Author Topic: SUMTER JANE DOE (1976): WF, 18-25, found near I-95, 9 August 1976 *GRAPHIC* *Pamela Mae Buckley*  (Read 272 times)

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Linked entry NamUs UP # 13772

On August 9, 1976, the bodies of an unidentified white male and white female were discovered on a dirt road 1/2 mile from Interstate 95 and Highway 341 in Northeast Sumter County. The road is known as Locklair Road, a frontage road just off the interstate. Both victims were shot multiple times.

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https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/13773/details?nav



Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP13773Female, White / Caucasian
Date Body Found
August 9, 1976
Location Found
Northeast Sumter County, South Carolina
Estimated Age Range
18-25 Years

Case Information
Case Numbers

NCMEC Number
--
ME/C Case Number
76672-A Sumter SO

Demographics

Sex
Female
Race / Ethnicity
White / Caucasian
--
Estimated Age Group
Adult - Pre 30
Estimated Age Range (Years)
18-25
Estimated Year of Death
1976
Estimated PMI
Days
Height
5' 5"(65 inches) , Measured
Weight
105 lbs, Measured

Circumstances
Type
Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found
August 9, 1976
NamUs Case Created
April 27, 2015
ME/C QA Reviewed
--
Location Found Map
Location
Northeast Sumter County, South Carolina
County
Sumter County
GPS Coordinates (Not Mapped)
--
Circumstances of Recovery
Linked entry NamUs UP # 13772

On August 9, 1976, the bodies of an unidentified white male and white female were discovered on a dirt road 1/2 mile from Interstate 95 and Highway 341 in Northeast Sumter County. The road is known as Locklair Road, a frontage road just off the interstate. Both victims were shot multiple times.

The only potential identifiers found at the scene was a ring worn by the male that had the initials “JPF” inscribed. The ring was described as being of a Far Eastern design. see images

Details of Recovery
Inventory of Remains
All parts recovered
Condition of Remains
Recognizable face

Physical Description
Hair Color
Brown
Head Hair Description
reddish-brown, shoulder-length hair
Body Hair Description
--
Facial Hair Description
--
Left Eye Color
Hazel
Right Eye Color
Hazel
Eye Description
--
Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
PiercingPierced ears.
Scar/markTwo distinctive moles on the left side of her face near her mouth.
No surgical scars.

Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Clothing unbleached white muslin blouse over a pink, front-tying halter top, and blue cutoff denim shorts with a floral print scarf tied around her waist as a belt On the Body
Footwear lavender and pink Stride-Rite brand wedge-heeled sandals On the Body
Jewelry three silver rings, see IMAGES tab On the Body

Investigating Agencies
CASE OWNER
Sumter County Sheriff's Office
(803) 436-2000

Agency Case Number
76672








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http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/189ufsc.html

   

   

   





Reconstructions of the victim (mole locations approximate); victim's jewelry and dental charting. To view post-mortem of the victim, click here.

Date of Discovery: August 9, 1976
Location of Discovery: Sumter County, South Carolina
Estimated Date of Death: Less than 24 hours
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Homicide by gunshot

Physical Description

Estimated Age: 18-25 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 100 to 105 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown, medium length
Eye Color: Blue-gray, blue-green or hazel
Distinguishing Marks/Features: She had two small hair moles on her left cheek and another on the right side of her face. Mole behind right leg (calf). Pierced ears, no surgical scars. She was attractive and had very long eyelashes. Although both the woman and man were white, investigators described their skin as smooth, with olive undertones. The girl had unshaven legs.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. No elaborate dental work. Missing upper and lower wisdom teeth on right. Has upper and lower wisdom teeth on left. Has fillings in all back teeth. If she were to smile, her teeth in the front would give an even appearance.
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Sample submitted - Tests complete

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: She was wearing cutoff blue jeans, a pink halter top that tied in the front and an unbleached muslin blouse. She was also wearing a pair of Stride Rite, wedge heeled sandals with lavender, pink and purple straps.

Jewelry: Three Silver rings that resembled American Indian or Mexican handmade jewelry. One piece was a faceted band with red, white and blue stones. Another ring had a oblong black stone. The third was a large, intricate feather scroll band with a jade insert into the curves of the scroll.

Additional Personal Items: Unknown.

