Rest Stop Jane Doe
For the sake of people like my sweet, wonderful Mom, I won't include an image for this Jane Doe. The only ones available are postmortem photos which can often be unsettling for some people. In lieu of a photo, you can see the headstone that marks her gravesite. If you do wish to see the photos of her (they're not graphic, but they are photos of a deceased person) you can find them here. Along those same lines, be forewarned that any button leading to the pages for this Jane Doe do have these photos. They are not hidden. Fair warning. I'll try to include all of the details here, for those too squeamish to chance it.
This is one of the rare cases where investigators already know what she looked like, how she died, when/where she likely came in contact with her murder, and who that murderer is. The only thing that remains unknown? You guessed it - her name. |
What We Know
Found September 17, 1989
Died a few days prior to discovery
16-35 years old
White, possibly biracial (Caucasian with Native American or Asian)
5' 2"
About 140lbs
Brown hair & very clear blue eyes
Freckles, small scar on her forehead & a scar on her right thigh
Cause of death: Strangulation
Found September 17, 1989
Died a few days prior to discovery
16-35 years old
White, possibly biracial (Caucasian with Native American or Asian)
5' 2"
About 140lbs
Brown hair & very clear blue eyes
Freckles, small scar on her forehead & a scar on her right thigh
Cause of death: Strangulation
This Jane's story echoes the cautionary tales told to many of us as young women. Don't talk to strangers, don't get in the car with strange men, and always be prepared to defend yourself. Young people subconsciously see themselves as impervious to the evils of the world; whether by pure innocence and naivete, or by willful ignorance of their own mortality. There's likely a reason that you often see teenagers and 20-somethings on the internet doing ridiculous, dangerous things, and their daredevil 60-something counterparts are nowhere to be found. You live and you learn, unless one of those risky situations ends in your murder.
When she was found in the bushes at a rest area along I-55 South in Lincoln County, MS, she was wearing only white athletic socks with 3 blue stripes, which had been folded down. The details of how she came into contact with the monster that killed her are neither here nor there. You can read more about the varying stories here, here and here. Some sources say "her assailants were unable to provide information regarding her identity" and "they intended to rob her but ended up murdering her and dumping her body". How that translates into one man being solely responsible for her murder, I'm not sure. The use of plural pronouns in reports really bugs me. I'm not sure what to make of everything following Jane's discovery, but I'm focused on who she is, not who did it to her or why he/they did it. All I needed to know is that she died and she's gone 30 years without a name. She is someone, no matter how she ended up there, and she matters.
When she was found in the bushes at a rest area along I-55 South in Lincoln County, MS, she was wearing only white athletic socks with 3 blue stripes, which had been folded down. The details of how she came into contact with the monster that killed her are neither here nor there. You can read more about the varying stories here, here and here. Some sources say "her assailants were unable to provide information regarding her identity" and "they intended to rob her but ended up murdering her and dumping her body". How that translates into one man being solely responsible for her murder, I'm not sure. The use of plural pronouns in reports really bugs me. I'm not sure what to make of everything following Jane's discovery, but I'm focused on who she is, not who did it to her or why he/they did it. All I needed to know is that she died and she's gone 30 years without a name. She is someone, no matter how she ended up there, and she matters.
Want to know more about this Jane?
My Two Cents
I'm currently waiting on news, one way or the other, on a possible match that I submitted earlier this month (July 2019). That being said, this is only who I THINK might be a match for this Jane. Nothing is confirmed or ruled out yet.
