD. Especially with Lorraine Herbster.

 

[CarlK90245]

Hi! This is my first ever post to websleuths. I am a long time lurker and this case makes me very sad, this girl was very pretty and has spent too long unidentified. I have a few suggestions about identities for this Jane Doe, as well as reasons for why they do/ do not match. None of these are rule outs on NAMUS so I thought it would be ok to suggest them

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kemp_tina.html - Tina Kemp
What matches: I think that they physically resemble eachother very much. I have seen WCJDs PM photo and she looks very similar to Tina. The time frame is ok, it's feasible that she was missing for a year, especially if she had a history of running away. Age range is spot-on. Her hair is a little darker than WCJD but if Tina had run away to a sunnier, southern state (Texas) this could lighten her hair.
What doesn't match: eye colour, but I've seen these kinds of discrepancies before. Tina is also shorter than WCJD but it's possible that she could've grown. Also, it is a long time for her to be missing before she dies, so I'm not sure. Also, Delaware to Texas is a LONG journey.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/scruggs_khymbrly.html - Khymbrly Scruggs
What matches : They certainly look alike, and have very similar hair in the photos. Height and weight match roughly. Missing in Jan 1980, WCJD died Nov 1980.
What doesn't match : Khymbrly has a chipped tooth that WCJD is not reported to have. However- there is a very slight possibility that A- LE didn't reveal that WCJD had a chipped tooth ( I know sometimes LE cant give away too much detail about a UID ) or she got it somehow fixed before her death. Eye colour wrong. Seems like she was killed by a neighbour.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/remick_marcia.html - Marcia Remick
What matches: They physically resemble eachother. Green eyes and hazel eyes are somewhat interchangeable. Height, weight and age all fit in with estimated ranges. Pierced ears. Time frame fits ok-ish. She is known to hitchhike and WCJD may have been seen hitchhiking.
What doesn't match : possibly a discrepancy concerning eye colour.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/herbster_lorraine.html Lorraine Herbster
What matches : they slightly look alike, but not much. Time frame is ok, height is ok. She has a thin gold chain necklace like the one WCJD was found wearing.
What doesn't match : circumstances sound like she may have been killed closer to home.

Thanks for joining, zelda_s. And welcome to websleuths :welcome:

Regarding your three possibles:

Tina Kemp had never visited a dentist. WCJD had fillings in three molars (#3, #19, and #30), so while it is theoretically possible that she had dental work done without the knowledge of her family, it is very unlikely.

with Khymberly Scruggs the circumstances of her disappearance are pretty clear that she was the victim of a homicide that occurred near where she was last seen. That's not a positive rule-out, but combine that with the chipped tooth (and I can see a clear difference in the shape of their noses), I don't think she is WCJD.

With Marcia Remick, I don't see anything that I can point to that clearly rules her out. But she is in the CODIS system, and there probably would have been a hit on her DNA profile if she was WCJD.

 

[zelda_s]

Thank you both for the warm welcome to the community! Carl, I am a huge fan of your work. Making recons must be very difficult work. While the girls I suggested may not be great matches I'll keep looking!

 

[Springrain]

I've been thinking of this girl a lot lately. The 35th anniversary of her murder is swiftly approaching and so far, they seem to have no idea of her identity or that of her killer. I call her Ruthie Doe. That name seems to suit her well, and, although I refer to her as WCJD online, it feels nice to have a more personal name to call her by. This case really reaches out to me because she was murdered at about the same age I am now, without even a name to call her own. She never got to grow up and start a family, kiss her kids goodbye as they went to school--all those things that so many people take for granted. She's just buried beneath a grave without her name on it, and somewhere, there's people still looking for her. It's really important to me that she, at the very least, gets her name back. I can't imagine being murdered, left alone without an identity. That makes death even worse. Her family doesn't know--they may have died without knowing what happened. They lost their child to an act of homicidal violence, and they may never know.