Circumstances of Discovery
In 1976 this female and her companion were found dead on a secluded Sumter County, South Carolina dirt road between Interstate 95 and SC 341. They were located by a truck driver who pulled off to rest at what was commonly known as Locklair Road, a frontage road just off the interstate. Neither had any identification. They had both been shot in the throat, chest and back.

On August 9, 1976, a man living in the sticks between Sumter and Florence heard a car scuttling down a narrow frontage road connecting Interstate 95 to S.C. 341. Someone climbed out. Gunshots echoed in the early morning, then the car raced back onto the highway.

They had no money on them, but there were several clues that led investigators to believe that the couple might have been well-to-do or perhaps even from another country.

Investigators wondered if they had been hitchhiking cross country, or if they had been victims of a carjacking.

They were a clean-cut looking pair. Authorities speculated they might even be brother and sister. DNA testing, however, later proved they were not related.

No drugs or alcohol were found on their bodies. They were not smokers. And neither had on underwear.

Investigators had checked out every lead, including trying to identify them through their fingerprints and using the serial number on the man's watch in hopes of trying to track down the jewelry store where he might have bought the piece of jewelry. Officials with Interpol as well as U.S. Customs investigators and immigration authorities also had been alerted. Contact were made with agencies in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and in the Mediterranean.

The autopsy revealed the pair had eaten fruit or ice cream with fruit not long before they died so investigators were certain the two must have bought the food from a local eatery or store. Someone remembered seeing a couple matching the dead couple's descriptions at a fruit stand that was located off the Florence Highway, but the person couldn't say whether the man and woman were with someone else or if they were riding in a car.

Months after the homicide, an employee of KOA campgrounds near Santee, S.C., called authorities, believing he had earlier made friends with the dead man, who went by the name “Jock,” according to documents in the case file.

Jock, or more likely, Jacques, stayed a few days at the campgrounds with his young female companion, then left for Florida. He and his girlfriend stopped at the campgrounds again on their way back.

The two men became friends. While shooting pool, Jacques told the KOA worker he was the son of a prominent doctor in Canada who had disowned him for giving up on his own career in medicine. He was taking a vacation of sorts, traveling the country aimlessly.

Before leaving, he tried to pawn an expensive ring to the employee, who later told authorities that the ring had looked a lot like the one found on the mystery man.

Inside his pocket was a book of Grants Truck Stop matches, which could only be found in Idaho, New Mexico and Nebraska. Authorities think Jacques passed through these places on his travels.

There are speculations that this female is an exchange student from the Middle East.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Sumter County Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: Randy McQueen
Agency Phone Number: 803-436-2790
Agency Case Number: 76672-A Sumter SO

Agency Name: Sumter County Coroner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Verna Moore
Agency Phone Number: 803-436-2111

NCIC Case Number: U820001602
NamUs Case Number: 13773

Information Source(s)
NamUs
Wikipedia
Harvey Pratt
South Carolina Snitch
Sumter County Sheriff's Office
WIS TV
WLTX 19 (6/12/07)

Admin Notes
Added: 7/22/00; Last Updated: 4/4/18

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https://calebandlindapirtle.com/mystery-of-the-sumter-county-does/



Mystery of the Sumter County Does
FEBRUARY 3, 2014
SARA MARIE HOGG
Police artist sketches of John and Jane Doe in Sumter County, South Carolina.
Police artist sketches of John and Jane Doe in Sumter County, South Carolina.
What in the world are Sumter County Does?  Could they be a girls’ drill team that performed at halftime for a football team called the Stags or Bucks?  Are they a type of female deer that is indigenous to only Sumter County?  There are several Sumter Counties in the USA.

Melba wondered these things as she kept running across this entry on web lists while doing research on strange mysteries.  She decided to delve further.

