Disappearance of Lynette Ann Melbin

On June 5, 1972 15 year old Lynette Ann Melbin was hanging out with three friends at the Penrith Plaza in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. She had told her mother earlier that day at her mother's work place at Woolworth that she was going to go home change and then head to her boyfriends house.  They agreed that after work her mother would pick her up. When her mother showed up at the boyfriends around 5:30 p.m. she was told Lynette never showed up. The last time any one say Lynette was at the bus station. It was out of character for Lynette to go missing. She has not made contact with any friends or family since this date.

Lynette was a white female who was 15 at the time of her disappearance. She was 153 cm. She had blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was described as having a medium build.

SOURCES:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases-int/686dfnsw.html
http://westernweekender.com.au/2015/07/penriths-greatest-ever-mystery/

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the Night Before Christmas is a poem that many are familiar with. What most people aren't familiar with is the original author of the poem. The poem was sent in anonymously to the New York Troy's Sentinel in 1823. On December 23, 1823 the poem was published and now we have a classic that's been around for almost 200 years.

The poem that finally gave Santa's reindeer's names wasn't claimed until 13 years later.  A Professor and Poet, Clement Clarke Moore, confessed he had written the poem and was embarrassed by it. He had written it for his children, and it was sent in by housekeeper. There are doubts that Moore had written the poem though as there were references to Dutch culture and it was written in a way that he's never written any of his other poems.

Henry Livingston Jr's family came forward claiming he had been reciting the poem for at least 15 years before it was published. Another thing that adds to the claim is that Livingston had a Dutch background. The Reindeer's Donner and Blitzen were originally Dunder and Blixem meaning thunder and lightning in Dutch. The family and even a neighbor girl claimed to have heard the poem as early as 1807. They even had evidence of revisions of the poem Livingston wrote, but it burned up when the family home burned down.

Even though Moore is more often credited for the poem. It is still a mystery on who had actually written it.

SOURCES:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/26719/mystery-behind-worlds-most-famous-christmas-poem
https://www.poetrynation.com/mystery-behind-twas-night-christmas/

October 4, 2001 Cavaria, Varese, Italy Jane Doe

The victim was found in a meadow in Cavaria,Varese, Italy. A boot with her foot inside of it was found first on October 4, 2001. The rest of her body was found hidden in a hole in the woods in the next few days. She was killed by a stab to the lower abdomen. It's believed that she had died between 1995 and 1998.

According to many witnesses it is believed this woman is an Albanian prostitute who went Viola. She had disappeared around 1995. At the time Viola was around 23 years old. She had been arrested during police roundups in Milan. In Milan she frequented the Pazza Duca D'Aosta on the Via Vittor Pisani and in the Brand Bar cafe at the train station.  She probably went to Tuscany and Emilia regions before returning to Lombardy.

Jane doe was a white female between the ages of 20 to 25 years old. She was 160-165 cm. She had brown layered medium length hair. She was described as having a normal build. She had space between her upper front teeth. She was wearing size 37 leather boots, a bra that produced after mid 1995, a round wrist watch with a rubber strap, two rings and 3 gold earrings in her right ear, one of them shaped as a flower.

Dentals are available.

SOURCES:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases-int/291ufita.html

1997 2 Hispanic John Does Found Santa Clara County, California

Two Hispanic males were found in Santa Clara County in 1997. The two were believed to be killed at the same time. Both were recovered at the Gilroy Sewage Treatment Plant on South Side Drive. It was possible that the two were killed by asphyxiation and had been dumped there up to a year before discovery. There is a possibility their deaths are tied to drugs. Both men had their teeth examined and it showed evidence that they were from Mexico where the water supply had fluoridated.

On July 16, 1997 The Torso of the first man was found. On September 17, portions of his skull was then found in a percolation pond. The man was described as a Hispanic male between the ages of 30 and 50. He was 5'5" to 5'7" and 140 lbs to 150 lbs. His eyes may have been dark in color. He was wearing a Nike top and Jeans.

On July 31, 1997  The second body was found. He was a Hispanic male between 25 and 40 years old. He was around 5'5" to 5'7".

