Ashley Summers -- Missing From Cleveland Since 2007

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: December 30th, 2020
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing person: Ashley Nicole Summers (birthday: June 16th, 1993)

Last-seen date: July 4th, 2007 (a Wednesday) at about 6pm (At time of writing, NamUs says July 9th, 2007)

Where last seen: Cleveland, Ohio near West 96th Street and Madison Avenue

The case of Ashley Nicole Summers is one that might have a red herring. When a known child abductor (Ariel Castro) popped up as active in her neighborhood that lead was investigated but it did not turn up any evidence of what happened to Summers. Accordingly, her whereabouts remain a mystery.

One source on the topic, News 5 Cleveland, posted an article that contained information that would make you think that she is, in fact, safe (or was in the weeks after her disappearance): "Summers packed all of her clothes and took them with her. She reportedly called her mother one month after she went missing, telling her not to worry and that she would be okay" (July 11 2017/Bretton Keenan).

If that information is correct, then the runaway hypothesis carries a little more weight than normal. It is hard to picture a reasonable scenario where someone who isn't Ashley makes that phone call. If that phone call wasn't Ashley then it would have to be a person with a small conscience or someone with an interest in obstructing the investigation. Either scenario is possible but what a coincidence that such a person had a voice that sounded enough like Ashley's to make her mother a little bit of a believer.

But it's here that there is some weight added to the guess that Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro has something to do with Summers' disappearance. The phone call after the kidnapping sounds like the Amanda Berry case, one that Castro was responsible for.

According to that case's history, a man made a phone call using Berry's cellular about a week after she disappeared. This phone call contained comments that seemingly were meant to reassure the mother of the missing person that the missing person was safe. That is similar to the phone call that Ashley's mother received, albeit from a different source.

There has also been an unconfirmed sighting of Ashley. Her step-grandmother thought she spotted the girl on west 44th Street in November 2007 with short and dyed-blonde hair. What does one make of that? It's simply food for thought.

Another news event that is often reported in conjunction with Ashley Nicole Summers is the 2020 conviction of her great-uncle, Kevin Donathan. He received a 35-year sentence for sex offenses related to minors in 2020. The FBI searched his home but say he isn't a suspect -- which takes us back to the runaway hypothesis or the abducted-by-Castro guess.

What sits heavily with me, in this case, is the description of events leading up to the disappearance that had to do with her packing all of her clothes. When working on this case, I'm proceeding as though she's a runaway that was alive as of 2007. However, I assign a 60% probability for that in this difficult case with the uncle and Castro taking a heavy portion of the balance of the chances. 

If she is alive and if she went missing voluntarily, then marriage is a possibility. "Ashley [Any Last Name] nee Summers" would be an interesting hit in a database.

NamUs # and Link: #MP1687
Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female

Age at time of disappearance: 14 years old
Hair: Brown, long
Eye color: Blue
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'5" and 130 pounds
Clothing: White t-shirt and blue jeans

Other: tattoo of the word Gene in black ink over a red heart on her right upper arm

Alma Jean Octetree -- Missing Since May of 2012

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: December 28th, 2020
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing person: Alma Jean Octetree

Date last seen: May 30th, 2012 but not reported missing until 2014

Where last seen: Asheville, North Carolina
NamUs # and Link: #MP26177
Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 55 years old
Hair: Brown
Eye color: Hazel
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'2" and 115 pounds
Other: Rose tattoo on her right calf

Commentary and opinion:

This case may be related to the missing person's case of Regenia Gail Hendrix. The last person to see her was allegedly Clarence Octetree in 2014. This individual was the husband of Alma Jean Octetree. Authorities have interviewed him in both cases but have not said whether he is a suspect in the case. 

According to Asheville's ABC affiliate, regarding Clarence Octetree: "An Asheville man accused of raping, beating and burning a woman — while holding her captive for three days — has also been connected to two missing local women" (January 22nd, 2018 article).

When I looked at Clarence Octetree, I found newspaper articles that chronicled brush-ins with the law over the decades and brush-ins with homelessness. They included a prison escape that was successful for a short time.

I also found legal notices in classified ads that were addressed to a Clarence Octetree of Asheville. These legal noticed had to do with storage lockers in delinquent status. 