The Sumter County Does are in fact John and Jane Doe, found murdered 400 meters off of I-95 in a pine-tree riddled spot of Sumter County, South Carolina on August 9, 1976 by a passing trucker.  That was the year of all the Bicentennial celebrations on television and elsewhere, Melba thought.  Many people traveled to the nation’s capitol for history’s sake.  I, myself was one, although it was by plane and in the month of April.  The couple had been shot in the back after they stepped from the rear of a van.*  The murderer then rolled them over and shot them again in the necks, under their chins to make sure they were dead.  The young man was thought to be in his early twenties, the young woman was most probably in her late teens or early twenties.  They had both eaten a fruity-milky concoction shortly before death.  They were both clean and had taken showers within the last twenty-four hours.  John Doe had a four inch appendectomy scar.  They did not have any drugs or alcohol in their systems.  Various reports listed them as “wealthy,” because of expensive dental work the young man had, his expensive watch, and other jewelry. No, not for sure wealthy, Melba thought.  Middle class people often splurge on expensive dental work.  The watch was nice, but why not a Rolex, if wealthy? And truly old money wealthy people did not have the need to show off their wealth with bling.  Young people such as these might be the exception.   They neither one had on underwear.  No underwear?  Clean people that they were, that seems odd!  Jane Doe’s legs were not shaven.

Mousey little Melba’s mind started working overtime when she got to the part about no underwear.  She put on her detective hat.  Had they been kidnapped, forced to make a **** movie at gunpoint, then forced to dress hastily, and exit the van* to be murdered?  That was kind of far-fetched and there was no evidence of their ever turning up in a **** movie, anywhere.  The killer then drove off in a cloud of dust, taking the underwear with him? Possible but nutty.  Hmmmm.  Maybe it was a **** movie and their faces were not visible.  Melba tossed this idea aside, as their autopsies would probably have indicated such activity and that was not mentioned.

Do I dare look at post mortem photos, if they are available? Melba decided to take a chance.  She found the ones that the police sketches had been made from.  The coroner had covered the bodies up with sheets so that only the heads were showing.  In other photos, the mouths and eyes were open.  Are those really that way, or was that feature added by an artist?  It was hard to tell.  Melba decided to do more research.

After thirty minutes of searching on the web, Melba found the crime scene photo.  The bodies were on the grass, kind of splayed out.  You could not see the faces closely.  Another half hour of research revealed another photo.  It was horrible.  A crime scene photo had been blown up and posted in a chat room about cold cases.  It was of their death faces.  Are their faces frozen that way due to trauma or are they in some stage of rigor?  Melba could not tell.  Their eyes were open and their mouths were open, it seemed, in horror.   Descriptions of the woman had included that she had extra thick and long eyelashes—more so than most—and that she had two unique moles on the left side of her face.  Her teeth were straight.  She had been very attractive and you could see all of this in the death photo.  The young man was described as having thick, bushy, dark eyebrows.  Most of his mouth was filled with extensive dental restorations. They both had olive skin.  They were both brunette, her eyes brownish-green, his brown.  Again, you could see all of this in the photos.

Why did someone not come forward and report these young people missing in almost forty years?  Surely families were missing them.  Theories ran rampant:  They were Canadians.  They were from Argentina or another South American country.  They were under a witness-protection program. They were drug-runners.  It was a contract hit.  Why?

Years ago a man was arrested for DWI in South Carolina, Lonnie George Henry.  A gun was found in his possession.  The serial number had been partially filed away.  It proved to be the gun that had killed the young couple.  He took a polygraph.  He did not kill them, the polygraph indicated, but he was being deceptive about where he had gotten the gun in the first place.  A relative admitted giving him the .357 Smith and Wesson for a birthday.  It had had all of the serial numbers when given, the relative insisted.  Mr. Henry finally admitted that he had filed the numbers off himself, but why?  Did he loan the gun to someone, then have a fear for how the person had used it?  He died in 1982 without giving any more information.  Could he have gotten so inebriated that he killed them and had no memory of it, thus tricking the polygraph?  Was he in a blackout of some kind?

Robbery does not seem to be a motive.  The jewelry and watch were left on the bodies (unless they had a huge wad of cash on them that was taken, and no one has an answer to that, naturally).  The young man’s ring has the initials, “JPF” engraved on the inside of the band.

The bodies were kept sealed in a funeral home for a time in hopes of identification.  Their caskets had windows for viewing the faces.  They were later buried in a parish cemetery, to be exhumed and tested for DNA, then buried again.  Their fingerprints have been sent to most data bases and warehouses for such.  Still there are no answers.

