NamUS UP #16509 (Springhill Jane Doe) vs. NamUs MP #25291 (Victoria Shoupe)
By: Shane Lambert
The Springhill Jane Doe is UP #16509 on NamUS, an individual that died without any identification on her on May 2nd, 1986. The case is interesting in the sense that it seems like it should produce a match. That is, it should produce a match if anyone that knew the decadent in life now knows that he/she should be looking for her in the UP files. But those that have followed UP cases over the years know that people don't always know to look in UP files for those that they've lost contact with. In fact, the case of the Springhill Jane Doe reminds me of the case of The Grateful Doe, a case that was solved in recent years.
The Grateful Doe, a doe now known as Jason Callahan, was a hitchhiker who perished as a passenger in a vehicle that he hitched a ride in. In this way, his case has a similarity to the Springhill Jane Doe.
In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from June 13th, 1986 writer Vince Leonard headlines "Dead Hitchiker's name still a mystery," an article about the Springhill Jane Doe. For several years the same headline could have been written of The Grateful Doe. Like the Springhill Jane Doe, Callahan hitchhiked, died in a car accident as a hitchhiker, and did not have any identification on him.
In Callahan's case, he perished as a hitchhiker at a time when he was having some personal problems with family members. That unfortunate coincidence lead those that knew him to think that he simply had stopped talking to them voluntarily. It wasn't until 2015 that Callahan's mother indicated that he was missing and that lead to the connection.
The lesson there is a point worth noting: it could be that the ID-less woman that died in 1986 was someone with some interpersonal problems. Those problems may have had an effect on those who knew her and their beliefs, that may persist to this day, that she's simply missing voluntarily. They have a pretty good post-mortem picture of her face, one that would make identification pretty easy. Those that knew this woman possibly simply don't know to look at the UP files.
It probably doesn't help that her NamUS profile may or may not have several pertinent details right. They describe her as white but that doesn't contain some information that was in the news reports at the time of her discovery. According to the Leonard article cited above, a coroner named Phillip Reilly did describe her as white. But that coroner also noted that she had "characteristics of the American Indian, Negro, or possibly Asian races." Those working on this case may have to be careful about how they use her racial characteristics as a search criterion.
NamUS also says the woman was aged 30 years to 45 years at the time of her death, although the upper range simply doesn't jive with my visual assessment of her post-mortem. I'm aware that such matters are very tricky but I don't see a hint of fading hair color and no hint of wrinkles emerging. The reporting at the time stated that she was in her early 20's. If the original reporting is correct, then it means that anyone that has cross-referenced this UP with MP's aged 30 to 45 years old didn't have a chance. Those working on this case will have to be open to a wide age range, in my opinion from 17 years of age all the way to 45.
Victoria Shoupe, pictured above, is NamUS MP #25291. She went missing in May of 1984, which is two years to the month prior to the time when the Springhill Jane Doe died in the car crash. Of all the people in NamUs's missing-person registry that went missing in the three year's prior to May 1986, Shoupe has the closest physical-appearance match in my opinion. That makes her worth a look at as a rule out. On that matter, she has been mentioned at Websleuths.com as someone worth looking at as well.
The Springhill Jane Doe is UP #16509 on NamUS, an individual that died without any identification on her on May 2nd, 1986. The case is interesting in the sense that it seems like it should produce a match. That is, it should produce a match if anyone that knew the decadent in life now knows that he/she should be looking for her in the UP files. But those that have followed UP cases over the years know that people don't always know to look in UP files for those that they've lost contact with. In fact, the case of the Springhill Jane Doe reminds me of the case of The Grateful Doe, a case that was solved in recent years.
The Grateful Doe, a doe now known as Jason Callahan, was a hitchhiker who perished as a passenger in a vehicle that he hitched a ride in. In this way, his case has a similarity to the Springhill Jane Doe.
In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from June 13th, 1986 writer Vince Leonard headlines "Dead Hitchiker's name still a mystery," an article about the Springhill Jane Doe. For several years the same headline could have been written of The Grateful Doe. Like the Springhill Jane Doe, Callahan hitchhiked, died in a car accident as a hitchhiker, and did not have any identification on him.
