WV WV - Lora Skaggs, 27, Charleston, 1948 - 1950

[MadMcGoo]

Do we know if anything ever came of this?

Not that I’ve heard. Jane Doe has no MP exclusions listed on her NamUs profile.

 

[cenazoic]

no social security number available. s.s.a. will not give it out to us. only thing they will tell us is they have no record of her death

What does this mean, I wonder?

I'd think that in 1948, it's possible she never had one, in which case why wouldn't SSA say so, or b) she did, and wasn't dead.

Am I interpreting this incorrectly?

 

[SBMonsterFighter]

I was just coming back to post!
He definitely married Lora’s sister, in 1955
Here is the sister’s obituary...
View attachment 216847
I’m not sure who provided the information posted on NamUs. I’m not quite sure what to make if this one...

This doesnt mention Lora as a sibling. Nor is she listed as a child for Dora's parents. Could they be cousins?

 

[Quoththeraven]

This doesnt mention Lora as a sibling. Nor is she listed as a child for Dora's parents. Could they be cousins?

The Jan 30, 1920 census shows Dora as a child of James and Lavinia Skaggs, 1 year 7 months old. Lora wasn't born until Feb 27, 1920. It's Dora Skaggs who was excluded from the family tree at Ancestry.com. I'm certain Dora and Lora are sisters.

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/4636970/person/7011812392/facts?_phsrc=zmA2488&_phstart=successSource

Dora is listed as their child at Findagrave.

U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current - Ancestry.com

 

[thin4192]

Hello, Lora is my great grandmother. Her daughter who is my grandmother is still alive. Lora disappeared in 1948. My grandmother who was 6 years old at the time said that she was hitchhiking into Charlston, WV to pay a bill. They lived in Kanawha County, WV, my grandma says that they lived in the "holler". From that I know that it was not in the town of Charlston. After the disappearance, my great grandfather did marry Lora's sister Dora, and she did raise my grandmother and great aunt and great uncle. My grandmother and great uncle did end up moving to Troy, Ohio. My great uncle still lives in Troy, Ohio, and my grandmother lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Are there any steps we can/should do that could help figure out what happened?

Thank you all for your efforts!

 

[Quoththeraven]

Hello, Lora is my great grandmother. Her daughter who is my grandmother is still alive. Lora disappeared in 1948. My grandmother who was 6 years old at the time said that she was hitchhiking into Charlston, WV to pay a bill. They lived in Kanawha County, WV, my grandma says that they lived in the "holler". From that I know that it was not in the town of Charlston. After the disappearance, my great grandfather did marry Lora's sister Dora, and she did raise my grandmother and great aunt and great uncle. My grandmother and great uncle did end up moving to Troy, Ohio. My great uncle still lives in Troy, Ohio, and my grandmother lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Are there any steps we can/should do that could help figure out what happened?

Thank you all for your efforts!

Welcome to Websleuths, thin4192. I assume she was living in Cabin Creek, WV, which is where she reportedly went missing from. That's more likely than Decota, WV, which is 17 miles further southeast from Cabin Creek using Cabin Creek Rd. That would make it a 35 mile trip from Decota to Charleston. 17 miles hitchhiking from Cabin Creek to Charleston sounds more likely than a 35 mile trip.

Because she was hitchhiking when she disappeared, she was possibly abducted. There could be other reasons, too. We can't rule those out. There are two things you can do, scan newspapers to see if there were any unidentified women found since 1948-1950 in Kanawha County or the surrounding counties (you can also check with LE around the state). Lots of helpful people here on Websleuths would also be happy to help.

If you haven't already, you can send your DNA sample to Ancestry to see if you get a hit that way. I think most unidentified jane/john does found around the country already have their DNA submitted to a database by LE.

I hope you find answers. Check with Verification Process for Professional or Insider Posters to become a verified insider.

 

[Quoththeraven]

Found in 2014.

ELKVIEW, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department is seeking information on any person that may be missing from the Elkview area after human remains were found Sunday.

The remains were in a creek bed along Reamer Road about three miles south of Clendenin.

Anyone with information is asked to call 304-357-0169.

Human remains found in Kanawha County - WV MetroNews

Investigation underway after Sunday discovery.

wvmetronews.com

 

[dms]

Found in 2014.

ELKVIEW, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department is seeking information on any person that may be missing from the Elkview area after human remains were found Sunday.

The remains were in a creek bed along Reamer Road about three miles south of Clendenin.

Anyone with information is asked to call 304-357-0169.

Human remains found in Kanawha County - WV MetroNews

Investigation underway after Sunday discovery.

wvmetronews.com

I don't understand how this could be connected to Lora?

 

[Quoththeraven]

I don't understand how this could be connected to Lora?

Elkview, WV- The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office is actively investigating the discovery of human remains near the Young's Bottom area, 5300 block of Elk River Road, on November 29, 2024. A man walking in the area on November 28th saw the bones over a hillside and believed they were the remains of a dead animal. Dec 4, 2024

They were skeletal bones. Maybe there were two different sets found on different dates. The other set of remains was more recent. Obviously not that one.

 

[dms]

At least two sets of remains have been found along the Elk River in the Elkview/Clendenin area, relatively close to each other but on opposite sides of the river - one in 2014 and the other in 2024. I guess what I'm asking is, why those particular remains as potential matches for Lora Skaggs? She was coming from the Cabin Creek area, about 20 miles south of Charleston. Elkview is nearly another 20 miles north of here.

 

[Quoththeraven]

At least two sets of remains have been found along the Elk River in the Elkview/Clendenin area, relatively close to each other but on opposite sides of the river - one in 2014 and the other in 2024. I guess what I'm asking is, why those particular remains as potential matches for Lora Skaggs? She was coming from the Cabin Creek area, about 20 miles south of Charleston. Elkview is nearly another 20 miles north of here.

I believe I posted that after the following post in regards to thin 4192's query "Are there any steps we can/should do that could help figure out what happened?" I was just letting her/him know that is one thing he/she could do would be to check with LE to either confirm or eliminate the skeletal remains as belonging to Lora Skaggs. That article didn't state how long the bones were there before they were found so there's always the possibility they might be Lora's remains. Murder/kidnap victims aren't always left in the same area they were abducted from. Of course there may be other circumstances that I'm not aware of that have already eliminated the chance they're Lora's remains.

T

WV Post in thread 'WV - Lora Skaggs, 27, Charleston, 1948 - 1950'

Mar 24, 2025

Hello, Lora is my great grandmother. Her daughter who is my grandmother is still alive. Lora disappeared in 1948. My grandmother who was 6 years old at the time said that she was hitchhiking into Charlston, WV to pay a bill. They lived in Kanawha County, WV, my grandma says that they lived in the "holler". From that I know that it was not in the town of Charlston. After the disappearance, my great grandfather did marry Lora's sister Dora, and she did raise my grandmother and great aunt and great uncle. My grandmother and great uncle did end up moving to Troy, Ohio. My great uncle still...

• thin4192

• 

The 2014 Elkview/Clendenin case has more potential.

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP15389

View NamUs unclaimed person case UCP15389 for -- -- missing from Clendenin, West Virginia. Date body found: Aug 31, 2014. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

There's another one from 2022

WCHS Network

Human skull found near Clendenin CLENDENIN, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department said deputies began a search for human remains near Clendenin Friday evening. A resident had located what...

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