HALLOWEEN MYSTERIES: THE UNIDENTIFIED IN TEXAS
Halloween season means pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating and skeleton decorations. Many indulge in telling ghost stories or watching Hollywood murder mysteries. But during the Halloween season in the late 70s and early 80s, for three Texas law enforcement agencies, murder mysteries left the big screen and became a gruesome reality.
On Halloween in 1979, investigators with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office were notified of a body that could be seen lying in a drainage culvert near Interstate 35 in Georgetown, Texas. Upon their arrival, law enforcement discovered the body of a white female. The unidentified female, who is often referred to as Jane Georgetown Doe1979 or Orange Socks, was found almost completely nude, except for a pair of orange socks. She was also found wearing a rectangular silver and abalone shell ring on her middle finger. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the young female died of asphyxia due to manual strangulation approximately 1-2 days prior to the discovery of her body.
After examining the body, it is believed that the unidentified female was between the age of 15 and 20 years old. She was about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed approximately 158 pounds, had long brown hair with a reddish tint and hazel colored eyes. She had noticeably thick eye brows, pierced ears and appeared unkempt. Her nails were painted red and were noticeably long and dirty. There were numerous scars on her lower legs and ankles, possibly bug bites in various stages of healing.
There are so many questions that remain…who is she and how did she end up deceased in rural Williamson County?
“I believe she was picked up in another town,” says Sergeant Jereme Brinkmann with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. “It is possible that she was picked up while hitchhiking, murdered for an unknown reason and dumped in this culvert, which at the time was in rural Williamson County.”
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office has 14 active cold cases and three of those cases, including Jane Georgetown Doe 1979, involve unidentified bodies.
“Due to this case and the other 13, Sheriff Chody formed a ‘Cold Case Unit’ which consists of myself, two full-time paid detectives and 18 reserve detectives many of who are retired police officers,” explains Sergeant Brinkmann. “This group of law enforcement individuals offers a vast range of knowledge and experience.”
Forensic artists at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children created a reconstruction to show what the deceased may have looked like in life. To date, the deceased remains unidentified.
Jane Georgetown Doe1979 or “Orange Socks”
http://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMU/1213120/1/screen
If you have information about Jane Georgetown Doe 1979 please email the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office at [email protected] or call NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.
A little over a year later, another gruesome discovery was made by a truck driver during the early morning hours of Nov. 1, 1980 in Huntsville, Texas. The truck driver found the body of an unidentified female along the northbound lanes of Interstate 45 and immediately contacted the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. The unidentified female was found nude except for a necklace and pantyhose, both around her neck. The necklace was gold in color with a rectangular pendant containing a smoky glass stone. Police also discovered leather strapped shoes that appear to have been thrown near the body.
Further investigation revealed that the cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation and it is believed that the female was deceased for less than a day prior to discovery. The body was also found with a bite mark on the mid back area as well as severe injuries to the face.
Investigators determined that the young white female was between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. She was approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing about 108 pounds. The female had hazel colored eyes, brown hair that had a natural curl at the bottom and her toenails were painted pink. Additionally, she had a small scar at the right end of her right eyebrow. The female was described as overall well-nourished and showed evidence of good dental hygiene.
After the discovery of the body, several individuals came forward claiming to have seen a girl who fit the deceased’s description. Two of the individuals who came forward told investigators that the girl asked them for directions to the Ellis Prison Unit in Huntsville, Texas.
According to Detective Tom Bean with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, detectives went out to the prison, but they were never able to confirm that the girl ever arrived there.
“As of now, the belief is that this young girl possibly got picked up by someone while in route to the prison or to another location up north,” explains Det. Bean. “Whoever she was with, assaulted and murdered her and left her body on the side of the road.”
Given the fact that so much time has passed since the discovery of her body, the best chance of identifying her is through maternal DNA.
“About 3-4 years ago, I contacted the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Texas and they were able to extract DNA from the body and upload that into the CODIS System,” explains Det. Bean. “So in the event someone comes forward who believes they are related to the deceased, we can compare the maternal DNA.”
Forensic artists at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children created a reconstruction of the female to show what she may have looked like.
http://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMU/1104365/1/screen
If you have any information about Jane Huntsville Doe1980, please contact the Walker County Sheriff’s Office at 1-936-435-2400 (reference case number 80-11-476) or NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.
On October 29, 1981, almost a year after the discovery in Huntsville, Texas, two highway department employees were working on Farm Market Road (FM 244) in Grimes County, Texas when they came across a plastic bag along the side of the road. Upon further investigation of the contents, the two employees discovered skeletal remains and notified the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to the skeletal remains, the plastic bag contained a pair of pink panties, a white towel or mechanics drop cloth and a gold ring with a replica of a 1904 coin on the face. Investigators determined that based on the condition of the remains, Jane Grimes Doe1981, as she is referred, had been deceased for about 5-6 years prior to discovery. The cause of death was determined to likely have been caused by severe trauma to the head and face.
After examining the body, it is believed that the deceased was between 16 and 19 years old, between 5 feet 1 inch and 5 feet 5 inches tall with straight or wavy brown-reddish colored hair. The body showed signs of extensive fractures on the ribs that may have fractured several years before her death. Further examination revealed that the remains likely decomposed in another location before being moved.
Investigators with the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office are hoping that some new initiatives will help them further their investigation into the case.
“We are still attempting to identify this young girl,” explains Investigator Jimmy Armatys with the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office. “We are hopeful that some further forensic analysis can provide us with some much-needed answers.”
A sketch artist with the Texas Department of Public Safety created this sketch to show what the female may have looked like. The second image is of the ring found in the plastic bag along with the victim’s remains.
(Credit: Texas Department of Public Safety)
https://www.dps.texas.gov/mpch/Unidentified/unDetails/U9105002
If you have any information about Jane Grimes Doe1981 please contact the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office at 1-936-873-2151 or NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.
It has been several decades with very few answers, but the individuals at NCMEC and the respective law enforcement agencies remain hopeful that one day, all three of these females will be given their names back.
“As far as law enforcement and NCMEC are aware, there is no indication that the cases are related,” explains Ashley Rodriguez, Forensic Case Manager at NCMEC. “We are hoping that with help from the public, we will be able to identify these young females.”
If you have any information about these three cases, please contact the respective law enforcement agencies or 1-800-THE-LOST.
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