Thu, Nov 3, 2016 – Page C4 · Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina) · Newspapers.com

Alma Jean Octetree Wed, Oct 14, 2015 – Page C6 · Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina) · Newspapers.com

Corinne Leanne Erstad Missing Since 1992 -- Suspect acquitted but girl still missing

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: December 27th, 2020
All articles subject to change after the original posting.

Fri, Jun 5, 1992 – Page 2 · Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota) · Newspapers.com

Missing person: Corinne Leanne Erstad

Last seen: June 1st, 1992 (Monday) at about 730pm.

Where last seen: Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota at what, I think, would have been a Craig Court address. She went to a park (Skyview Park) that looks like it would have been just behind the house she lived in and maybe within the viewpoint of the home, however, Google Maps only goes back to 2013 for street-level views at this location. With summertime looming, there would be plenty of sunlight left for this northern-USA location.

Corinne Leanne Erstad is considered dead.

She went to a park at about 730pm on June 1st, 1992, a park that was known as Skyview Park. By modern Google Maps, that's here: 44.85060084928631, -93.0263187313249.

She has not been seen since and the main suspect in her disappearance was acquitted. However, the mystery of finding her remains is still unresolved.

A friend of the family was arrested in this case, the man who was acquitted. According to news coverage several days after her disappearance, Corrine left her house at about 730pm while Robert Joseph Guevara visited the home.

He, reportedly, left immediately after she went to the park and had been drinking. Half an hour later, Corrine's brothers reportedly looked for her and the police were called to assist at 930pm.

Reportedly, the police eventually found Corrine's blood-stained clothing in a storage locker that Guevara rented. He was arrested along with his girlfriend, Christine Holzmer.

Sat, Jun 6, 1992 – Page 11 · Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota) · Newspapers.com 

Opinion: The balance of everything I read is that her remains are likely within a 45-minute drive of her last-known location -- perhaps a speedy drive. I would focus on a generous 70 mile radius from where she was last seen.

At this advanced time, if she is dead then she would be decomposed. However, any small-statured Jane Doe is a candidate for a rule out, even across state lines in Wisconsin, provided the date-of-death is estimated to be reasonably close to Corrine's last-seen date.

Websleuths should note that she was missing the tip of her left ring finger. This distinctive characteristic might be detectable in skeletal remains even if other characteristics are lost to decomposition.

Furthermore, I found a six-inch discrepancy in her profiled height with most online sources versus the reporting of her height from the time of her disappearance. It's not clear what to go with but I recommend using a broad height range if you are plugging this value into any Jane Doe databases.

Her case was mentioned in the news as recently as 2017. Twin Cities Pioneer Press mentioned her in an article involving the brother of the acquitted (Sarah Horner, February 21st, 2017).

NamUs # and Link: #MP6038
Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 5 years old
Hair: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 3'2" (NamUs) and 40 pounds; 3'8" by a newspaper source

Other: Scars -- on forehead, on right side of face, on lip, and on left hand; mole -- on the left side of her lower back; pierced ears; she was missing the tip of her left ring finger
Clothing: White sundress, watermelon slice printed (pastel pink & green), and pink spaghetti straps; no shoes

Derrick Vincent Kucera Missing Since 1986 -- Hillsboro, Alabama

Author: Shane Lambert

Original Time of Writing: December 25th, 2020

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing Person: Derrick Vincent Kucera

Last seen or contact date: October 29th, 1986 (Wednesday) according to NamUs -- may have been November 4th, 1986

Where last seen: Hillsboro, Alabama in the passenger seat of a car on Ivy Hollow Road, which might be route 374 on modern maps.

NamUs # and Link: #MP7351

According to NamUs and Charley Project, Derrick Kucera was last seen on October 29th, 1986 in a vehicle on Ivy Hollow Road that was being driven by a male driver. He has not been seen since. According to a newspaper article I found, the date of disappearance might actually have been November 4th, 1986, however, I think this is poor journalism. The balance of everything I read on this case would support the October 29th, 1986 last-seen date.

NamUs #MP7351 Wed, Mar 25, 1987 – 11 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.com

Derrick Kucera Sat, Apr 4, 1987 – 21 · Pensacola News Journal (Pensacola, Florida) · Newspapers.com

The photo of Derrick, included at the start of this article, is one that was taken from a high-school yearbook. The year of that yearbook is 1978, meaning that Derrick would have been about 15 years old at the time of the photo and perhaps in Grade 10.