Dentals are available for both men.

Sources:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/125umca.html

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/126umca.html

Disappearance of Nancy Ann Penner

On Halloween 1983 Nancy Ann Penner and her friends made plans to hang out. The 28 year old never showed up. For both Thanksgiving and Christmas family tried to invite her over, but never got a response. Her family reported her missing on December 19.

At the time Nancy was living with her boyfriend Jeff Jeffries and her two young children Omar Penner and Yana Jeffries on the 2000 block of Paradise, California. Yana they had together the Omar was from a previous relationship Nancy had. In response to her family members reporting her missing Jeff told them he came home one day there was blood in the house and Nancy was gone.

On December 22, Nancy's birthday, Jeff took the children to Hawaii. When they returned Jeff left Omar with relatives in California and left Yana with his step sister. Omar was eventually adopted.

Omar claimed to remember Jeff shooting his mother in the arm in the bathroom. A bullet in the bathroom wall confirmed this. Omar said she ran outside the house holding her arm and Jeff followed close behind her. This was the last time he'd seen his mother.

In 1986 though Jeff committed suicide. Police were stalled by Jeff's death unable to get the answers they need to find Nancy. They believe she's buried in Butte County, California or tossed down one of the many mine shafts.

Nancy was a white female who was 28 at the time of her disappearance. She was 5'4 and 110 lbs. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. Unfortunately at the time Nancy was abusing alcohol and cocaine at the time of her disappearance.

She has DNA available.

SOURCES:
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/14952/11
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/penner_nancy.html

Murder of Thomas and Elizabeth Whittemore

On August 24, 1968 32 year old Thomas Whittemore and his wife 30 year old Elizabeth Whittemore were last seen in their filling station. It was found that two days worth of receipts and a bag of money were missing from the station. The couple were from Rutland City.

On September 4. 1968 a couple taking walk in the woods found the Whittmore's car Fire Hill Rd., in Pittsford Vt. The road they were found on was considered abandoned. Mr. Whittemore was in the passenger seat and Mrs. Whittemore was found slumped against the right side of the vehicle. It was determined that the two died from multiple gunshot wounds to the back of the head. The gun used was a .22 caliber revolver and was never recovered.

It could be possible the couple were abducted from the filling station and robbery was a motive. As the two days of receipts and money were never found. Money in Mr. Whittemore's wallet and Mrs. Whittemore's purse was untouched. Another theory is that the motive was murder, but made it look like robbery of the filling station.

According to the older news reports two New Jersey women were the last to see the couple at the filling station. It is unknown to me if these two women were found.



SOURCES:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15731045/thomas_and_elizabeth_whittmore/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15908554/thomas_and_elizabeth_whittemore/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15908545/thomas_and_elizabeth_whittemore/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15908536/thomas_and_elizabeth_whittemore/
http://vsp.vermont.gov/unsolved/homicide/whittemore
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15908526/thomas_and_elizabeth_whittemore/

December 20, 1976 White Haven, Pennsylvania Beth Doe and Fetus *Identified* Evelyn Colon

In March of 2021, Beth Doe was identified as 15-year-old Evelyn Colon. A Luis Sierra who was 19-years old at the time is being charged with her death.

Luis and Evelyn were dating at the time. Evelyn would tell a sibling that if anything happened it was Luis. In December the two seemed to have disappeared. A month after Evelyn had disappeared a letter was sent to her family home explaining that she was living in Connecticut with her son Luis Jr. It's no known that wasn't true.

Luis would end up in Queens. When asked about Evelyn he initially denied knowing her and then stated she moved out after an argument. He is being charged in this case.

The family has named Evelyn's unborn child Emily Grace Colon.

 

On December 20, 1976, a 14-year-old teenage boy playing along the banks of Lehigh River in White Haven or East Side Borough, Pennsylvania. That's when he spotted the head of a woman and several body parts, her fetus was laying in the grass nearby. It seemed to have come from a suitcase that was thrown from the bridge the impact caused the suitcase to bursting open. Three more suitcases were found with more body parts. It was estimated that she had died within that week.

