News and Updates:
Cold Cases Finding Resolution Brings Hope for Closure
THIS week has been the week for missing persons who vanished decades and decades ago to find peace. With the slew of discoveries of missing persons from the 1960s-1980s this week, I would like to make a special entry highlighting recent missing persons cases that are coming to a resolution. Logic says that longer a person is missing, the less likely they are to ever be found. These cases finding resolution says otherwise, and is a great reminder to families out there that there is still hope, no matter how much time has passed by. You will also see that most of these missing persons were never that far from where they disappeared from. I will post more detailed links below each section after the case that is highlighted. As a reminder, you can always click on the link on the right-hand panel called Missing Angels & Cold Cases Updates Page.
Cheryl Kay Miller and Pamella Ann Jackson
Pamella Jackson (L) and Cheryl Miller (R) vanished in their car while following some friends to a party. Their car was later discovered in Brule Creek, with two skeletal remains inside. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)
ON the evening of May 29, 1971, 17 year-old Cheryl Miller and 17 year-old Pamella Jackson were on their way to a high school party in Vermilion, South Dakota, driving in a beige 1960 Studebaker Lark. The car was Cheryl's grandfather's. The girls stopped at the local church and talked to some boys after visiting Cheryl's grandmother in the hospital earlier that day. The boys were going to the same party Cheryl and Pamella were. They agreed to follow the boys to the party in their own car. However, the boys missed the turn and drove past the party. When they reached the bottom of the hill to turn around, the Studebaker's headlights were no longer behind them. They never made it to the party. The girls and the car vanished, and they were not seen since.
Authorities had their theories about the girls' disappearance. At first, they believed the girls to be runaways because of their ages. Other thought they runaway to a hippie commune in California. A theory that they accidentally drove their car into the Missouri River was considered. The river was searched multiple times, and nothing was ever found. A darker theory emerged when a farm a few miles down from the girl's intended destination was searched. David Lykken lived on that farm, and he knew the girls through church. Although it is not clear what evidence was recovered from the farm that was linked to the girls, in 2007 Lykken was charged with murdering Pamella and Cheryl. However, the charges were dropped after it was found out an inmate faked his confession about Lykken's involvement in the farm.
On September 23, 2013, a fisherman who was fishing by South Dakota's Brule Creek noticed two wheels sticking out from the creek's embankment. Investigators recovered the car from the embankment, which was caked with mud. The location of the creek is in an area that is rarely traveled. It is 30 miles east of Vermillion, almost right on the Iowa border. Record flooding followed by a drought is what brought the upside-down car into view. Days later, it was reported that their were two sets of skeletal remains found inside the car. Being the car is a beige 1960 Studebaker Lark with the same license plate as the car the girls vanished in, many believe the two skeletal remains in the car are indeed Pamella Jackson and Cheryl Miller. Many are frustrated it took forty-two years to find the girls. Considering the church to be point A and the boys' car being point B, it is logical that they were found in the biggest area between the two points: Brule Creek.
Although there is not a guarantee until the DNA tests are completed, I believe these girls have finally come home. (If there are different results, I will do another entry. If not, I will leave this up.) Forty-two years later, they finally are found not far from where they vanished. My thoughts and prayers go to the families, who have searched since 1971, and never stopped looking for their girls. It was always thought these girls met with foul play, when the whole time it seems to have been an accident. Both the girls worked at Dakota Hospital when they vanished. Cheryl was a responsible student in the high school marching band. She dreamed of going to California after high school and was saving up her money. Pamella liked singing, dressmaking and raising animals for the 4-H club. Please see my sources below for more detailed information and pictures.
Sources:
Jimmy Allen Williams, Thomas Michael Rios & Leah Gail Johnson
ON November 20, 1970, 18 year-old Leah Gail Johnson and 18 year-old Tommy Rios went on a drive with 16 year-old Jimmy Williams in his blue 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. All three attended high school in the small town of Sayre, Oklahoma. Jimmy was also supposed to be headed to a football game in Elk City, but he never made it that night. The three students along with the Camaro just vanished.
On September 17, 2013, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol were testing out new sonar equipment on the western edge of Foss Lake of Custer County, Oklahoma. What they discovered during a routine test was a surprise-two cars resting beside one another, 12 feet below. Divers returned, and pulled up a 1969 Camaro, crumbling and decaying after over 40 years below the lake's surface. What authorities first thought to be a stolen car turned out to be anything but that. They discovered three skeletal remains inside of the car. Authorities believe it to be the remains of Leah Johnson, Jimmy Williams and Tommy Rios, and are now conducting DNA tests with the families for confirmation.
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| Jimmy with his 1969 Camaro. The comparison of this picture with the picture of the car they pulled up from Foss Lake is eerie. (Photo Credit: Charley Project.org) |
A second car, a green 1950's Chevy, was pulled up from the mucky mess. This car is believed to have rested at the bottom of the lake since the late 1950's or early 1960s. Another set of three skeletal remains were discovered in this car. Authorities are still trying to identify the three remains in the car, believed to be Canute residents. Relatives of a man who vanished 44 years ago believe one of the remains in the second car belong to Alvin Porter. He was driving a green 1950s Chevrolet when he vanished.
I tried researching for details on the disappearance of Alvin Porter, but was unable to come up with anything. In fact, the oldest missing persons case in Oklahoma occurred in 1958. Decades ago, missing persons were not recorded and taken as seriously as they are today so it is possible they went missing, and only had their families looking for them. It is most likely these disappearances may have been accidental, but it is a coincidence that the cars were found side-by-side. I am very glad to see such old cases get resolution-especially cases that were not publicized from the 1950's. This find is truly a miracle, and I hope these families can find closure.