The above photo looks like that of an adult, however, from the source I could not find an age. It was posted on Ancestry.ca by one Lisa Lentz. She seemed to have an interest in helping with this case so I snipped the photo for publication here in allegiance with that. I could not find information regarding the date of the photo but we can agree this would be a better photo than the juvenile one that is often used in this case.

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Male

Age at time of disappearance: 23 years old

Ivy Hollow Road, where he was last seen, is difficult to pinpoint using modern maps. It seems to be a street name that those "in the know" refer to. From what I found, it is near Bates Mountain in the county of Lawrence and might be route 374 (Google Maps 34.593745058286245, -87.20254119383081). One user on Ancestry.com said this: "CR374 is Ivy Hollow Road, & I don't think CR465 off of it ever had another name - it was a road to the George Collins homeplaces from Ivy Hollow Rd. Ivy Hollow Rd now ends at private land, but it once continued over the mountain" (Lesley Hodges Whitley on March 1st, 2013).

Derrick looks like the difficult-to-abduct type. At nearly 6'0" and 220 pounds, he's not the kind of person that you just grab, especially at the age of 23. Furthermore, the description of his last-seen moments doesn't ever mention any kind of urgency in the situation. It seems like Derrick is in the car voluntarily. Perhaps he was traveling with someone he trusted.

The mother, deceased as of 2015, hired a private investigator but the case seems to be cold.

Hair: Brown/dark blonde

Eye color: Green

Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'10" to 6'0" and 210 to 220 pounds

Other: a pierced ear, not sure if left or right; scar near the left eye; scar on the abdomen; clean shaven at time of disappearance but known to wear a beard.

Clothing: Black t-shirt, blue jeans; high-top tennis shoes (one black/one red); necklace with silver cross

The above newspaper article is a website snip, not an embed. I'm not sure of the original source but think that the picture has some value. I found it at Ancestry.ca.

Mary Anne Wesolowski Missing Since 1971

Author: Shane Lambert

Original Time of Writing: 

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

The case of Mary Wesolowski is the kind of case that takes you in two different directions. From one perspective, you have to wonder if she was abducted. She was last known to be walking to Havilland Cove on the Hudson River. A known abductor, Kenneth Arnold Yarter Jr., didn't work that far away from where Mary lived. With that in mind, it's hard not to think about an abduction.

Wesolowski might also have run away. She left a note for her mother saying "I'm leaving. I might miss you." That's present tense in the first sentence and future tense in the second, the latter indicating a look to an uncertain future. It's an interesting note in that the second sentence communicates mixed emotions for her mother. That certainly hints at problems at home for this child, something that has been communicated at various sources about this case, like at Charley Project.

That site offers a lengthy description of Mary's disappearance. One excerpt states "Some agencies give Mary's name 'Mary Ann' or 'Maryanne.' Interestingly enough I found a woman in northern New York who died in the late 1970's with a name match, regardless of the spacing between Mary and Ann or not. It may be worth a look despite a one-year difference in age.

Missing Person: Mary Wesolowski, aka Mary Anne or Maryann

Last seen or contact date: August 18th, 1971

Where last seen: Glen Falls, New York

Let's assume that Mary ran away. For me, that's a difficult assumption because I have trouble picturing a 13-year old surviving as a runaway. However, people have survived worse so it can't be thrown to the wind. If we assume that she ran away, I think it's safe to assume that she made it a little way out of Glen Falls, New York. Chances are if she stayed put she would have been found. How far could she make it with whatever means she had? Probably not too far. Maybe getting out of New York would have been hard.

Take a look at the following two articles. They both describe the same person and event despite different name spellings and different ages:

Name matches to missing person but Mary Ann Wesolowski but the age is one year off. Tue, Nov 21, 1978 – Page 14 · Poughkeepsie Journal (Poughkeepsie, New York) · Newspapers.com

Tue, Nov 21, 1978 – 3 · The Post-Star (Glens Falls, New York) · Newspapers.com

The problem with the articles is that one describes a "Mary Ann Wesolowski, 21" and the other describes a "Maryann Wesoloswki, 22." Note the difference in spelling of both the first and last names but Wesolowski spelled correctly for Billy. Also, note the different ages. Furthermore, note all the other similarities because they practically eliminate the chance of these two people, "Mary Ann Wesolowski, 21" and "Maryann Wesoloswki, 22" actually being different people. Clearly, the two news articles cover the same event.

