Unidentified White Female
Vital Statistics
Case History
Jewelry
Additional Case Information
Tanned Complexion of the Victim
Clothing Manufacturer
Investigators
All information can be given on an anonymous basis.
NCMEC #:
NCIC Number: Source Information:
Left: Reconstruction of Victim by NCMEC;
Center and Right: Sketches by Wesley NevilleFar Right: Age-Progression by NCMEC to age 12.
The victim was discovered by a passing motorist at 10am in a Caledonia, NY cornfield on November 9, 1979. She was found about 20 ft. from the south side of Route 20, about one half mile from the intersection of Route 5.
She was fully clothed and there was no evidence that she had been sexually molested. Her pockets had been turned inside out, possibly to remove any identification.
An examination of the girl's stomach contents turned up pieces of meat, corn and potatoes. A waitress from a small dinner in Lima, New York, remembered seeing the girl the night before the murder, but she couldn't remember anything more.
She died of two gunshot wounds; one to the back and one to the front of her head. The coroner estimated that she was killed the previous night, (November 8), the gunshot wound to her head was inflicted prior to the back wound. The victim was apparently shot by the road where a blood spot marked the earth. Then she was dragged into the cornfield and shot again.
Police speculated that the murder weapon used was a .38-caliber handgun. Ballistics experts dug up a slug buried in the dirt underneath the victim. The slug was tested against literally hundreds of other bullets fired from guns seized by police. Over the years, the Livingston County probers traced weapons to as far away as Canada, Europe, and Mexico, but they were never able to match the slug to a murder weapon.
Several truckers called in with information about a young girl who was traveling and catching rides where she could. One trucker swore he saw the girl the night before she was murdered trying to hitch a ride to Boston from a nearby truck stop.
Police have followed up over 10,000 leads, all to no avail.
The girl's fingerprints were sent to FBI headquarters, but her prints weren't on file.
Jane Doe rests in Dansville, New York. The inscription says, "Lest we forget an unidentified girl. November 9. 1979. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
Pollen samples taken from the victim's clothing were determined to have come from only four places: Arizona, California, South Florida, or Mexico.
The victim was wearing the following necklace, made with silver beads and three small turquoise stones, one resembling a bird. The necklace was probably homemade-possibly native American- but the best detectives could figure was that it was made somewhere in the Southwest.
The victim was also wearing two key chains that were attached to the front belt loops of her jeans. One key chain, in the shape of a heart, was inscribed, "He who holds the Key can open my heart." The other key chain held the key that fit the small silver heart. The key chains could have been bought in almost any roadside gift shop.
The inscription on the heart-shaped portion of the above locket reads:
He who holds the Key can open my heart.
Her clothing and shoes.
Locale of Region
Caledonia, NY is located in the Finger Lakes region of the state and is close in proximity to the Canadian border. Some theories about the victim's identity include the possibility that she was not American, but Canadian. Searches of the Canadian missing persons' databases have not provided any information on a possible ID match for this victim. Route 20 runs parallel to Interstate 90.
The crime scene was just past the bifurcation of Routes 5 and 20 on the south side of the road. On the north side, a small pull-off for truckers and motorists offered a rest area for travelers.
She had tan lines, suggesting that she had recently lain in the sun in a halter top. Tanning salons were not common in 1979, it is believed that she had recently vacationed somewhere tropical or was from a region more conducive to tanning in November. Furthermore, the victim's hair was lightly frosted in the front, a hairstyle popular on the beach.
Auto Sports Products. The jackets were a one-shot
promotional gimmick. There was no way to track where they had gone after they were distributed.
One caller told investigators that she thought the victim's shoes were popular in the Venjiont area during the late 1970s.
If you have any information on this case, please contact:
Livingston County Sheriff's Office
585-243-7120
or
E-Mail
NCMU400008
U-157617149
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
New York State Police
The E-clipse Network
Batavia Daily News
Master Detective
R News
NCMEC
Florida Missing
Children Information Clearinghouse
**Warning! Post-mortem photos contained in link below!
Livingston Sheriff