Melba was bothered by all of these questions.  Days of research on the Worldwide Web had not provided any more answers.  Was she searching in the wrong place?  Hmmm.  What would happen if I contacted the Sheriff’s Department?  That would be kind of nervy of me.  They don’t have time to mess with the “merely curious.”  After a few hours of thinking it over she decided to send the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department an email.  A phone call would be too disruptive.  There were three questions she wanted answered—answers that she had not found in her research, that they should know by now.  She was shocked when Lt. Robert Burnish sent a speedy reply and answered all three of her questions:

DNA testing has proven that John and Jane Doe were NOT siblings or otherwise related by blood.
There was no indication of European descent through DNA
As far as the quote “they stepped from a VAN”* there is no idea why that is quoted in web accounts.  There was no vehicle, (van or otherwise) in the area.
Lt. Robert Burnish also stated, “if your readers have, or pass on, any information, we would love to hear from you.”

Lt. Robert Burnish

Criminal Investigations

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office

1281 North Main Street

Sumter, S.C. 29153

803-436-2017

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http://www.sumtermysterycouple.com/



​​​​​BACKGROUND:



This young couple was found murdered in August of 1976. Their story is one of the better known cases, yet despite all the coverage they still remain in graves marked unknown. Somewhere out there are two families wondering where their loved ones are.  Do you know who they are? Can you help us finally get them home?

In 1976 this couple was found murdered execution style on a secluded Sumter County, South Carolina dirt road near 1-95. They both were found with gunshot wounds to the back, chest and finishing shots to their throats.  Neither had any identification, and there were few clues as to their identities.



Investigators had checked out every lead, including trying to identify them through their fingerprints and using the serial number on the man's watch in hopes of trying to track down the jewelry store where he might have bought the piece of jewelry. Dental records were published in national dental journals. Officials with Interpol as well as U.S. Customs investigators and immigration authorities also had been alerted. Their case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, Court TV, Readers Digest and other publications, yet investigators are just as stumped as the day they were found.



In December of 1976, a truck driver named George Lonnie Henry from Wadesboro, NC was stopped in SC for driving under the influence. He had in his possession a stolen gun with a scratched-off serial number that was ultimately determined through ballistics to be the murder weapon.  Subsequent interviews and polygraphs yielded mixed results as to whether or not he was the one responsible for their murders. According to George Henry's statement he was a few hours away at the bed-side of his ailing wife at a NC hospital. The chain of custody of the gun remains a mystery as well. George Henry claims that his brother, Jim Henry had given it to him as a gift. Since several months had elapsed since the murders, it is difficult to verify George Henry's alibi or to verify who actually had possession of the gun at the time of the murders. The gun was originally stolen by a group of thieves in the Raleigh-Durham area, before the Henry's came into possession of the gun.  Could it be possible that another person or persons had possession of the gun at the time of the murders and that George Henry had no involvement?



CLUES:



1. The John Doe was wearing a linde star ring with the initials "JPF" inscribed in it.



2. The John Doe had a pack of matches from "Grant's" truck stop. There are three Grant's truck stops in the US;  (York, NE), (Lupton, AZ) and (boise, ID).



3. A mechanic in York, NE stated he thought he had worked on a van with  WA or OR plates that matched the couple's description.



4. The Jane Doe has two distinctive moles on her left cheek.



5. The John Doe had a "1975 IMSA( International Motor Sports Association) Camel GT" shirt from the 1975 IMSA Sebring race in Florida. This shirt was only sold at the Florida Sebring race. Some people have  speculated that the John Doe might have a connection to IMSA racing. In fact, the weekend the couple was murdered there was an IMSA race at Talladega Motor Speedway. It be might be possible they attended the race and were on their way back home.



PREVAILING THEORIES:

* These theories are not necessarily the opinions of sumtermysterycouple.com. These  theories are based on a compilation of various interviews and internet resources.  These are only  theories  and should not be considered factual accounts.



1. The most common theory is that the couple was involved in drug smuggling and/or organized crime of some sort.  This type of execution style murder is synonymous with a mafia style hit which suggests they were targeted for some reason. It wasn't until several years later that it was discovered that drug smuggling was running rampant within the ranks of IMSA racing(remember the John Doe was wearing a IMSA shirt from the '75 florida, Sebring race).  In the 1980's several IMSA racers and race teams including John Paul Sr. , the Whittington brothers and  Randy Lanier  were convicted of drug smuggling. These were not small time drug smugglers. They were part of a multi-million dollar criminal organization who were smuggling TONS of drugs into the United Sates. These racers and race teams had strong ties with organized crime and even with the CIA.