Lastly, and importantly, note that our Mary Wesolowski, NamUs #MP2876, was neither 21 nor 22 on November 21st, 1978. She would only have been 20. But it's funny how she was referred to as Maryann and Mary Ann and that's how different agencies described her as well. That the age doesn't match is important -- in fact, in some cases that's a rule out. In this case, I can't ignore the journalism that didn't care to get her age right or name spelled right. Maybe they were working with shoddy sources themselves.

The Mary described in the news articles was likely white. One photo had a picture of the dying Billy, Mary's child, and he was white. It's not a slam dunk to have the same color of skin as one of your parents but the tendencies are real. Our Mary, the missing person, was also white.

Tue, Nov 21, 1978 – 17 · The Herald-Palladium (Saint Joseph, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

For me, this all means that this "Maryann Wesoloswki, 22" or "Mary Ann Wesolowski, 21" should be looked at as a rule-out for Mary Wesolowski, #MP2876. A good idea would be if websleuths or amateurs took to the databases they have memberships for and looked for the Mary that died in this house fire. We're interested in someone with a different birthdate, a different photo, or something that rules her out because the crummy journalism doesn't do that for me.

On the matter, I did look at ancestry.com for the deceased two-year-old Jennifer Wesolowski. I found someone by that name in the Buffalo area that was born in 1976, someone that had an address in N. Tonawanda, New York, USA. I wondered if that was the Jennifer mentioned in the article because the age would match. I'm thinking that this address might be a clue in this case.

If Mary from the housefire is our missing person, then be aware that she did die from the injuries sustained from the fire. This would be about closure and not a reunion.

NamUs # and Link: #MP2876

Wed, Nov 22, 1978 – 2 · Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York) · Newspapers.com

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female

Age at time of disappearance: 13 years old

Hair: Brown to light brown

Eye color: blue

Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 4'6" and 85 pounds

Other: scars -- abdomen and chest; teeth -- crooked in 1971

Clothing: black leather belt, a white t-shirt, and red-and-white shorts

Ann Bernadette Fulton Newspaper Clippings -- Missing Since 1971

Author: Shane Lambert

Original Time of Writing: December 24th, 2020

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing Person: Ann Bernadette Fulton, also went by "Bea" which may be derived from her middle name

Last seen or contact date: April 23, 1971 (Tuesday)

Where last seen: Bridgewater, New Jersey

Ann Bernadette Fulton was last seen in Bridgewater, New Jersey on April 23rd, 1971 but she was not reported missing until June 10th of that year (her husband reported her missing).

NamUs # and Link: #MP19657

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female

I was not able to find information on her case using newspaper databases. But I have some tips for those working on this case to build off of.

If you are looking in newspaper databases, I advise to use "Bea Fulton" as the search term, Bea being Ann's nickname. You could also try derivatives of Ann, like "Anne," "Anna," or even "Annette." I did find one hit using "Bea Fulton" but the newspaper article did not contain much information. In fact, it was from before the time of her disappearance. 

I can't even be absolutely certain that this "Bea Fulton" is the same person and that does create the possibility of a fruitless tangent. However, that the "Bea Fulton" hit was in Bridgewater is something I found interesting.

Furthermore, my research aligned with someone else's independent research. I post a pertinent newspaper clipping below, which includes the street name that she resided on, that being "Frohlin Drive." This street name became a focal point of my research. The entire article was about school funding.

Might be about Ann Fulton, missing person from 1971 Tue, Feb 24, 1970 – Page 9 · The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

One strange detail in the common description of this case is that she was reported missing six weeks after her last-seen date. That's a large gap unless she had a history of running off. Take it or leave it but I don't really think she was the run-off type.

A "Kip Fulton," born in 1953 (I think), might be the name of an individual that she lived with but I'm not really sure. I found that this person was in legal trouble in the 1970s for minor offenses having to do with marijuana but that a same-named individual also was indicted for break-ins. I think this person was her son.

