New to NamUs -- Case #UP76105 from Fort Pierce, Florida

By: Shane Lambert

NamUs, America's national inventory of missing persons and unidentified Jane/John Does, recently uploaded several new cases. One case is known as #UP76105 (the "UP" stands for Unidentified Person) and involves the finding of human remains in Florida that belonged to a white female. Here are the case details along with a link to contact information if anyone thinks that they know anything about who this individual was or the last hours of her life.

#UP76105 was found on November 17th, 2020 in Fort Pierce, Florida but it's not clear how long she had been deceased. Furthermore, at the time of writing, the age of the decedent could not be determined. Her remains were not recognizable due to decomposition. Her physical description with NamUs is lacking as the site lists "Other" for both hair color and eye color. However, there are some details that might help lead to her identification.

The decedent had a "metal rod" in her left arm. One reason why a person might have a metal rod in his/her arm is because of a previous injury to that part of his/her body.

Furthermore, the decedent had hip replacements for both the left and right hip. When you cross-reference those characteristics with her tattoos then identifying this person may become possible. She had a turtle tattoo on her top-right shoulder, a tattoo of a flower on her right forearm, and Japanese characters tattooed to her left upper arm.

The individual was found in a ditch near 4800 Sneed Road in Fort Pierce, Florida. Sneed Road might also be called Route 613. The nearest major road to that address is Okeechobee Road. The area is not urban but rural with a lot of agricultural property in the area.

The individual's height is 65 inches (5'5") and her weight is 73 pounds. According to NamUs, these were both measured.

It may be important to think critically when it comes to these measurements. Given that NamUs listed the decedent as "Not recognizable - Decomposing/putrefaction" readers should remember that post-mortem measurements might be a little off compared to the individual's same measurements while living.

I think the best way to identify this individual at this time is to focus on her body modifications. Any individual modification would not make her unique, however, the cross-referencing of them all almost surely would. If you know someone that is missing that had a metal rod in her left arm, hip replacements, a turtle tattoo on her shoulder, a flower tattoo on her arm, and a Japanese-character tattoo then the regional contact for this case is Carrie Sutherland (carrie.sutherland@unthsc.edu).