NamUs #UP87267 - Jane Doe's Skull Found in Washington DC in December 2001
By: Shane Lambert
NamUs description: "Construction workers renovating an apartment found a skull in a crawl space of a ground floor apartment located at 1926 I street, NE apt 1."
Sex: Female
Race: Caucasian/White
Age: Thought to be an adult
Height and weight: no estimates, skull only
Date body found: The body has not been found or, if found, I don't think it has been associated with the skull that was found on December 17th, 2001 (Monday)
Where was the skull found: Washington, DC.
With so few details available in this case, this is one that amateur investigators might feel as though they should back away from. How can you hope to name a Jane Doe based only on a skull and sparse demographics?
However, I think this is a case that Websleuths or amateurs might be able to contribute to. Remember, you aren't really trying to solve a case here. As an amateur, you are trying to find a lead that police or professional investigators might take seriously with the hopes that the lead does help solve the case. On that matter, this is what I think amateurs should do: focus on the street address.
A skull can be in a crawlspace for decades. Did someone who lived there end up going missing? Did someone who lived there have a rap sheet for violent crimes?
The address appeared to be a place with up to four apartments. I found the street address in Ancestry files subdivided into Apt. 1, Apt. 2, Apt. 3, and Apt. 4. It's possible that more apartments may have evaded my searching but it appeared to have at least four apartments. The earliest use of the street address I found in Ancestry was for 1983. The earliest use of the apartment's address where the skull was found, Apt. 1, was also for 1983.
Honestly, I expected to find earlier uses of the address. Also, newspaper reports of the skull's discovery evaded my searching.
I did look at the street address using Google Maps. The building that is there in 2021 was there in at least 2007 according to the street views from that site. The building is one of those brick buildings that stands the test of time.
I think the building was constructed in 1946. A modern online advertisement I found said that the apartments were built that year. I'm thinking that missing women from that year onward are all in play, unfortunately. A missing person with some kind of connection to the address or a connection to a former resident would be interesting, I think.
As far as NamUs goes, The missing person in NamUs that might be worth looking at is Patsy Arlene Gaisor. However, the connection to the skull is very tenuous. She matches the skull in terms of NamUs's listed race and sex. Furthermore, she went missing in 1980, over two decades before the skull was found.
Her body was thought to have been dumped into the nearby Anacostia River at Anacostia Park. This park is not that long of a drive away from the address, however, it's a tenuous lead, meaning there is no significant connection. Two men were convicted of her murder in 1982. I'm not sure if there is any follow-up news on the conviction. Someone dumping a body in a river might remove the skull if they understand that dentals can be used for identification. However, that's not what was stated in the reporting for Gaisor so I'm not thinking the skull is hers. Perhaps other missing women in the area will be added to the database in time.
I don't mind people building off my notes, which I have decided not to publish online for this case. However, feel free to contact me if you are looking at this case.
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