The reason I connect this individual to Bea Fulton is that both have an address associated with "Frohlin Drive" by two newspaper articles. Furthermore, Bea Fulton's maiden name appeared to be "Kania." I see this name in the family tree of Kip Fulton, who died in 1991. His grandparents, according to his family tree at Ancestry.com, were John and Margaret Kania. My thinking is that these were also Bea Fulton's parents. Again, these 'findings' might actually be fruitless tangents but could still be looked at to try and find details on this case.

Thu, May 29, 1975 – Page 10 · The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

Thu, Sep 30, 1976 – 9 · The Central New Jersey Home News (New Brunswick, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

Tue, Feb 8, 1977 – 6 · The Central New Jersey Home News (New Brunswick, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

Thu, Aug 12, 1982 – Page 11 · The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

When I consulted websleuths, I found that a user named "alb1on" felt "fairly sure" that her maiden name was Ann Bernadette Kania based on the user's research at ancestry.com (link good as December 24th, 2020). This research was in line with what I found in newspaper articles. If true, Bea's husband would be named Thomas K Fulton and they would have four children as of Jan 29, 1965 (see clippings below). I did find many newspaper clippings where a Thomas K Fulton was mentioned in association with Frohlin Drive which started to brings things together. Their street address is in one of the clippings below.

Fri, Jul 1, 1966 – Page 7 · The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

Ann Fulton Thu, Feb 4, 1965 – 13 · The Central New Jersey Home News (New Brunswick, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

Thomas K Fulton Fri, Jan 29, 1965 – Page 5 · The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

Fri, Nov 18, 1960 – Page 28 · The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

Fri, Jul 1, 1966 – Page 9 · The Courier-News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) · Newspapers.com

I think websleuths or amateurs working on this case simply need to expand the details of the disappearance. Individuals that knew Bea are one source for doing this.

Lastly, I found that the Frohlin Drive area was where there were a fair amount of reports of both erosion and flooding in the late 1960s and early 1970s but no evidence of a flood at the time of her disappearance.

Age at time of disappearance: 41 years old

Hair: Strawberry Blonde

Eye color: Blue

Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'4" to 5'5" and 135 to 140 pounds

Eileen Francis Hynson Missing Since June 1st, 1976

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: December 23rd, 2020
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Eileen Francis Hynson left the residence she shared with her father (Thomas) and brother (Thomas) to go to a resort at Lake Berryessa on June 1st, 1976. She may have left the resort to go to Benicia, California to attend a bridal party dress fitting. However, details are scant in this case except that she has never been seen again. Her suitcase was reportedly left at her residence.

A comment on a Facebook post about this missing person's case said:

"Please bring my. dearest cuzin home.......She left my home to go home and get ready to go get fit for her gown. She was to be my Maid of honor.......40 yrs go by and....believe me..I still look for her She will always be with me in her heart...We were very close cuzins.....I thought we were BFF....Some days I feel superclose....as if she is right here by my side........Please give our family hope and that we WiLL find her and bring her home........We love you Eileen........please call me......" (user's name withheld).

Missing Person: Eileen Francis Hynson
Last seen or contact date: June 1st, 1976
Where last seen: Napa, California

This is a case where the research was difficult. Her case is mentioned on Internet websites but it seems everyone says the same thing. When I searched for her in newspaper databases, I found the obituaries for her parents and that's all. 

I did find someone who posted something on Facebook about the case, which generated a comment from a user who claimed to be her cousin. I reached out to this person to try and get some information but what that leads to is pending at this point.

NamUs # and Link: #MP14520
Ethnicity/Race: White
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 19
Hair: Brown
Eye color: Hazel
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'2" and 130 pounds

Lake Berryessa, the location of the resort that Eileen Francis Hynson may have been heading to, was the scene of a Zodiac Killer attack in 1969. Bryan Calvin Hartnell survived the attack while 22-year-old Cecelia Ann Shephard died. This attack happened about seven years before Eileen's disappearance. The Zodiac Killer remains unidentified but I think the chance that he is related to this MP could be mentioned as food for thought.

Jessica Heeringa Missing From Michigan Since 2013 -- Gas Station Employee Vanishes

Author: Shane Lambert

Original Time of Writing: December 22nd, 2020

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Missing Person: Jessica Heeringa

Last seen or contact date: April 26th, 2013 (Friday) late in the evening, likely between 1050pm (time of her last sale as a clerk) and 1115pm. She may have been behind the building as a small drop of her blood was found there.