There was also an enormous amount of local corruption  in this small area near where the bodies were found . Several prominent business men and politicians were implicated in at least three murder for hire schemes. These schemes implicated  a local bank president, Charlie Dorn Smith, and a local Mayor, Clayton Bingham, among others. There was another incident just a few months prior to the mystery couple murder in which a Police chief was murdered by another officer in very suspicious circumstances just a few miles from where the mystery couple was murdered in the sleepy small town of Olanta.  Could this couple have been involved with these racers and/or these local thugs which ultimately lead to their demise?



links:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Sr._(racing_driver)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Whittington

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Lanier

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1980&dat=19890514&id=PmYxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UaoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1432,2459421&hl=en





2. The couple has already been identified and the government or rogue elements are keeping their identities a secret. The most recent lead from 2012 suggests that the mystery couple is Michael and Cordelia Mcminn who were suspected of being high-jacked at sea near Washington state in June of 1976. This lead was relayed to local authorities; however, there has been no word of whether or not a comparison was done to confirm or deny this suspicion. The likeness between the McMinns and the unidentified couple is uncanny.  According to NAMUS, a national database of missing and unidentified persons, the McMinn family submitted DNA for comparison, but the results of that comparison has yet to be released. Another missing couple from Canada, Ron and Terry Yakimchuk who went missing in 1973,  were also submitted for comparison  and the results of that comparison have yet to be released either.  



Links:



http://www.city-data.com/forum/south-carolina/222815-sumter-county-john-jane-doe-1976-a-3.html

http://www.singletonfamily.org/getperson.php?personID=I280980







3. The couple were travelers(possibly foreign travelers) who were car-jacked.



4. The couple was in the witness protection program. The government knows who the couple are and may have already notified the family. For some reason the government didn't want to identify them at time, maybe because they didn't want to jeopardize a bigger case or endanger undercover agents. Hypothetically, if that were true It is not clear what the government's motive would be to continue to allow the couple to remain unidentified. Maybe it is to prevent embarrassment or maybe they don't have an obligation to identify them. Moreover, It could be that these murders are related to an organized crime case that has already been settled and the government would just prefer it to stay that way.



5. The couple was killed by their family for some reason. This might explain why the family has never came forward to identify them.



6. The couple was part of some covert military program.



7. The couple was fleeing Chile or Argentina during the Dirty Wars. The couple was described as having an olive skin tone, the Jane Doe had unshaven legs and neither were wearing underwear which have lead many to speculate that they were from a South American country.



8. The couple were somehow associated with a mobster named John Roselli.  John Roselli was, perhaps, most known for his connection to the Kennedy assassination. John Roselli had testified before the Warren Commission that he believed rogue elements within the CIA in conjunction with the Mafia had been responsible for JFK's assassination. The Warren Commission had wanted to recall Roselli for further testimony before he was found floating in a barrel  near Miami. His case remains unsolved as well.  Subscribers of this theory point to the fact that the body of Roselli was found floating in a bay near Miami the same day the couple was murdered, leading some speculate that there is a connection to the case. They also point to the fact the John Doe was wearing a shirt from Sebring, FL which is relatively close to Miami. Moreover, It is not uncommon for mafia style  hits to be carried out in groups.



Link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Roselli





Considering the complexity of the case, the possible organized crime element, numerous discrepancies, and the fact that this case overlaps state boundaries it would seem prudent that an outside agency like the FBI should investigate this case.





OTHER LINKS:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumter_County_Does

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?54847-Mystery-couple-murdered-in-South-Carolina-1976-1

http://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/2apmee/sumter_county_does_1976/

http://doenetwork.org/cases/198umsc.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/south-carolina/222815-sumter-county-john-jane-doe-1976-a.html

http://www.nationalpost.com/multimedia/photos/gallery/index.html?id=407163

http://chaseofthecondor.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html

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http://dnadoeproject.org/case/sumter-jock-doe-1976/

Sumter Jock Doe 1976


Description
In the early morning hours of August 9, 1976 a man heard a car and gun shots from his home near Locklair Road, a narrow frontage road between Sumter and Florence, South Carolina. Later that day a truck driver discovered the bodies of an unidentified male and female who had been shot numerous times in the chest, throat and back. The young couple carried no money, but investigators believe they may have been well-to-do foreigners who may have been victims of a carjacking. They were a well-dressed, nice looking pair. Initially the two were thought to have been brother and sister, but DNA testing later proved no familial relationship between them.