Like many people on here, I think she wasn't reported missing. My goal with my blog is to spread information about her so the reports will be filed. I think it's a case like Tammy Jo Alexander's, she was a teenaged runaway and the police may have not taken it seriously. Our WCJD could have even been a chronic runaway, who always came back except for the final run.

Of course, I still search Charley Project weekly to try to find her, but no MPs seem possible as a match. The ones that do resemble her all have DNA, dentals & fingerprints entered. It breaks my heart that her friends and family may be thinking she'd started a life for herself somewhere, happy and prosperous, not seeing the point, maybe, of attempting to file a report once more 35 years later.

She is never far from my mind. She is cared about and loved, by people who never even knew her as well as the people who are missing her.

 

[Springrain]

I very strongly believe she had not been missing for more than a few days, up to a week, before her death. Of course, anything is possible, and all possibilities must be considered. But I believe in Ocaam's razor--her overall health is indicative of a young girl from a middle class home. I don't think she had disappeared five years in advance.

I also believe that she was visiting someone at the prison. Why would she say she was if she wasn't? It could have been a landmark on the way to her destination, but I don't she would overcomplicate things by claiming she knew a prisoner.

I think the key to this mystery is her prisoner "friend". I could easily see him being released that day, and then assaulting her with a blunt object (impotent male, maybe?) and when she tried to find help, he beat and strangled her to death. Though I could also just as easily see her hitch a ride with the wrong man. Probably a trucker with lots of room for crimes.

 

[squish]

I think it's a distinct possibility the victim could have been telling the truth when she said she was 19.

The initial post-mortem said she was aged 14-18, but a more recent examination said that she was aged 16-18.

IMO it's possible that she was actually 19, and was judged to be younger in the initial autopsy because of her baby-face.

I have a friend who is 28, who looks and comes across as a 15 year old, so it is certainly possible for an 18-19 year old to look 14. When I was that age , people thought I was several years younger, and I'm tall and have strong features.

Have Classmates.com members been looking at pupils who would have been 18 in 1979?

 

[Springrain]

I think it's a distinct possibility the victim could have been telling the truth when she said she was 19.

The initial post-mortem said she was aged 14-18, but a more recent examination said that she was aged 16-18.

IMO it's possible that she was actually 19, and was judged to be younger in the initial autopsy because of her baby-face.

I have a friend who is 28, who looks and comes across as a 15 year old, so it is certainly possible for an 18-19 year old to look 14. When I was that age , people thought I was several years younger, and I'm tall and have strong features.

Have Classmates.com members been looking at pupils who would have been 18 in 1979?

I agree that she could have been telling the truth about her age. I feel as if she was going to lie about her age, she would claim to be 18 or 20, an even number. I think she either lived with her parents or in an apartment alone. Her landlord may have thought she was just skipping out on the rent.

 

[zelda_s]

On the ncmec Facebook page, I saw that someone suggested a girl called 'Renee Roderick' or something similar was suggested as a match for WCJD. I can't find her on charley or doe. Does anyone know anything about this?

Also, when I saw her postmortem she looked quite young to me, but that's just MOO. She could have a 'baby face'.

 

[Springrain]

On the ncmec Facebook page, I saw that someone suggested a girl called 'Renee Roderick' or something similar was suggested as a match for WCJD. I can't find her on charley or doe. Does anyone know anything about this?

Also, when I saw her postmortem she looked quite young to me, but that's just MOO. She could have a 'baby face'.

Hmm. I couldn't find any girl by the name of Renee Roderick on any website either. I wonder if they remember a girl named that from high school.

Also agree about her looking young. When I first saw the post mortem, I thought she looked like she could be 12. But studies of her bones revealed her to be around 14-18 so I think she probably just had a baby face.

 

[squish]

Well I searched for 19 year old missing Texas girls, and found Kristy Lynn Booth, who looks very similar to WCJD, but apparently she's been ruled out... I'd really like to know why she's been ruled out? Is it because of something solid, like DNA, or something subjective, like descriptions of her appearance?

After seeing the black and white photo of Kristy Lynn Booth (sorry, don't know how to link) I would have wagered a large bet that she was WCJD...