Where last seen: in Norton Shores, Michigan. She was working at an Exxon Mobil gas station as a clerk at the location that was on East Sternberg Road. The gas station was between Grand Haven Road and Highway 31. Google Maps: 43.15449809998207, -86.21656688503997.

Jessica Heeringa has been missing from Norton Shores in Michigan since April 26th, 2013. She was working at an Exxon Mobil station as a clerk. A customer, no later than 1120pm, found the gas station open but no one was around. She disappeared late in her shift, leaving her personal belongings in the store -- including $400 in her purse. The station did not have surveillance. One early article that was published a few days after her disappearance is snipped below.

Jessica Heeringa Mon, Apr 29, 2013 – 2 · Livingston County Daily Press and Argus (Howell, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

This case was treated as an abduction since an early part of the investigation. In the early coverage, they communicated interest in questioning a white male with a silver Chrysler minivan (sometimes called a van). The cash register was untouched so this didn't look like a robbery gone wrong.

The witness in the case was an off-duty employee, a woman who drove by the Exxon store. She noticed a van behind the store and circled back. I think she may have been the one that gave the description that lead to a composition sketch of the suspect and the report of the van.

Jessica Heeringa Mon, May 27, 2013 – Page A2 · Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

The van was thought to have been captured in other footage from businesses in the area. This suspicious van may have passed Coin Zone on Grand Haven Road at about 11:04pm. They also had a video from a tavern, one that also allegedly showed the vehicle in question.

Jessica Heeringa Tue, Apr 30, 2013 – 2 · Livingston County Daily Press and Argus (Howell, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

The person of interest in the case was Jeffrey Willis, now convicted. At the time of writing, he was in prison for a separate crime that involved killing a female jogger in western Michigan. Willis is a reasonable match to the composite sketch that was generated of the driver of the minivan.

Jessica Heeringa Sat, Dec 28, 2019 – A5 · Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · Newspapers.com

There is some closure in this case in the sense that her abductor has been brought to justice. However, Jessica remains a missing person. On that matter, her direction of travel could be speculated on.

Coin Zone, the name of the company that had the footage of the vehicle in question, is permanently closed at the time of writing. However, I found an address of 4300 Grand Haven Road in North Shores for the expired business. There's a possibility that Jessica was in this vehicle, meaning her direction of travel was northern from her last known location.

Jessica's distinctive physical characteristics, listed below, are not likely to aid in this investigation. If we assume that she is long dead then her tattoos and lazy eye would not be ascertainable should a Jane Doe be found that might be her (decomposition). Her short height of 5'1" is what should be remembered in this case, as well as the distinctive clothing that was wearing.

There is some reason to believe that she was buried near Sheridan Road and Laketon Road "near abandoned railroad tracks." However, leads on this tip have not been fruitful. 

If she is buried in the area, then future amateurs working on this case could note any human remains at future construction sites in the area. An area that may have been secluded in 2013 might be developed at a future date. Sometimes construction workers unearth human remains as the lay groundwork for foundations and that's where the strongest likelihood of finding her maybe.

NamUs # and Link: #MP20137

Ethnicity/Race: White

Sex: Female

Age at time of disappearance: 25 years old

Hair: strawberry blonde, shoulder length

Eye color: Blue

Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'1", 100 to 110 pounds

Other: One of her eyes is lazy. She has a tattoo on her left ankle of a musical note and a peace sign. She has a star tattoo on her back. Also, she has sleepy z's tattooed on her left foot. Lastly, on her right calf she has a sun and moon tattoo.

Clothing: High-heeled boots, polo shirt with "Sternberg Exxon," blue jeans, and a black tank top.

Emma Fillipoff Missing in Canada Since 2012 -- Victoria, Vancouver Island

Author: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: December 22nd, 2020

Emma Fillipoff is a missing person, Vancouver Island's best-known case of the last decade. Perhaps the case of Michael Dunahee is a higher-profile case from the same area, however, his case is much older. Emma has been missing since as far back as November 28th, 2012, although there is a chance that she was seen a day after that.

