NamUs #UP1234 (Attempt to Match) -- Unidentified Remains from December 15th, 1985

By: Shane Lambert

Unidentified Person: NamUs #UP1234

NamUs #UP1234 is a Jane Doe that hitchhikers discovered on December 15th, 1985. The journalism near the time of the discovery associated her with a series of bodies that were discovered in the area. She was the 5th body discovered in the area in 1985.

According to NamUs, these were "Human remains...found in an isolated wooded area northeast of the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Palm Bay Rd in West Melbourne, FL." Other sources also state that the remains were found near Dairy Road. NamUs, at the time of writing, lists the human remains as those of a male, however, I would suggest that the composite sketch depicts a female. Furthermore, the newspaper articles I reviewed considered the individual to be a Jane Doe instead of a John Doe.

Newspaper coverage at about the time of the discovery

One reference that I believe pertains to this Doe is from the December 30th, 1985 edition of Florida Today. That journalism by Michael Lafferty claims that this Jane Doe was part of five women who were discovered deceased under the headline "Authorities keep mum on murders."  The excerpt below matches the location of where the body was found in NamUs. Also, it matches the time frame as two weeks before December 30th would have been December 16th, which is just one day off of the December 15th discovery,

December 30th, 1985. Florida Today.

December 16th, 1985. The Orlando Sentinel.

NamUs lists this person as having died at about the time of the discovery (0 months for PMI). The age range given is 36-45 years old. Her height is estimated to be 5'6" and no weight estimate is given.

One matter that did not make sense with NamUs is that the person's remains were listed as "near skeletal." I would think that would mean that she had been dead for at least a few months and the 0 months for PMI that NamUs lists therefore is not correct. It's clear that this profile is not accurate, given that the sex is wrong as per several other sources.

Dark blue pants with purple buttons and an elastic waistband were discovered near the body. Also, there was a floral print short sleeve blouse and underwear of color unknown.

The designation of the Doe as a male appears to be a mistake. Anyone looking at this case should cross-reference with missing women.

I think any amateurs cross-referencing this to women who are missing in the area should broaden all the criteria. 

Attempts to Match

Patti Lou Volansky, pictured below, went missing on March 15th, 1985. For time and space gaps, that's nine months prior and 40 miles to the north. However, the clothing she was thought to have does not match the Jane Doe.

Tammy Lepert, pictured below beside the Jane Doe, is a closer facial match to the composite sketch of the Jane Doe. She went missing in July of 1983. For a time gap, that's almost 2.5 years between her "last seen" date and the discovery of the Jane Doe's skeletal remains. She went missing in Cocoa Beach, Florida, which is just 27 miles from where the Jane Doe was discovered.

The gap of time is not necessarily a reason to rule this out as a match because the remains were skeletal. That could be anywhere upward of three months. I would say that as far as composite sketches go, she is a very reasonable hit. The parting hair as depicted by the forensic artist is a match.

The height between the two is off by about two inches. However, investigators have trouble getting someone's exact height from skeletal remains.The clothing between the two does not match (pants vs skirt). However, Tammy had a floral design on her shirt and the Jane Doe did as well. There would be a large age gap between the two as the Jane Doe, at the younger side, was thought to be 36 while Leppert was 18 when she went missing.

Prognosis: it's doubtful that either of these two missing persons match.