"Sherry" Doe - Harpeth River Jane
Traveling by foot and others' generosity, she made her way to Nashville, TN. Her journey ended sooner than anyone could have expected.Perhaps the wanderlust of her early teen years tugged her away from home and down stretches of southbound highways. Perhaps she was going with the flow, following a friend who developed the plan to hitchhike their way toward the Gulf of Mexico. Whatever their plan was, it ended in tragedy for this young girl. And now, 44 years later, that young hitchhiker remains unidentified.
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On March 15, 1976, Charles "Little Charley" Moore, a 24-year-old Nashville man and his brother-in-law, Milton Collins, were driving southeast along Interstate 24 when they spotted two girls trying to hitch a ride. One short with long dark hair, one thin with sandy blonde hair and wire-rimmed glasses. They stopped and the girls got into the truck, happy to be out of the chilly breeze. As they drove, the girls told the young men their story in a nutshell. The dark-haired girl went by "Sherry" or "Cheryl", the men recalled, and the girls claimed to have run away from a treatment facility that was believed to be near Minneapolis or St. Paul, MN. "Sherry" claimed to have been at the facility for treatment for alcoholism, and her friend claimed to have been there for suicidal tendencies, even showing the men scars on her wrists. They were heading to Haines City, FL to see the friend's husband, the girls claimed. The men said that they dropped the girls off at an exit about 85 miles southeast of Nashville, and "Little Charley" wrote his phone number on the back of a photo that the blonde-haired girl was carrying; a photo of her young son. The men claimed that they saw the girls get into another vehicle, also traveling southeast, and that was the last they saw of them.
9 days later, on March 24, a fisherman was trying his luck on the Harpeth River when he spotted something in the water, about 200 yards from a bridge at McCrory Creek Rd, about 90 miles north of where the girls had been dropped off by Moore and Collins. Floating there against a branch in the shallow water was the half-dressed body of the dark-haired girl. Close by in the river, a blue blouse was located, but authorities are unsure if it belonged to her. An autopsy determined that the girl had drowned about 18-20 hours before she was found, but couldn't conclusively say if it had been suicide, homicide, or a terrible accident. They believed that she could have been sexually assaulted, given the removal of her shirt and unbuttoned pants at the time she was found, as well as some bruising on her legs and chest.
Despite efforts of investigators over the years, this young girl remains a Jane Doe. Dental records and fingerprints are available but the one factor that is so commonly used in these cases, DNA, is not available and may never be. She was buried in a local cemetery but, unfortunately, grave markers have been moved around over the decades and no one is sure where the girl is buried.
9 days later, on March 24, a fisherman was trying his luck on the Harpeth River when he spotted something in the water, about 200 yards from a bridge at McCrory Creek Rd, about 90 miles north of where the girls had been dropped off by Moore and Collins. Floating there against a branch in the shallow water was the half-dressed body of the dark-haired girl. Close by in the river, a blue blouse was located, but authorities are unsure if it belonged to her. An autopsy determined that the girl had drowned about 18-20 hours before she was found, but couldn't conclusively say if it had been suicide, homicide, or a terrible accident. They believed that she could have been sexually assaulted, given the removal of her shirt and unbuttoned pants at the time she was found, as well as some bruising on her legs and chest.
Despite efforts of investigators over the years, this young girl remains a Jane Doe. Dental records and fingerprints are available but the one factor that is so commonly used in these cases, DNA, is not available and may never be. She was buried in a local cemetery but, unfortunately, grave markers have been moved around over the decades and no one is sure where the girl is buried.
Want to learn more about this Jane?
What We Know
Died March 23, 1976
Caucasian, Native American and/or Hispanic Estimated Age: 14-17 years 5' 2" 115-120lbs Long, dark brown or black hair Brown eyes Scars on her arms, possibly from cigarette burns. Two surgical scars on her abdomen. She had a mole near her left eye (close to her temple), large breasts for her age, and her left incisor was oddly positioned. |
Clothing/Personal Effects
White bra Blue jeans *Possibly a blue blouse* Rawhide bracelet Choker-type necklace with beads and a white dove pendant 1 nickel Black comb Photo of young boy with "Little Charley" and phone number on back |
These photos are for comparison purposes only.
A photo of the necklace that Jane Doe was wearing hasn't been released to the public, but there is a necklace in the reconstruction that seems to be a seed bead choker with a carved bird-in-flight pendant. Whether the bird is a dove, swallow, or songbird, I'm not sure. Native American fetish symbols are plenty, but there are a few birds commonly seen in their jewelry. It could have been Native American jewelry or a similar style of jewelry that doesn't hold the same meaning. |