Within the three suitcases was the body of the woman and fetus but her breasts, nose, and ears were not found. It could be that the murderer had kept them, there was another suitcase not found and or they were disposed of separately. She had been strangled to death and shot in the neck. It is possible the murderer was the father of the fetus.


The three suitcases the remains were found in were all the same size (23" x 14" x 7 1/2"). Two of them were blue in color, one was blue and tan plaid. The handles had been cut off of the suitcases before they were dropped at the site and the zippers had been painted with flat black paint. Inside the suitcases, the police also found straw, packing foam, a cut-up pink chenille bedspread with an embroidered yellow flower, and six sections of the New York Sunday News dated September 26, 1976.

She was a white female between the ages of 15 to 25. She's estimated to have been around 5'1 and 150 lbs. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She had a 2 inch scar on her left calf, and a mole on her left cheek. The fetus she was carrying was full term.

She had suffered from sever dental disease in early life and had three extraction multiple restorations, and extensive decay. Her oral hygiene improved as she got older. She would had still been suffering from tooth decay and a fracture to her upper right lateral incisors that would have caused her serious pain and been noticeable to others.

"WSR" seemed to be written on her hand with ink believed to have lasted 8-12 hours there was either a 4 or a 5 written next to it, and below and to the right was either a 4 or 7. Police are unable to make sense of the writing.

Testing has proven that she was not born in the United States and was possibly born in Western to Central Europe. She likely came over to the USA in the last 10 to 5 years of her life.

Other Images:

Merged reconstructions in Morphthing and edited 

Sources:

Unidentified Wiki

Doe Network

The Morning Call

AOL

AOL

December 18, 1996 Fairfax County, Virginia Jane Doe

On December 18, 1996 A groundskeeper for Pleasant Valley Memorial Park Cemetery stumbled upon the body of a woman who was lying near the section where infants were buried. Unfortunately she had taken a mixture of alcohol and Valium and then placed a plastic bag over her head and taped the bottom of it. She was also wearing headphones and listening to Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner doing the 2000 Year Old Man. This was how she died.

She left two notes at the scene one for the coroner,and one for the cemetery, both with the same typed note: Deceased by own hand...prefer no autopsy. Please order cremation with funds provided. Thank you, Jane Doe.

She also brought with herself to the scene a small Christmas Tree adorned with red ribbons and gold balls. A green knapsack that held Jeff Foxworthy's You Might Be A Redneck cassette, a tape of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, two empty juice bottles, and a new roll of masking.

She was a 50 to 70 year old woman around 5'0 and 157 lbs. She had curly red or auburn hair that was mostly a cooper color. She had an 8 inch scar on her abdomen most likely due to a C-Section. Her fingernails were painted red. She was wearing  a medium teal all-weather Eddie Baur hooded jacket , a large navy blue Classiques Entier sweater , a XL red Classiques Entier sweater, a petite large red Classiques Entier sleeveless silk shirt, a large navy blue Classiques Entier knit wool pants , knee-high stockings, white support bra, white Fruit of the Loom underpants, and size 7 black loafers . Her clothes may have come from an upscale store such as Saks Fifth Avenue. Her jewelry includes a pair of bifocals, two clip-on earrings, a small gold women's Guess watch with a mesh band, a 14-karat gold ring with four jade stones, and a metal bead chain with a medic alert "NO CODE, DNR, No Penicillin."

The area she was found in would be difficult to find and probably may not be known to a drifter. This does not mean she did not happen upon the area.  All the infant graves she was found lying near were more recent.

Other Images:

SOURCES:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/245ufva.html

https://identifyus.org/cases/6279

Murder of Carl Galbraith

13 year old Carl Galbraith was living with his mother in Chicago, Illinois. His mother though had sent him and his sister to go live with their Aunt in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. On December 16, 1977 Carl withdrew $10 for Christmas presents. He was then last seen hitchhiking along Route 173 in Richmond, Illinois. He was trying to get to a friends house . It was the last time anyone saw the boy alive.