Emma Fillipoff picture Thu, Dec 13, 2012 – 4 · Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com

• Missing Person: Emma Fillipoff
• Last seen: November 28th, 2012 by police officers or the next day at 515am by another witness.
• Location: Near The Empress hotel in Victoria, BC on Nov 28, 2012 in the evening OR in the View Royal area of Victoria the next day (Craigflower Road and Admirals Road near a Petro Canada station). I do consider the latter to be a credible sighting.
• Height: 5'5"
• Weight: slim build
• Hair: long, blond/brown
• Clothing: camouflage pants, carrying an orange purse
• Age: 26 years old at the time of her disappearance

Early Journalism Coverage

The following article is the first one I found in the Victoria Colonist regarding Emma Fillipoff's disappearance. The article doesn't suggest much concern and just contains basic details. The one that follows is much longer and shows an increase in concern for the missing woman.

Emma Fillipoff Fri, Nov 30, 2012 – 4 · Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Emma Fillipoff Thu, Dec 13, 2012 – 4 · Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com

Possible sighting 

A man who only identified himself as William believes that he saw Emma Fillipoff in the early hours of November 29th, 2012. This man didn't come forward with this information until 2018, out of fear that being the last person to see Emma alive would make him a suspect in her disappearance. In truth, that is a valid concern.

According to William, Emma was distraught, she jumped out in the road as he drove, she seemed to be concerned about something that he could not see, and he dropped her off at Craigflower Road and Admirals Road near a Petro Canada station.

He claimed that, while walking, she carried her shoes in her hands. This alleged drop-off took place at 515 AM.

I do consider this sighting to be credible in the sense that I think William was being honest. His concern of being considered a suspect in her disappearance is valid. With that concern in mind, he still came forward. My opinion is that he was obeying his conscience when he did so.

Opinion and Commentary: Emma Fillipoff's Missing Person Case

Maternal Intuition as a Key Indicator

In this case, I think most avenues point to suicide. I believe it is telling that the mother sensed something in her daughter and flew out from Ottawa to Victoria on the very day that Emma went missing.

It's also telling that the mother, previously, declined to act on similar impulses. Something in her interaction with Emma triggered an urgency. I think these kinds of insights can be wrongly downplayed at times.

Barefoot Behavior: A Cry for Help or an Escape?

Furthermore, Emma was seen walking barefoot in downtown Victoria and that is a clue. It may sound odd, but I do have an opinion on missing people who were seen walking barefoot close to the time of their disappearances.

Partly, it looks a little mentally distraught and this may have been a 'call for help' before suicide. In fact, her barefoot walking caused a friend to call the police. Victoria is the mildest part of Canada, but you still wouldn't walk barefoot there in late November, let alone at other times of the year.

Conversely, sometimes people who walk barefoot, I think, are doing it because they want to leave somewhere without anyone knowing that they left. Missing shoes are clues that someone has left the building.

She did seem to be concerned over being followed, as the footage of her before her disappearance suggests. Emma might have been out barefoot because she wanted someone at the homeless shelter to think she had not left the building -- and leaving her shoes behind could help with that. This would be consistent behavior by someone who thought that she was being stalked.

But thirdly, Emma was poor. If her shoes bothered her feet, then she probably couldn't afford new ones. Someone might walk barefoot if the shoes the person owned were rubbing against wounds in a painful way.

Evidence Aligning with Suicide

Getting back to the chances of suicide, it should not be ignored that the people at the shelter that she stayed at (Sandy Merriman House) thought that she was "a danger to herself" (Dec 13, 2012, article above). There's definitely an alignment between her behavior, the actions of the relative who knew her best, and the opinions of the people who saw her in the days before she disappeared. Furthermore, that she lost (or discarded) her prepaid credit card shows some indifference to her economic situation.

Paranoia and Environmental Context

That William claimed she seemed scared of something that he could not see might be regarded as consistent with her behavior as noted from previous times. The footage of her acting scared to exit buildings has been taken to mean that she was worried about someone following her. That could simply be symptomatic of being a pretty woman living in a shelter -- a place that will have a fair amount of questionable people.

I've lived on Vancouver Island for about seven years of my life and downtown Victoria hasn't always been a comfortable place. At times, it has been a very dodgy environment and I can only imagine how many times someone as attractive as Emma might have had someone creepy genuinely watching her footsteps. That could create paranoia and her strange behavior as caught by the videotape could just be an extension of her high-risk living environment.

