The Lost and the Found

https://identifyus.org/en/cases/5321

Case Information
Status Unidentified
Case number 90-21
Date found December 02, 1990 00:00
Date created June 12, 2009 15:01
Date last modified December 07, 2016 10:17
Investigating agency
date QA reviewed July 10, 2011 21:50

Local Contact (ME/C or Other)
Agency McDonald Cnty Coroners Ofc
Phone 417-845-1234
Case Manager
Name Clara Land
Phone 573-526-6178

Exclusions
The following people have been ruled out as being this decedent:
First Name Last Name Year of Birth State LKA
Diane Elmore 1958 Oklahoma
Hazel Klug 1962 Virginia
Janet Knife 1959 Missouri
Meredith Medina 1972 Oklahoma
Gloria Palmer 1944 Missouri
Patricia Schmidt 1964 Virginia
Tiffany Sessions 1968 Florida
Susan Swedell 1968 Minnesota
Nadine Timm 1935 Illinois

Neosho Daily News
McDonald County detective pieces together cold case - News - Neosho Daily News - Neosho, MO - Neosho, MO

http://crimesceneinvestigations.blogspot.com/2011/04/meet-mcdonald-county-missouris-grace.html

Meet McDonald County Missouri's "Grace" Doe; Do You Know Who She Is?:



The diligent work of a detective in McDonald County has led to a facial reconstruction of a woman who was found murdered on county road over twenty years ago.
Lorie Howard has devoted hundred's of hours of her own time the last three years trying to find out who "Grace" Doe is so she can give her back her real name.
For about three weeks in late 1990 a ten year-old boy who lived on Oscar Talley Road told his parents that there was a dead person on a carport near an abandoned farmhouse. They believed at the time it was just the little boys imagination. It wasn't.
A couple collecting cans on December 2, 1990, found Grace's skull, that was wrapped in a towel, and other bones scattered in some weeds near the farmhouse and called authorities. Grace's skeletal remains had been scattered by animals, according to Howard.


When Grace's body was discovered it was badly decomposed. Do you know who she is?

Some people who live on the dirt road told investigators that they heard a woman scream and the rumbling of a loud vehicle, possibly a diesel truck, idling near the farmhouse about a week before Halloween that year.
When investigators gathered evidence the picture that was developing was disturbing.
Grace had been hogtied with several types of ropes and cable with intricate knots: Nylon rope, lead rope, coaxial cable, telephone cable, military issued parachute cord and clothesline. Both hands were behind her back and tied to one leg with a shoelace.



Detective Lorie Howard holding the bindings found on Grace's body
Howard believes Grace was **** before someone strangled her. The detective believes that because when an autopsy was performed on the woman in Columbia there were no bullet or stab wounds and no signs of blunt force trauma that would have caused her death.
A single sandy colored blonde hair was found on the collar of the jean jacket that Grace was wearing. "I believe whoever killed Grace lived or lives in the area," said Howard.
Howard believes Grace's murderer/s were familiar with the area because of how remote the area is and the layout of the road. "It's not a road you would want to get stuck on. It's bumpy and windy. They had to know the area and that the farmhouse was abandoned. I don't believe they stumbled upon the area."

Grace was bound with six different types of rope and other materials.
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In 2009, after reviewing every piece of evidence from the original investigation, Detective Howard discovered a fingernail inside an evidence bag. "When I opened it, I realized this was part of the body and that it had never been tested," Howard said.

That fingernail could be the link that ties Grace to a family member. A DNA profile was able to be constructed form the long lost evidence.

A forensic rendition of Grace was impossible for a long time because the woman's bones and skull had been missing for several years and were only recently re-discovered at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. Howard had reached out to medical examiners in Columbia and an anthropologist at U of A to help locate them and they were eventually found. "By the grace of God they found them.



Lywood's Forensic Re-creation Of "Grace" Doe
Howard says she calls her Jane Doe “Grace” because people have told her it will only be by the grace of God that she will ever solve the mystery.
After Grace's bones and skull were recovered Howard took them to Freeman Hospital in Neosho and sent the scans to forensic artist Victoria Lywood in Montreal, Canada.
Lywood sent daily updates for about two weeks to Howard. "She would tell me I worked on the eyebrows today...or I worked on the lips. The last update I had was on Thursday [April 7th]....on Friday I opened my email and the subject line said Meet Grace."
"I wanted to know her. I was sure after I saw her I would know who she was. I didn't. Now I know I'm not going to stop until I find out who she is and we get this solved."



Profile of "Grace" Doe

Howard says Lywood included shoulder length hair because that was what investigators had remembered... she even included a jean jacket. “It’s almost exactly how I pictured her,” Howard said of Grace. “The detail is amazing.”