I'd been searching through teenage girls who went missing within the timeline for Princess Blue and, somewhere between 1980's runaways and finding myself asking Mr. Google about foster placement agencies in the Houston area, I came across a missing girl's photo. Her sweet face framed by long bangs and pigtails, frozen in time as one of many missing teenage girls. The NamUs details are scarce, as they often are in cases of those who are voluntarily missing or runaways. Circumstances of Disappearance: Last seen April 1, 1988. Very concise. But, thankfully, there are pages like The Charley Project and The Doe Network to help people like me learn more about the people we're searching for. 31 years have passed since 15-year-old Cassandra Lalonde hopped on the back of a motorbike, headed to Alabama, with a man named David. She did make it to Alabama, where she was soon living with a seafood boat worker named Salvatore. In July 1988, Salvatore called Cassandra's family, telling them that he had lived with Cassandra, and that they had gotten into an argument. He told them that Cassandra had left to take a walk and calm down, leaving all of her belongings behind, and never returned. If we're to believe Salvatore the Seafood Man, Cassandra's last known location was Mobile, Alabama in July 1988.
Now, this is where things really take a turn for the speculative. Did she take off on that walk to calm down and decide to never turn back? Was she ready to move on to the seemingly greener pastures on the horizon? Was she approached by a passing stranger and offered a ride, agreeing to go along to wherever they were headed? We don't know. Only Cassandra could say. But I think that she may have made her way back to the New Orleans, LA area after bailing on her temporary life in Mobile, AL. After all, she had originally lived in a suburb of New Orleans, and most likely had friends in the area that may have been willing to help her out, or she felt comfortable enough with the area to try to make it on her own. Either way, I think that she could have spent the July 1988 - September 1989 doing what she could to get by, even if it meant lying about her age or making questionable choices. Maybe she got a fake ID or hung out with people who made various questionable choices seem normal. As much as I don't like to suggest it, it's part of the theory, even though it breaks my heart. I believe that she may have either decided to or been forced to work the streets of New Orleans, where she would, in theory, one day agree to go with the man who would strangle her, take all of the money from her purse, then dump her in the bushes of a rest stop. Again, all speculation. The facts are few and far between and, sometimes, the only way to put the puzzle together is to chase a few zebras.
I'd been searching through teenage girls who went missing within the timeline for Princess Blue and, somewhere between 1980's runaways and finding myself asking Mr. Google about foster placement agencies in the Houston area, I came across a missing girl's photo. Her sweet face framed by long bangs and pigtails, frozen in time as one of many missing teenage girls. The NamUs details are scarce, as they often are in cases of those who are voluntarily missing or runaways. Circumstances of Disappearance: Last seen April 1, 1988. Very concise. But, thankfully, there are pages like The Charley Project and The Doe Network to help people like me learn more about the people we're searching for. 31 years have passed since 15-year-old Cassandra Lalonde hopped on the back of a motorbike, headed to Alabama, with a man named David. She did make it to Alabama, where she was soon living with a seafood boat worker named Salvatore. In July 1988, Salvatore called Cassandra's family, telling them that he had lived with Cassandra, and that they had gotten into an argument. He told them that Cassandra had left to take a walk and calm down, leaving all of her belongings behind, and never returned. If we're to believe Salvatore the Seafood Man, Cassandra's last known location was Mobile, Alabama in July 1988.
Now, this is where things really take a turn for the speculative. Did she take off on that walk to calm down and decide to never turn back? Was she ready to move on to the seemingly greener pastures on the horizon? Was she approached by a passing stranger and offered a ride, agreeing to go along to wherever they were headed? We don't know. Only Cassandra could say. But I think that she may have made her way back to the New Orleans, LA area after bailing on her temporary life in Mobile, AL. After all, she had originally lived in a suburb of New Orleans, and most likely had friends in the area that may have been willing to help her out, or she felt comfortable enough with the area to try to make it on her own. Either way, I think that she could have spent the July 1988 - September 1989 doing what she could to get by, even if it meant lying about her age or making questionable choices. Maybe she got a fake ID or hung out with people who made various questionable choices seem normal. As much as I don't like to suggest it, it's part of the theory, even though it breaks my heart. I believe that she may have either decided to or been forced to work the streets of New Orleans, where she would, in theory, one day agree to go with the man who would strangle her, take all of the money from her purse, then dump her in the bushes of a rest stop. Again, all speculation. The facts are few and far between and, sometimes, the only way to put the puzzle together is to chase a few zebras.