Sources:
Terry Ann Kelley
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| Terry Ann Kelly was found alive after she vanished from a County Fair in 1970. (Photo Credit: Charley Project.org) |
ON September 1, 1970, 16 year-old Terry Ann Kelley attended the Los Angele County Fair in Pomona, California. She was last seen by her father and step mother standing by the fairground gates, talking to a couple. She did not return home that night, and was not seen since. Investigators never dropped the search-they continued looking for any trace of Terry, including keeping tabs on her Social Security number, which was always inactive. They also stated they treated the case like Terry was still alive, since there was nothing to show she was not.
In July of 2013, it was reported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Terry was found safe. Further details are unclear, but this case that was over 40 decades old is a great example of hope to the families of the missing.
Sources:
Jeanne Marie Melville
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| After forty years, Jeanne Melville is laid to rest when she is discovered to be a Jane Doe, found a few months after she vanished. (Photo Credit: DailyStandard.com) |
DURING the summer of 1970, 18 year-old Jeanne Marie Melville of Green Bay, Wisconsin was traveling by bus to Darke County in Ohio to meet her aunt. Jeanne's aunt went to the bus station to meet her niece, but Jeanne never showed up and was missing since she boarded the bus in the summer of 1970. Being Jeanne was 18 years-old, and investigation into her disappearance was never opened. For years, she simply remained missing, until her family contacted a cold case unit to look into her disappearance.
On October 11, 1970, two teenagers discovered the nude body of a female in a cornfield off of Frazer's Road in Southern Darke County, Ohio. The cause of death was expected to be strangulation or drowning. With no leads, and no missing persons reports that matched Jane Doe, her remains were buried on October 29, 1970 in an unmarked grave.
On October 14, 2008, Jeanne's aunt responded to an article in a local newspaper concerning a Jane Doe who was discovered in October 1970. She told authorities her niece was traveling on a Greyhound Bus Station, and never showed up. In July 2009, DNA tests were concluded, and it was found that after 40 years, Jeanne Marie Melville was finally found. Her family's perseverance, along with new technology gave Jane Doe her name back, and a family their loved one back. The search for her killer is still underway.
Sources:
http://www.fox11online.com/news/local_wluk_greenbay_jane_doe_identified_as_greenbay_woman_200907151625_rev1
Dorothy Gay Howard
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| Dorothy Gay Howard was missing since 1954, and finally recovered in 2009. (Photo credit: MyFoPhoenix.com) |
IN March of 1954, 18 year-old Dorothy "Dot" Gay Howard was reported missing from Phoenix, Arizona. The strong-willed teen was originally married to David Powell, a 19 year-old in the Air Force, when she was 16 years old. The two divorced after six months, which resulted in the Arizona teen running away to Portland, Oregon. Her father got her and returned her to Arizona.
She went on to marry an older man she met while working at the movie theater on the other side of town. The marriage was secretive, and her family did not find out about it until they read a legal notice in the newspaper saying her second husband was divorcing her. Dorothy started a new job working as a nanny, and made plans to go to the movies with her relatives. The trip to the movies never happened, and Dorothy was never seen or heard from since.
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| "Boulder Jane Doe" |
In 2009, extensive news coverage brought forward the family of Dorothy Howard, who submitted DNA for testing against Jane Doe's. The results were shocking, as everyone found out Boulder Jane Doe from Colorado was actually Dorothy Howard from Arizona. No one can figure out why or how Dorothy ended up in Colorado. The only guess is she may have went there to visit an aunt. After decades and decades, the family finally knows where Dorothy is. The family had a memorial service, and decided to let her stay at rest in Boulder, Colorado. They are thankful for taking care of Dorothy all those years.
Sources:
Colleen Orsborn
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| Colleen vanished on her way to the beach in 1984. She was identified as Daytona Beach Jane Doe in 2010. (Photo Credit: websleuths.com) |
ON March 15, 1984, 15 year-old Colleen Orsborn missed the bus in Daytona Beach, Florida. She ditched school, grabbed her pin bikini and headed for the beach. Colleen vanished, and her family never stopped searching for her. Right away, police were certain that Colleen was a victim of Christopher Wilder's. He was in town that day, and they believed he lured her into his car with the promise of a modeling career. He was a prolific serial killer.
Three weeks later, a fisherman found a knee poking out of the ground near an Orange County, with faded pink nail polish on. Right away, police checked to see if the Jane Doe matched Colleen Orsborn. They used an X-Ray to see if the Jane Doe had evidence of a broken arm that Colleen also had. The medical examiner ruled-out the possibility of a match.
In 2010, another DNA test was ran on the lower mandible of the Daytona Beach Jane Doe. After running the mitochondrial DNA test, it was found, after 26 years, that Jane Doe was Colleen Orsborn. She was incorrectly ruled-out decades before, and with the family's perseverance, the truth was finally found out. Her story was also featured on ID's Disappeared, to encourage the public to assist in the DNA search between Jane Does and missing persons under the Doe Network.
Sources:
Of course, there are the infamous, miraculous recoveries that do happen. Some examples are Jaycee Dugard, Shawn Hornbeck, Gina Dejesus, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Carlina White, all who were missing for over a decade, and recovered safely. It does happen.
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