Possible Locations and Environmental Challenges

According to William, Emma wanted to go to Colwood. I think this is the area where a credit card she owned was found.

Also, there is a ton of hiking in the greater area where she disappeared, including at Thetis Lake Regional Park. Furthermore, there are inlets from the Salish Sea. If she is found, then I suspect that it will be in one of the following areas:

• Thetis Lake Regional Park or south
• Esquimalt Lagoon Migratory Bird Sanctuary or north
• To the west of the above locations but not further west than the below locations
• Mount Wells Regional Park
• Goldstream Provincial Park, near the Langford entrance
• If she entered saltwater, then finding her will be very difficult 

Hiking these areas in Victoria would be more arduous in November than in the summer. The trails would be heavily puddled. To me, that suggests if she went into the forest, then she didn't go deep. In the summer, the trails are popular. I've written about some of them in a hiking publication I have.

Dismissing Red Herrings

As for the 'fluff' around this case, I disregard two things.

As stated, I'm not taking her preoccupation with being followed to mean that she was being followed. That's a red herring, in this case, I think. But I do think she might have thought she was being followed.

 

Secondly, I disregard the man in Vancouver who ripped her poster down and claimed to be her boyfriend to be anything of substance. My main reason for that is that the event happened in 2014 and we're in 2025, at the time of updating this case. I think if Emma was, in fact, the man's boyfriend, some kind of sighting would have happened by now.

I do like what Grok, X's artificial intelligence stated when I asked it about the credibility of Green Shirt Guy in this case: "The focus on Green Shirt Guy might be a convenient pivot to reinvigorate a stalled case rather than a well-substantiated lead" (asked Grok on March 6th, 2025).

The way I see it, the police don't have a lead in this case and it's a case that has received a lot of media attention. They are just playing their hand with what they've got. 

Emma Fillipoff Wed, Dec 12, 2012 – 31 · The Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) · Newspapers.comI think it could be pointed out that she has a similar appearance to both Jesokah Adkens and Carmen Robinson. These are two MPs from the same general area. I've argued elsewhere that the Adkens case and the Robinson case resemble one another. I think the Fillipoff case is different because you can just sense a suicide theme.

In The News

This case made recent news. There was a publication with Chek News, a Vancouver Island news source, in November 2024. They were looking for news regarding where Emma might be and the identity of Green Shirt Guy.

Beverly Sharpman Newspaper Clippings and Classified Ads-- Missing Since 1947

Author: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: December 22nd, 2020

Beverly Sharpman has been missing since 1947. This is a case that I wrote about a few years earlier and my opinion on her disappearance has not changed.

I think there was some kind of a rift in her family life that she wasn't compatible with at all, that she married, and then she left her original family situation, never to look back.

Beverly Sharpman Fri, Feb 29, 2008 – Page 7 · Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Of course, with many disappearances, there is plenty of room for doubt and counter-conjecture. The point of this article is not to get into that but to post the classified ads that Beverly's mother and other family members posted in newspaper outlets over the years.

Beverly Sharpman Tue, Aug 19, 1952 – Page 31 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly sharpman Sun, Sep 23, 1956 – Page 7 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

The ads didn't generate many leads. However, if you read them all, then you'll see that they did generate some communication from someone. One reason that these advertisements may have had a limited impact on the case is that Beverly Sharpman, according to her last communication, got married. 1947 wasn't really a time when women kept their maiden names. If Beverly Sharpman got married and left her original life for a new one, then anyone that met her after her disappearance would know her only by her married name.

Beverly Sharpman missing Mon, Nov 10, 1947 – Page 32 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman J B Wed, Jun 16, 1948 – Page 45 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman Sat, Sep 10, 1949 – Page 1 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman Sun, Aug 31, 1952 – Page 61 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman Sun, Aug 24, 1952 – Page 93 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman Tue, Aug 19, 1952 – Page 31 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman Mon, Mar 12, 1951 – Page 29 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman Sun, Mar 11, 1951 – Page 111 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Beverly Sharpman Sun, Aug 19, 1956 – Page 93 · The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

Sharpman Sat, Nov 12, 1949 – 14 · The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) · Newspapers.com