NamUs #UP6040 - Notes for Websleuths

By: Shane Lambert

I was looking at NamUs #UP6040 today. She is an individual that was found dead on February 19th, 1971 in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida. Her NamUs vitals:

• Aged 17-24
• White female
• Estimated to have died in 1971 within weeks of her discovery
• 5'3"
• 110 pounds
• Brown hair
• Eyes are probably brown

She was found under the Lake Panasoffkee Bridge at Interstate 75.

NamUs mentioned her clothing, which included green plaid pants and a poncho. Some details that websleuths should be aware of that you don't get from NamUs comes from the newspaper reporting of the day (Orlando Sentinel/Feb 21 1971/Page 66 unless otherwise noted):

• This woman was definitely thought to be a murder victim who was strangled with a belt (one article from Feb 22 1971 said she was found "with a belt tied around her neck" Sentinel Page 5)
• She may have been pregnant
• She was referred to as the "hippie-type"
• She was believed to have been thrown over the side of the bridge
• She had a gold cap on a tooth
• The body was found by two young men hitchhikers who looked down from the bridge
• She was barefoot (Feb 22 Sentinel)
• She was dressed in "a Kelly green, long-sleeved blouse and green and cream plaid slacks" (Feb 22 Sentinel)
• Her location is described as between "Wildwood and Bushnell" (Tampa Tribune/Feb 27 1971)
• They were able to get a fingerprint
• They have her dentals

Commentary

When you are reading missing-person reports, the clothing is big in this case. But try to remember that she had a gold cap on a tooth. If you ever read of a report of a woman who was last heard from in February 1971 or prior with a gold cap on her tooth then cross reference her details against NamUs #UP6040 to see if anything lines up.