NamUs UP13772
Date Found August 9, 1976
Race White / Caucasian
Sex Male
Age 18-30
PMI Days
Location Northeast Sumter County, SC

Agency of Jurisdiction
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office
Charles, Bonner, Investigator
803-436-2000

Links to More Information

https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/13772
http://www.sumtermysterycouple.com/
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/198umsc.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumter_County_Does

Status
Undergoing testing

Image Credit: Carl Koppelman

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https://www.wistv.com/story/4952583/cold-case-mystery-unidentified-sumter-co-murder-victims/

Cold Case Mystery: Unidentified Sumter Co. murder victims
May 26, 2006 at 3:05 AM EDT - Updated July 27 at 1:25 AM


(Sumter) May 25, 2006 - There are two bodies buried in a cemetery in Sumter, but no one knows their names. After almost 30 years the case still haunts Sumter County Coroner Verna Moore.

But she won't give up on her silent victims. "I feel there is possibly someone who knows who they are."

She wants that person to come forward.

Not only are their identities a mystery, but their killer or killers are as well.

Their bodies were found off Highway 341. They were both shot three times, once in the throat, chest and back.

A longtime resident, Jerry Locklair, still remembers that August day the bodies were found. The once-dirt road was closed for days. "The community wasn't so upset as much as curious as to what happened. It was evident it was something off I-95. We'd just like to see it resolved at sometime."

There were several clues that led investigators to believe the two were wealthy. The woman was wearing a ring. The man also had a ring and an expensive Bulova watch.

Moore says, "They were clean, neat. She was beautiful, real pretty girl. He was also."

Moore wants to look into the case further. She even wants to dig up one body to get a set of teeth.

Through the years, the case aired on national news programs generating thousands of tips, but the leads fell through, leaving Moore right back at the beginning with a stack of papers, pictures, and questions. "We don't know if they're brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend or just friends."

Moore doesn't think the two were from Sumter, but she knows someone out there knows them. "I wish if anyone knows them they would come forward."

And Moore could finally put a name to the faces she's been staring at for nearly 30 years.

If you have information, call the Sumter County Coroner's Office at 803-436-2111.

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http://dnadoeproject.org/case/sumter-jock-doe-1976/

Description
In the early morning hours of August 9, 1976 a man heard a car and gun shots from his home near Locklair Road, a narrow frontage road between Sumter and Florence, South Carolina. Later that day a truck driver discovered the bodies of an unidentified male and female who had been shot numerous times in the chest, throat and back. The young couple carried no money, but investigators believe they may have been well-to-do foreigners who may have been victims of a carjacking. They were a well-dressed, nice looking pair. Initially the two were thought to have been brother and sister, but DNA testing later proved no familial relationship between them.

NamUs UP13772
Date Found August 9, 1976
Race White / Caucasian
Sex Male
Age 18-30
PMI Days
Location Northeast Sumter County, SC

Agency of Jurisdiction
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office
Charles, Bonner, Investigator
803-436-2000

Links to More Information

https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/13772
http://www.sumtermysterycouple.com/
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/198umsc.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumter_County_Does

Status
Undergoing testing

Image Credit: Carl Koppelman

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https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Sumter_County_Does

Sumter County Does



Real Name: Unknown
Nicknames: Jock and Jane Doe
Location: Sumter, South Carolina
Date: August 9, 1976

BioEdit
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Birth: 1954-1958 (Jock); 1956-1958 (Jane)
Height: 6' (Jock); 5'5" (Jane)
Weight: 150 pounds (Jock); 100 pounds (Jane)
Marital Status: Unknown
Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown eyes, brown hair. He had extensive dental work which included bridges and crowns. He had an expensive watch and a ring inscribed "JPF" (Jock); Caucasian female. Brown hair, blu-ish eyes. She had two distinct moles on the left side of her face. She was wearing two distinct Mexican-style rings. (Jane)