 

[Springrain]

Well I searched for 19 year old missing Texas girls, and found Kristy Lynn Booth, who looks very similar to WCJD, but apparently she's been ruled out... I'd really like to know why she's been ruled out? Is it because of something solid, like DNA, or something subjective, like descriptions of her appearance?

After seeing the black and white photo of Kristy Lynn Booth (sorry, don't know how to link) I would have wagered a large bet that she was WCJD...

Her DNA and dentals are entered, so she can't be WCJD. I do agree they resemble each other, though.

 

[zelda_s]

Are DNA and dentals equally accurate in comparing a UID to a MP? A friend of mine from college who majors in biology told me that DNA is more accurate but I don't know if this is at all true.

I was just wondering because of Tina Kemp- I know she was ruled out by dentals, and I don't at all doubt the abilities of professionals! I totally respect their work I just can't get Tina out of my mind!

 

[Springrain]

Are DNA and dentals equally accurate in comparing a UID to a MP? A friend of mine from college who majors in biology told me that DNA is more accurate but I don't know if this is at all true.

I was just wondering because of Tina Kemp- I know she was ruled out by dentals, and I don't at all doubt the abilities of professionals! I totally respect their work I just can't get Tina out of my mind!

I am definitely not an expert or anything close. But I would pay more attention to DNA. Dental work can be done if there was a few years in between disappearance and death. Though DNA samples can get tainted.

Tina Kemp had never visited a dentist before her disappearance. It seems unlikely, though possible, that she had dental work done during that 1 year window. WCJD had fillings in three of her first molars.

Tina's DNA is entered, though.

 

[zelda_s]

Hmm. I couldn't find any girl by the name of Renee Roderick on any website either. I wonder if they remember a girl named that from high school.

It was suggested by someone on the help ID me Facebook page, because the person apparently recognised them from their neighbourhood. I'll see if I can find the link to the photo where the tip was suggested

 

[Springrain]

It was suggested by someone on the help ID me Facebook page, because the person apparently recognised them from their neighbourhood. I'll see if I can find the link to the photo where the tip was suggested

I asked Carl about it & he said that someone was suggesting Renee Roderick's adoptive sister as a match to WCJD...but I couldn't find the Help ID Me post about her (I only looked about a month back though). Apparently, Renee Roderick's adoptive sister is rumored to be missing?? Or something like that. I would appreciate the link if possible.

& from what I inferred, no MP reports for Renee's sister were filed. So many it is just rumors. Confusing.

 

[CarlK90245]

We don't even know if Renee Roderick is the same Renee whose adopted sister is rumored to be missing. Renee Roderick was just the only girl named Renee who attended Case HS during the timeframe specified.

 

[Springrain]

We don't even know if Renee Roderick is the same Renee whose adopted sister is rumored to be missing. Renee Roderick was just the only girl named Renee who attended Case HS during the timeframe specified.

Oh...sorry, I misunderstood that bit because the whole thing was confusing. Did they ever say what Renee's adopted sister's first name was? And why, if she is rumored to be missing this long, would she not be reported missing?

 

[CarlK90245]

Did they ever say what Renee's adopted sister's first name was?

No.

And why, if she is rumored to be missing this long, would she not be reported missing?

That is not that uncommon. The attitude back before the creation of the NCMEC was that a runaway kid would eventually return. And if they didn't return, the attitude was that once they turned 18, they were adults who "had the right to be missing".

 

[Springrain]

No.



That is not that uncommon. The attitude back before the creation of the NCMEC was that a runaway kid would eventually return. And if they didn't return, the attitude was that once they turned 18, they were adults who "had the right to be missing".

But couldn't it be a case like Tammy Jo Alexander's, when the reports are finally filed after the person has been missing for 35 years? After 35 years without contact it's seen as suspicious. Why don't they file the reports now?

 

[zelda_s]

https://m.facebook.com/HelpIDMe/pho...1444899953./864029523624956/?type=3&source=42 here is the link