Jean Jacket found with "Grace" Doe

Grace was probably in her mid-20's to early 30's with brown eyes, is believed to have brown eyes and auburn hair. Based on a hair sample taken from her remains, she was probably of mixed race, likely Caucasian and Native American, according to Howard.

Anthropologists believe Grace was between 5’1” and 5’4” and probably weighed around 120 pounds.

It appears that Grace had a lot of expensive dental work done.

When Grace was found she was wearing a blue denim jacket, white T-shirt, “Lee” brand blue jeans and size 7 ˝, white “Fitness” brand high-top tennis shoes.



Shoes found with "Grace" Doe
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Howard has been chasing old and new leads in the case. Yesterday she received a call from someone who had seen a picture of Grace on Facebook and believes she may know who she is. She is also looking into the case of Robin Abrams, who went missing from Illinois on October 4, 1990.


Robin Renea Abrams has been missing since Oct 4, 1990
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Abrams was a former sheriff's deputy in Will County Illinois. She was last seen by her father when she waved to him when she passed him on a road near their home in Beecher.
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Abrams had a romantic relationship with a married police officer, Anthony Marquez, before she vanished. Abrams's family stated she did not realize Marquez was married. He convinced her to join the sheriff's department; she was hired as a deputy in 1988.
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In November 1989, shortly after she ended her relationship with Marquez, she got an order of protection against him, alleging that he had harassed her and slashed her car's tires. In December 1989, she was terminated from the sheriff's department, two weeks before her probationary period was scheduled to end.
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Shortly after Abrams was fired, Marquez filed a criminal complaint against her, alleging harassment. The complaint was dismissed. Marquez was himself terminated from the police department in December 1990.
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A few months after her termination, Abrams filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful dismissal, sexual harassment and violation of civil rights. The defendants included Marquez and seven others in the sheriff's department.
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One of the first hearings in the suit was scheduled for October 22, 1990, eighteen days after she disappeared. It has not been established that the lawsuit or Abrams' problems with the sheriff's department and with Marquez had anything to do with her disappearance.
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Her disappearance was initially investigated by the Will County Sheriff's Department, but the state police took over shortly after it began, citing a possible conflict of interest.
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Even though Lywood's reconstruction of Grace doesn't appear to be a match for Abrams, Howard is trying to find someone who will compare X-rays of Abrams' thigh bone and spine to compare them with Grace's bones that were recently recovered.
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Abrams is Illinois oldest active missing adult case on the National Center for Missing Adults website.
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The Jasper County sheriff's office has provided her with information on three women who went missing during that time (not the Three Missing Women from Springfield.) Ironically, one of the is named Grace.



Pencil Sketch Of "Grace" Doe

http://www.koamtv.com/story/14310951/a-southwest-missouri-cold-case-heats-up

A southwest Missouri cold case heats up
Updated: Jun 09, 2011 9:47 AM EDT

It's a southwest Missouri murder case that dates back more than twenty years. Now, there's a new twist that could shed some light on a case that had gone cold. Back in 1990 a decomposed body was found in McDonald County -- the identity never known. KOAM and FOX 14's Zach Fletcher reports on a pivotal break in the case of Grace Doe.

This was the scene twenty years ago -- December of 1990 when a couple found a body near an old house between Lanagan and Pineville, Missouri.


"Says Linda I think I see a skull. I said surely not. He says yeah and I went back and there was this skull then you started looking around and you could see part -- the rest of her over on the concrete slab." says Grohler.

Linda Grohler and her husband found the skeletal remains. Grohler says it is a memory she will always have.

"You were always left with what if we could have helped. What if we could have heard." says Grohler

Since the homicide twenty years ago, the house where Grace Doe's body was found has been demolished. That wasn't the only evidence lost....somehow as the bones were transferred from one specialist to another, they were misplaced.

"Cases that are this old, things get scattered because they get sent to different places, and that is exactly what happened." says Howard


McDonald County Sheriff's detective Lorie Howard has taken on the case non-stop for the last three years. A co-worker told her "only by the grace of god will she solve the case." and she began calling the Jane Doe, Grace. Through the years, with the help of the community, she has been able to gather more pieces to the puzzling case. And this week, she received welcome news-- the missing skeleton was discovered at a medical examiners office in Columbia.

"Having now found the skeletal remains, I'm thrilled, absolutely thrilled." says Lorie Howard

Detective Howard has the binding and clothing of the female victim. Grace was bound by six different types of wiring -- nylon rope, lead rope, co-ax cable, telephone cable, para-cord and clothesline. Howard says she doesn't believe Grace was from around this area. But it is possible the killer is from or at least knew the area.

"I'd love to find out who she is or who she was. I'd love for her parents to know. That I would.

"I think everybody is entitled to rest at some point and I strongly believe it's time for her to rest." says Howard.

