Cold case coming closer to closure

Orange Leader, The (TX) - January 17, 2008
By Debby Schamber The Orange Leader

One family may soon have closure in the disappearance of their teenage loved one.

After more than 24 years, Orange investigators may finally be able to close the case of an unidentified teenage girl found in a wooded area off FM 1135 - the girl's small body had rested in the open air for more than one year when a property owner stumbled upon the grizzly find.

Investigators were called to the crime scene on New Year's Day 1984, where they found the teen's skeletal remains. A forensic anthropologist with Texas State University reviewed the remains and believes the bones had been there for about a year before being found. The cause of the girl's death was ruled a possible decapitation.

A New York woman who knew about information on the Doe Network spotted the recent story about the missing girl on the Orange Leader website and contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Office. She told investigators she had seen an entry on the site for a missing teen which had similarities to the story on the website.

Capt. David Reeves looked at the website and confirmed the information the woman relayed to him. He then contacted the out-of-state agency working the case and verified the similarities between the two cold cases - one a missing person's case, the other an unsolved murder case.

The missing teen's case from the other agency was still active, Reeves said.

Reeves spoke with the detective working the other case and together they agreed the similarities "needed further exploration."

Since then a copy of the Orange County case has been sent to the other detective, Reeves said.

"We are hopeful the case will be closed," Reeves added.

Investigators believe the teen found more than two decades ago was a white female about 14-18 years old. She may have been about 4 feet 10 inches tall to 5 feet 2 inches tall. She also had brown hair, but her weight and eye color are unknown. She was wearing a white terry cloth short sleeved shirt. Indications are that she had previously worn braces on her teeth, although none were present when she was discovered. If she were still alive she would be about 38 to 42 years old.

Reeves attributes part of the success in possibly solving this case to Sheriff Mike White.

"One of the deals when he started office here was that there was no such thing as a cold case," Reeves said. "All of the cases are kept visible so they don't lose sight or thought."

Reeves office has shelves of boxes filled with information on the cases he wants to solve. As new cases come in they are worked along with the older ones.

Investigators know that every case solved is a victory for the victims and a chance at closure.

Sometimes it takes that one more piece of evidence to link it to the others for a crime to be solved. No bit of information is trivial, Reeves said.

"Anyone with any information on the case of the unidentified girl or any other case is encouraged to call the sheriff's office," Reeves said. "It doesn't matter how old or vague the information is, that's what we are here for."

Contact the Orange County Sheriff's Office at 409-883-2612.