WA WA - Olympia, WhtFem 20-30, UP8886, cranium & bones in wooded area, sticks & shoelace cross, Oct'81

[djanga]

Her father was Jewish, but her mother was French-American.

Thank you! Then it is not her, I wonder what happened to Sandra, her kids were so small when she disappeared

 

[djanga]

Leonore Ruth Michel missing since 1973 from CT. She was much older than the estimated age for JD but could be a possibility. Noted by @victoriarobinson642 on another thread that Leonore’s Ancestry appears to be Ashkenazi Jewish so felt compelled to post here as I haven’t come across too many that share that unique detail.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

View attachment 516397

Looks like a possible match, did you send it to the DDP or law enforcement? I saw a message under her post on the DDP Facebook page, where somebody suggested Leonore and 10 more possible matches, I hope the DDP will see it

 

[Caring1]

Looks like a possible match, did you send it to the DDP or law enforcement? I saw a message under her post on the DDP Facebook page, where somebody suggested Leonore and 10 more possible matches, I hope the DDP will see it

I did submit and the ME confirmed that Olympia UID is not Lenore. They both have DNA in CODIS.

“Both individuals in question have DNA profiles in CODIS and they do not match.”

 

[djanga]

I wonder if Denise Holly Dorfman is in CODIS as well. She disappeared from San Francisco, California, in February 1980. I read on her thread that her sister, Inez, was active on Ancestry in 2014, but I could not find her genealogical tree. She is probably of Ashkenazi origin. There are more photos of Denise in facebook:

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I wonder if Denise Holly Dorfman is in CODIS as well. She disappeared from San Francisco, California, in February 1980. I read on her thread that her sister, Inez, was active on Ancestry in 2014, but I could not find her genealogical tree. She is probably of Ashkenazi origin. There are more photos of Denise in facebook:
View attachment 551080View attachment 551081

As far as I can tell, she's fully Ashkenazi Jewish (but I only got back to her grandparents, so I can't say for sure).

 

[djanga]

The Times of Israel published a thoughtful article about Mitchell Mendelson's identification and burial. I wonder if they could also write about an unidentified Jewish woman. Perhaps someone who will read it might recognize a missing family member…

 

[MarziPanda]

The Times of Israel published a thoughtful article about Mitchell Mendelson's identification and burial. I wonder if they could also write about an unidentified Jewish woman. Perhaps someone who will read it might recognize a missing family member…

That would be great if they did! Even if readers don't recognise her, it might encourage more people of Jewish heritage to upload their DNA which could lead to the missing piece for her or another Jewish Doe. There are a lot of Jewish Americans that probably read The Times of Israel and/or live in Israel themselves. And its readers who are Israeli might have extended family in the US they could share it with.

 

[djanga]

I have asked if the DDP has an update on her case, but they say there is no specific update, I wonder if the research progressed and they came closer to her identification.

 

[LucyOso]

I do feel that many people can be Ashnakazi and not even be aware. People are adopted and/or people literally have no idea. Not sure if the below have been all mentioned, some have.

Elaine Robertson

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Donna Gail Manson​

Donna Gail Manson – The Charley Project

Althea Dayle Blankinship​

Althea Dayle Blankinship – The Charley Project

Linda Sue Endorf​

Linda Sue Endorf – The Charley Project

Mary Patricia Burns​

Mary Patricia Burns – The Charley Project

 

[Susikatze]

I do feel that many people can be Ashnakazi and not even be aware. People are adopted and/or people literally have no idea. Not sure if the below have been all mentioned, some have.

Elaine Robertson

View attachment 595112

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

Donna Gail Manson​

View attachment 595113

Donna Gail Manson – The Charley Project

Althea Dayle Blankinship​

View attachment 595115

Althea Dayle Blankinship – The Charley Project

Linda Sue Endorf​

View attachment 595116

Linda Sue Endorf – The Charley Project

Mary Patricia Burns​

View attachment 595117

Mary Patricia Burns – The Charley Project

Theoretically possible … but historically in the USA, at least at the time our JD was born, Jewish children were virtually in all cases adopted out to Jewish families (also Catholic children usually went to Catholic families). There were huge adoption agencies for Jewish children, biggest was Louise Wise. And the demand surpassed the available children, so if our JD was an adoptee, it is pretty certain she was adopted by a Jewish family.

 

[LucyOso]

Theoretically possible … but historically in the USA, at least at the time our JD was born, Jewish children were virtually in all cases adopted out to Jewish families (also Catholic children usually went to Catholic families). There were huge adoption agencies for Jewish children, biggest was Louise Wise. And the demand surpassed the available children, so if our JD was an adoptee, it is pretty certain she was adopted by a Jewish family.

Understand. Not everyone knows/knew they were Jewish. There are phenotypes, but many can overlap. There are entire generations who passed themselves off as other nationalities to survive. Many possibilities.

 

[MarziPanda]

Understand. Not everyone knows/knew they were Jewish. There are phenotypes, but many can overlap. There are entire generations who passed themselves off as other nationalities to survive. Many possibilities.

I can definitely understand not knowing you're partly Jewish, or even half Jewish - if perhaps one of your parents is ethnically Jewish but was raised secular and/or is estranged. I know quite a few people like that as I'm part of the donor conceived community and many historical sperm donors were Jewish doctors, so a lot of people are unexpectedly finding out they're half Jewish.