Shortly before noon the next day Carl's body was found. He was stabbed multiple times and had his throat slashed, and was then left in a water filled ditch in New Munster, Wisconsin. The ditch was at he end of a residential driveway along Highway 50, now Geneva Road.

A month later a call came in. The man on the other end described Carl's coat, and told them where to find it in English Prairie Cemetery. It is believed that this person was the perpetrator of the murder or had inside knowledge about it.

SOURCES:
http://www.kenoshacounty.org/1525/Cold-Case-Carl-Galbraith
http://www.nwherald.com/2010/12/23/who-killed-carl-galbraith/a60uujg/

WANTED: Alexis Flores

Photo's taken in 2005

Alexis Flores is wanted for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a five year old girl. In the summer of 2000 Flores was going by the name Carlos. He was a homeless drifter at the time who was given shelter, clothing and work as a handyman by Hunting Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On July 30, 2000 5 year old Irania DeJesus was reported missing and 5 days later on August 3 her body was found. She was found wrapped in a trash bag had been sexually assaulted, and strangled to death.

Near the body was a particular shirt with Irania's blood on it. It was given to Carlos. Who had been missing since the girl was kidnapped. Later in 2007 DNA tied Alexis Flores to he case. Alexis Flores had been identified as the "Carlos" who had owned the shirt,

On March 22, 2007 a warrant went out for Flores for murder and other felonies. It's believed he fled to his home country of Honduras to escape conviction.

Flores also went by Mario Flores, Mario Roberto Flores, Mario F. Roberto, Alex Contreras, Alesis Contreras, and Carlos. The dates of birth he used were July 18, 1975, July 18, 1982, September 15, 1980, July 17, 1982. He was born in Honduras and possible may be back there or back in the U.S.

Flores was described as White Hispanic, 5'4 and 130 to 140 lbs. He has black hair and brown eyes. He has scars on his forehead and right cheek. There is a $100,000 reward for the information leading directly to the arrest of Flores.

Other Images:

Photo's were taken in 2002

SOURCES:
http://www.fugitive.com/2015/09/06/alexis-flores-wanted-for-the-murder-of-five-year-old-iriana-dejesus/
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/alexis-flores

Disappearance of David Reuben Boniske

On July 23, 1977  David Reuben Boniske was last seen in his home in Olympia, Washington. The 21 year old was a college student at Evergreen State College. His disappearance is suspicious his car was found stripped and abandoned in Seattle, Washington. His telephone card and credit cards he typically used were not used afterwards.  He also left behind several items he'd never leave behind. He left some checks and cash at school, along with his hang glider and camera.

David is  white male and was 21 at the time of his disappearance. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. He was 6'5 and 170 lbs. He does wear glasses.

SOURCES:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/boniske_david.html
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1266dmwa.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/17959/147

Feb. 11, 1971 Cudahy, Wisconsin Baby Doe

On February 11, 1971 around 6:50 p.m. someone was walking through Pulaski Park in Cudahy, Wisconsin. They stumbled upon a green mesh wire trash can near East Grange Ave. and South Swift Ave. inside of it was something  horrifying. There was a full term baby girl wrapped in some fabric, clothes, and plastic bags. She was then placed inside of a shopping bag that contained hand written essays with no names, about buffalos. It's believed to be written for a school assignment. Her body was completely frozen. 

Jane doe was a white female newborn. She was 6 lbs. She had a small amount of brown hair. The clothes and towels found with the infant was covered with blood. Her umbilical cord was still connected, but no placenta was found. It can be assumed that the mother may have been a teenager and or college student with the essay being found. 

On Namus the essays and receipt can be found under Documents.

SOURCES:

https://identifyus.org/cases/9573

The Disappearance of James Colin Egan

18 year old James Colin Egan went by his middle name Colin. On August 6, 1972 he called his family in Mequon, Wisconsin. He told them he was in San Fransico, California and planned to hitchhike to Denver, Colorado to catch a plane to Wisconsin. That he would be home within a week. He never came home and was never heard from again. His family believed foul play is involved.

Colin is a white male who was 18 at the time of his disappearance. He was 5'9 and 130 lbs at this time. He has strawberry blonde/blonde hair and blue eyes. He typically was clean shaven. His left hand is deformed due to an accident. He wore gold wire framed glasses.