In Callahan's case, he perished as a hitchhiker at a time when he was having some personal problems with family members. That unfortunate coincidence lead those that knew him to think that he simply had stopped talking to them voluntarily. It wasn't until 2015 that Callahan's mother indicated that he was missing and that lead to the connection.
The lesson there is a point worth noting: it could be that the ID-less woman that died in 1986 was someone with some interpersonal problems. Those problems may have had an effect on those who knew her and their beliefs, that may persist to this day, that she's simply missing voluntarily. They have a pretty good post-mortem picture of her face, one that would make identification pretty easy. Those that knew this woman possibly simply don't know to look at the UP files.
Be aware of some details
It probably doesn't help that her NamUS profile may or may not have several pertinent details right. They describe her as white but that doesn't contain some information that was in the news reports at the time of her discovery. According to the Leonard article cited above, a coroner named Phillip Reilly did describe her as white. But that coroner also noted that she had "characteristics of the American Indian, Negro, or possibly Asian races." Those working on this case may have to be careful about how they use her racial characteristics as a search criterion.
NamUS also says the woman was aged 30 years to 45 years at the time of her death, although the upper range simply doesn't jive with my visual assessment of her post-mortem. I'm aware that such matters are very tricky but I don't see a hint of fading hair color and no hint of wrinkles emerging. The reporting at the time stated that she was in her early 20's. If the original reporting is correct, then it means that anyone that has cross-referenced this UP with MP's aged 30 to 45 years old didn't have a chance. Those working on this case will have to be open to a wide age range, in my opinion from 17 years of age all the way to 45.
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| The Pittsburgh Press, May 3rd 1986, Pg. 24.(no author listed) |
Comparing the Springhill Jane Doe to Victoria Shoupe
Update: I did contact a person who was related to Victoria Shoupe on Facebook. I received negative feedback regarding the chances of the Jane Doe and Shoupe being a match. That was the opinion of a relative who looked at the Jane Doe post-mortem photo.
Victoria Shoupe, pictured above, is NamUS MP #25291. She went missing in May of 1984, which is two years to the month prior to the time when the Springhill Jane Doe died in the car crash. Of all the people in NamUs's missing-person registry that went missing in the three year's prior to May 1986, Shoupe has the closest physical-appearance match in my opinion. That makes her worth a look at as a rule out. On that matter, she has been mentioned at Websleuths.com as someone worth looking at as well.
Shoupe and the Springhill Jane Doe do match up qualitatively in many ways. Shoupe was 30 years old when she went missing and would have been 32 in May of 1986. That puts her into the huge age range that I believe should be used. Shoupe and the Jane Doe both are described as having brown hair and brown eyes. Neither has any other physical descriptions such as deformities, scars, tattoos, or anything like that. The heights between the two individuals are only off by an inch, which is practically a dead-on match.
However, Shoupe is described as 120 to 130 pounds at NamUS, while the Jane Doe is estimated to have been 170 pounds. That is a problem but then weights do fluctuate and we need to remember that if these are one and the same people then there is a two-year gap between descriptions. That two-year gap is worth keeping in mind when looking at the photos as well. If Shoupe is the Jane Doe then the pic of Shoupe was taken at least two years before the post-mortem picture and the sketch.
However, Shoupe is described as 120 to 130 pounds at NamUS, while the Jane Doe is estimated to have been 170 pounds. That is a problem but then weights do fluctuate and we need to remember that if these are one and the same people then there is a two-year gap between descriptions. That two-year gap is worth keeping in mind when looking at the photos as well. If Shoupe is the Jane Doe then the pic of Shoupe was taken at least two years before the post-mortem picture and the sketch.
Other details that are worth pointing out have to do with DNA and dental. They have the DNA of the Jane Doe but they don't have Shoupe's DNA. That's important to note because if they had both sets of DNA sitting resident in the same system then we could assume that they rule out each other. If they were one and the same and they had both sets of DNA then the computer would match them. That they don't have Shoupe's DNA means that they might still be a match.
They have the Jane Doe's dental information and perhaps therein lays the best way to make a match or rule out. They also have Shoupe's under the status that it will be entered later. Hopefully. they get around to entering that dental information soon. That way this potential match could be either made or ruled out. The former is preferable but the latter has value, because it allows those that work on these matters to change focus.
I think that Victoria looks more like the Clark County Jane Doe from 1985.
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