UK UK - Greater London, UnknownFem, 20, River Thames, Blackwall, Oct'67

[Desayama]

Case 07-027289 - Unidentified Female

No image or reconstruction available.

Date of Discovery: 21 October, 1967
Location of Discovery: River Thames, Tower Hamlets (Blackwall Reach) in Greater London.
Estimated Date of Death: Unknown, decomposition significant
State of Remains: Decomposed, leading to an unknown ethnicity
Cause of Death: Possible suicide, maybe homicide

Physical Description:

Estimated Age: 20-years-old
Race: Unknown due to decomposition
Gender: Female
Height: 170cm/5'5''
Weight/Build: Given as medium build, no exact weight
Hair Colour: Dyed brown
Eye Colour: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unspecified mark on her back

Identifiers:

Dentals, fingerprints and DNA: Her case is inputted into the UK Missing Persons Unit, is unknown if this means all her identifiers are inputted as well.

Clothing and Personal Items:

Clothing: Beige raincoat (overcoat), Red jumper, Black jumper, Blue woollen skirt, White bra (galzen type), Blue nylon underpants, Fawn coloured stockings, White suspender belt.

Circumstances of Discovery:

The victim was located in the River Thames, close to Blackwall Reach (now corporate offices and apartment buildings). This is in Blackwall, Greater London, London, England, UK.

Investigators:

The Metropolitan Police UK Missing Persons Unit
101 (If in UK) [email protected]
18001 101 (Text) 0800 234 6034
PO Box 58358, London, NW1W 9LA

Information Sources:

UK Missing Persons Unit

 

[MelmothTheLost]

My first thought was Maria Aldridge, a 17 year old student nurse from Birmingham to vanished without trace, though that was in 1968 so it clearly couldn't have been her.

I would guess that the UID's identifiers were probably confined to her teeth. DNA obviously wasn't around then and she was likely too decomposed for fingerprints to have been taken. They probably need to exhume for for DNA, isotopes and a reconstruction of her face. Assuming they know where she is.

 

[Desayama]

My first thought was Maria Aldridge, a 17 year old student nurse from Birmingham to vanished without trace, though that was in 1968 so it clearly couldn't have been her.

I would guess that the UID's identifiers were probably confined to her teeth. DNA obviously wasn't around then and she was likely too decomposed for fingerprints to have been taken. They probably need to exhume for for DNA, isotopes and a reconstruction of her face. Assuming they know where she is.

Chances are though that they either don't know where she is (due to time) or it was ruled a suicide and they'll see her exhumation as being very low priority unfortunately
Saddening to think that a young woman, with all her life ahead of her, has still not been identified after 51 years. Considering her young age, you'd think she would be missed by her family, unless circumstances were extremely tough. She could've been an orphan, straight out of the care system, a drug addict or prostitute
Hope this thread yields some potential matches, to finally give her a name...

 

[silverjug]

She might not even be from the UK, family might think she had just cut ties. Loads of different permutations.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Chances are though that they either don't know where she is (due to time) or it was ruled a suicide and they'll see her exhumation as being very low priority unfortunately

If they couldn't determine her cause of death the inquest will have returned an open verdict.

On the whole the UK authorities are pretty good at not losing UIDs. The concern I would have is that she might have been cremated rather than buried.

 

[Al Ka]

If they couldn't determine her cause of death the inquest will have returned an open verdict.

On the whole the UK authorities are pretty good at not losing UIDs. The concern I would have is that she might have been cremated rather than buried.

Were cremation common in 1967? Not sure when they started. If it was not common than she was probably burried.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Were cremation common in 1967? Not sure when they started. If it was not common than she was probably burried.

Cremation in the UK started in the 1880s.

It seems that in 1968, cremation became more popular than burial, so it's 50/50 whether this UID was cremated or buried.

The history of cremations in the UK

 

[Desayama]

Hey guys, I think I've got a potential match. Valerie Haycock, vanished in July 1967 in Piddington, Northamptonshire on her way to her job as a nanny in Luton. I was browsing missing persons looking for a match to our Jane Doe and I found Valerie as one of the only recorded possibilities, she didn't have a thread here so I made her one. Everything seems to fit, her hair appears to be brown but it's unknown if she dyed it that colour or not.

UK - Valerie Haycock, 19, Piddington, Northamptonshire, 14 Jul'67

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Thanks for starting the thread for Valerie. I've replied substantively on there.