But I can't really see not knowing you're fully Jewish unless you were swapped at birth (or adopted). There are historically many people who 'integrated' or converted to survive, true, but they would then marry into other ethnicities. If one of your grandmothers escaped the Holocaust and came to the US and decided to hide being Jewish, I think it's quite unlikely she would then marry a Jewish man, or even someone ethnically Jewish, and that their child would do the same, and their grandchild would have no idea. I suppose anything is possible! I just find it unlikely.

More likely I would think would be a family who converted, maybe changed their surname, knew they were ethnically Jewish but did not identify as such religiously/culturally.

 

[djanga]

I completely agree — this Jane Doe's admixture is 100% Ashkenazi, so I think it makes sense to focus on missing girls with a similar background. Regarding adoption, I found Three Identical Strangers interesting; it opens up the topic of a Jewish adoption agency where Jewish children were only placed with Jewish families.

As for Linda Sue Lasater Endorf, her detailed family tree, which goes back to the 1700s, shows that she comes from a prominent Dutch family.

Donna Manson was also discussed in this thread; she is suspected to have been a victim of Ted Bundy and I don’t think he marked graves of his victims.

 

[DDK1979]

I have been sharing this case with local Synagogues, Chabads, and Jewish communities in the area.
I am curious if DNA testing could offer isotopic evidence? I remember that being used in the Bear Brook Cases.

 

[iamshadow21]

I have been sharing this case with local Synagogues, Chabads, and Jewish communities in the area.
I am curious if DNA testing could offer isotopic evidence? I remember that being used in the Bear Brook Cases.

I don't see how. DNA and isotopes are completely different things. It would require completely different testing, and the reliability of isotopes is questionable at best for modern remains.

MOO

 

[DDK1979]

I don't see how. DNA and isotopes are completely different things. It would require completely different testing, and the reliability of isotopes is questionable at best for modern remains.

MOO

That's a shame.
There were Synagogues in Tacoma, Olympia, and Seattle at that time. However, the Jewish population in this area was small, especially in rural areas. I wondered if there was a way to tell if she was local or not.

 

[Susikatze]

That's a shame.
There were Synagogues in Tacoma, Olympia, and Seattle at that time. However, the Jewish population in this area was small, especially in rural areas. I wondered if there was a way to tell if she was local or not.

And there are so many ethnic Jews that are completely estranged and detached from any Jewish community. Actually most of our Ashkenazi Does that finally became identified were estranged, such as Phil Kahn and Ada Kaplan. Both had non jewish partners and friends and had no connection to any community.
I believe our Jane Doe is the same. Because from my experience, Jewish communities search for their missing - all of them alike, from Orthodox to Reform. I am not excluding the possibility, though, that she was actively searched for and reported missing - especially if she went missing in another state or county, LE did often not connect the dots.

 

[Caring1]

5 Missing Person Exclusions

 

[FlyOfDragons]

I wonder if Denise Holly Dorfman is in CODIS as well. She disappeared from San Francisco, California, in February 1980. I read on her thread that her sister, Inez, was active on Ancestry in 2014, but I could not find her genealogical tree. She is probably of Ashkenazi origin. There are more photos of Denise in facebook:
View attachment 551080View attachment 551081

i'm a bit late to this thread, but has Denise been submitted as a possible match? she's one of my pet cases, and the first that comes to mind that i know for a fact is Jewish

i also think that the reconstruction of Jane Doe bears resemblance to another Denise missing from CA, specifically Denise Kathleen Anderson (i'll use DKA to differentiate her from Denise Dorfman), missing from Sacramento since 1971. however, i remember starting a bit of DKA's genealogy while trying to figure out her whole address situation, and it seems that DKA was 50% Greek: her mother's maiden name was Vassilopoulos, and here is a record showing that DKA's maternal grandmother was also Greek (both of the maternal grandmother's parents were born in Greece). however there is a very, very slim chance that the family may have been from Greece, but ethnically Ashkenazi? i haven't actually looked past DKA's maternal grandparents' generation. though the last name Vassilopoulos makes that seem even more unlikely... still, i just can't shake how much the reconstruction looks like DKA to me. (and fwiw, i haven't looked into DKA's father's side yet, so she may not be ethnically Jewish at all)

 

[Susikatze]

i'm a bit late to this thread, but has Denise been submitted as a possible match? she's one of my pet cases, and the first that comes to mind that i know for a fact is Jewish

i also think that the reconstruction of Jane Doe bears resemblance to another Denise missing from CA, specifically Denise Kathleen Anderson (i'll use DKA to differentiate her from Denise Dorfman), missing from Sacramento since 1971. however, i remember starting a bit of DKA's genealogy while trying to figure out her whole address situation, and it seems that DKA was 50% Greek: her mother's maiden name was Vassilopoulos, and here is a record showing that DKA's maternal grandmother was also Greek (both of the maternal grandmother's parents were born in Greece). however there is a very, very slim chance that the family may have been from Greece, but ethnically Ashkenazi? i haven't actually looked past DKA's maternal grandparents' generation. though the last name Vassilopoulos makes that seem even more unlikely... still, i just can't shake how much the reconstruction looks like DKA to me. (and fwiw, i haven't looked into DKA's father's side yet, so she may not be ethnically Jewish at all)

Greek Jews are very rare and their DNA is closer to Sephardic Jewish populations than to Ashkenazi. Unlikely. Our JD had two fully Ashkenazi parents.