The case of grace doe will be getting a face in a few weeks with the help of a facial reconstructionist , hopefully gaining more information in this cold case. Howard says from some of the evidence, they are able to tell she was 5-foot-one to 5-foot-four with a slender build. She had darker curly hair and was in her mid to late twenties when she was killed. If you have any tips you are urged to call the McDonald County Sheriff's Department. Tomorrow morning, the skull will be given a c-t scan by freeman in Neosho and those images sent to the reconstructionist.

http://z13.invisionfree.com/PorchlightUSA/ar/t18099.htm



The jaw bone of Grace Doe was among skeletal remains rediscovered at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.


Grace Doe was hogtied with a variety of bindings, including nylon rope, lead rope, coaxial and telephone cable, parachute cord and clothesline.

http://icaremissingpersonscoldcases.yuku.com/topic/1392#.WWFnQYRuK1s

Dental
Dental information / charting is currently not available
Dental information / charting is available and will be entered later
Dental information / charting below
X-rays available
Models available
Photographs available
One or more teeth present
Baby/primary teeth present
Filling or crown present
Removable dentures
Cemented bridge
Implants
Braces
Retainer
Root canal
Upper jaw present
Upper jaw had no teeth during life
Lower jaw present
Lower jaw had no teeth during life
Upper Right 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Upper Left
N F F F A N N P P N N A F F F P
Lower Right F F F A N N N N N N N F A F F F Lower Left
32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17
N
=
Natural tooth, no filling
F
=
Filling, inlay, onlay, or veneer
C
=
Crown or Cap
B
=
Part of a Bridge
R
=
Root Canal
A
=
Antemortem loss (healed socket)
P
=
Postmortem loss (open socket)
I
=
Impacted
O
=
Other features (describe in dental comments)
Comments
Dental x-rays available, dental models and or photographs available. Well cared orthodontic patient, excellent occlusion tooth.

DNA
Sample is currently not available
Sample available - Not yet submitted
Samples submitted - Tests not complete
Complete - Insufficient DNA for profiling
Complete and entered
Type mtDNA nucDNA
Location Other
Describe Location State Lab
Reference #
Lab ORI

https://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/hope-for-neoshos-grace-doe/

Hope for Neosho’s Grace Doe
June 17, 2012 By Alice



Hope for Neosho’s Grace Doe. Her her case may be televised nationally! “McDonald County sheriff’s detective Lori Howard said Thursday that she received a call last week from a producer of the TV show America’s Most Wanted about doing a episode on the cold case that Howard reopened several years ago.”

Grace’s skeletal remains were found on Dec. 2, 1990, in a weeded area near an abandoned farmhouse on Oscar Talley Road, east of Lanagan, in McDonald County. Det. Howard found out that a 10-year-old boy had actually found Grace’s body about month before she was “officially” discovered by a couple picking up cans along the road. By that time, the body was already decomposed to a large extent and wild animals had gotten to it as well. A month earlier, it would have been mostly intact, however, as Grace is thought to have been murdered on Halloween night, based on the report of a witness who said she heard a woman scream and then a noisy pickup truck drove by.

A few days after Halloween, the unknown 10-year-old reportedly told his parents about seeing a woman’s body near the abandoned house he played in but they didn’t believe him. It was only after media reports came out in December on the murdered Jane Doe that the parents realized their mistake and came forward about their son’s early discovery.

The boy, who would now be in his early 30s, is the only known person to have seen Grace’s body intact. Frustratingly, neither the boy’s name nor that of his parents was ever recorded, and nobody remembers who they were.



It would be a great advancement for the case if we can find that boy, now of course a man. This is not about anything he might have done wrong. This is about everything he remembers. A tiny details can make a big difference in a cold case.

The green parachute cord used to hogtie Grace Doe more than 20 years ago was military issue.



Detective Lorie Howard has stated that she believes the bindings are the key to solving the case. Last week, she told the Daily that she has untangled at least some of the mystery with the discovery that the paracord used to bind Grace was not available commercially. This improves the chances that it came from a military base.

What she found out was that it isn’t the common 550 paracord, as had been thought. It is actually a MIL-C-5040H Type II cord. That’s military issue. What makes this type different, Howard said, is that instead of the normal seven strands, it has four. As with most military issue paracords, this one has a color code on the inside of one of the strands that helps identify the manufacturer. Howard believes she has tracked it to a company called Continental, which in the early 1990s sold pretty much exclusively to the U.S. military, according to Howard. That tells her something she has already long suspected. “It tells me I need to look locally (for the killer),” Howard said.”

If you recognize Grace, please contact Detective Lorie Howard at 417-223-7430.

A couple collecting cans on December 2, 1990, found Grace's skull, that was wrapped in a towel, and other bones scattered in some weeds near the farmhouse and called authorities. Grace's skeletal remains had been scattered by animals, according to Howard.

How did the skull get wrapped in a towel? It wasn't a skull until decomposition. Did the murderer decapitate her?