He has Dentals and DNA available.

Sources:
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10300/2
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/egan_james.html

Disappearance of Ronald Joe Cole

In early 1965 19 year old Ronald Joe Cole moved from San Diego to Filmore, California to live with his half brother David Lafever. He was trying to find a job. On May 1. 1965 it was the last time anyone had saw the boy.

His half brother David Lafever is a suspect in his disappearance. Him and his wife Margret were caught in 1983 for posing an 11 old girl as their daughter and charged with multiple counts of child pornography and child abuse. After Lafever's arrest it was found out that he had told many friends, and family members he had killed Ronald. This isn't the only murder he is suspected of.

In 1977 Margret's brother Jon Brian Skaggs disappeared in 1977, but in this case his body was later found. In July of 1984 Jon's body was found in a shallow grave in Galt, California near a former home of Lefever's. He had been shot to death. Lafever has not been charged for either case.

Ronald was and 19 year old white male in 1965. He was 6'1 and 140 lbs. He had brown hair in a crew cut and hazel eyes. He has a scar on his left cheek.

He has DNA available.

Sources:
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/4548/23
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cole_ronald.html

Disappearance of Issac "Drift" Joesph Riley

75 year old Issac "Drift"  Riley was a resident at the Riverlands Health Care Center in Lutcher, Louisiana. On Feb. 06, 1990 around 3 or 4 am Issac got dressed and was trying to leave. He was caught and escorted back to his room. When checked on again around 5 am he was gone.

Issac was a 75 year old African American at the time of his disappearance. His height and weight was not listed. He had grey hair and brown eyes. He had a nervous twitch in his left eye. He was wearing a grey sweater, a red plaid shirt, blue pants, and grey or black Sergio Velente shoes.

He has DNA underway and Dentals available. There are no fingerprints for him.

SOURCES:
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/8995/46

June 3, 1971 Baltimore City, Maryland Jane Doe

On June 03, 1971, the burned body of a woman was found in the wooded Northwest corner area of Druid Hill Park in Baltimore City, Maryland. She had died about four days prior to discovery, and unfortunately, she had committed suicide by fire. She likely suffered from depression and was likely married and influenced by Christianity. She also may have known/written in shorthand.

She was an African American female between the ages of 20 and 29. She was around 5'6 and 110 lbs. She had black hair and unknown colored eyes. She was wearing a red, white and blue plaid dress or blouse, size 36 white and pale blue Nani Flower slip with a lace bodice , white Playtex bra, flesh-colored panty hose, white panties, and black Polly Preston loafer-type shoes. She wore a thin gold band ring on her left ring finger it's likely she was married.

She has fingerprints, and dentals available.

SOURCES:
http://unidentified.wikia.com/wiki/Bernalillo_County_John_Doe_(2000)
https://identifyus.org/cases/8116
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1032ufmd.html

Disappearance of Joseph Peter Keenan

Joseph Peter Keenan is a U.S. Navy Veteran who was discharged from the Navy. On December 1, 1975 Joseph was last seen by his family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He may have been spotted on Virginia Beach, Virginia sometime in 1975 by a friend.

Joseph Keenan was 25 years old at the time of his disappearance. He was around 6ft and 185 lbs. He had black hair and brown eyes.

He has Fingerprints, DNA, and Dentals available.

Other Images:

SOURCES:
http://www.missingveterans.com/1975/joseph-peter-keenan/
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27705/25

June 07, 2004 Chicago, Illinois John Doe

On June 07, 2004, a black male was found in the grassy berm of Interstate 94. He had ingested drugs in small plastic bags for drug smuggling. One of them burst and caused him to overdose on drugs.

He was a black male between 27 and 40 years old. He was around 6" and 165 lbs. He had brown curly hair and brown eyes. He had a linear scar on his lower right quad, he also had a gold cap on one of his front teeth. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black pants.

His fingerprints are elsewhere, his Dentals are available, and his DNA tests are not complete.

SOURCES:

https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/8590