CaseEdit
Details: In August 1976, a young couple was found shot to death by a trucker on a remote road in Sumter, South Carolina. Their similar features made police believe that they may be related, possibly brother and sister, and they carried no identification. On August 9, a witness heard a car driving down a dirt road to where their bodies were later found. He heard gunshots, and then heard the car drive quickly back onto the highway. Investigators believe that they may have been well-to-do, or from another country. They may have been hitchhiking across the United States or were the victims of a carjacking. No drugs or alcohol were found in their bodies, nor were they wearing underwear or had any money. An autopsy revealed that they had eaten fruit or ice cream with that, and a witness reported seeing a couple matching their description at a local fruit stand.
Months after the murder, an employee of a Santee, South Carolina campground claimed that he had met them weeks before their death. He said that the man's name was either "Jock" or "Jacques" and that he and his companion were going to Florida. They soon became friends. He later said that he was the son of a doctor in Canada, and that he and the woman were on vacation. Neither they nor their killers have ever been identified.
Suspects: In 1977, a man in Latta, South Carolina was arrested for driving while intoxicated. A gun was located in his possession; it was determined through ballistics testing to be the murder weapon. The owner of the gun denied any involvement in the murders. He was never charged in the case.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the January 20, 1995 episode which focused on coroners. It also featured the cases of 1987 Jane Doe from Dana Point, California and 1990 Jane Doe from Huntington Beach.
Results: Unsolved. DNA testing later confirmed that the two were not biologically related. It is believed that they were either in a relationship. Several missing couples have been considered in the case; however, they have all been ruled out.
Links:

The Sumter County Does on Wikipedia
Website on the Sumter County Does
Sumter County Does at Sumter County Sheriff's Office
Jane and John Doe at the Doe Network
Search Begins For Identities of Slain Youths
Victims Still Unidentified
Bodies remain unidentified
Jane and John Doe at Find a Grave

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumter_County_Does



Sumter County Does

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sumter County Does, also known as Jock Doe and Jane Doe,[1] were two unidentified homicide victims found in Sumter County, South Carolina, on August 9, 1976.[2] They had apparently traveled through various places in the United States before being killed in South Carolina. This was inferred from some of their belongings.[3]


The crime scene, depicting both victims' bodies as discovered
Each victim had been shot three times, receiving one shot in the throat, one in the chest, and one in the back.[4][5] The weapon used was believed to be a .357 caliber revolver.[6]

Sumter County Coroner Verna Moore continued to work on the case until her retirement in 2009. The case remains unsolved. Neither of the victims' identities has been discovered, despite the fact that their descriptions, sketches of their faces, dental information, and fingerprints have been distributed across the United States.[5][7][8]

Authorities have decided to halt the investigation until the victims can be identified.[9]

The male victim had been referred to as "Jock", which may have originated from the French name "Jacques," indication he may have been from French Canada. A man who claimed he had met the victims stated that he was told by the male victim that he had left his Canadian family with his girlfriend. The male victim had furthermore stated that his father was a well known doctor; this supported the theory that his family was wealthy.

Discovery of the bodies
In the early morning hours of August 9, 1976, the young man and woman were said to have been seen from a distance by a hermit. It was said they had been dropped off on Locklair Road, a secluded dirt road between I-95 and S.C. 341 (Lynches River Road).[7][10][11]

It is possible that the victims had had their vehicle hijacked, possibly by hitchhikers.[3][12] Then, upon their exiting the vehicle, someone may have shot them both in the back.[2][11]

At 6:20 a.m., a trucker named Martin Durant found the bodies and contacted Charles Graham, an employee at a nearby store. Graham, in turn, contacted the authorities.

"Jock Doe"


Mortuary photograph of male victim
Born 1946–1958 (approximate)
Status Unidentified for 43 years, 4 months and 5 days
Died August 9, 1976 (aged 18-30)
Sumter County, South Carolina, United States
Cause of death Homicide by firearm
Known for Unidentified victim of homicide
Height 6 ft 1.25 in (1.86 m)

The male victim was at first believed to be between 18 and 22 years of age, but his dentition suggested that he may have been older than 27.[2][4][13] The age range was updated to be between 18 and 30 years after his case was entered into NamUs.[14]

The forensic dentist who examined the man's teeth said he believed he was over 27, but that he had looked younger due to his clothing and build. The victim was white with an olive complexion. He had brown, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, and very distinctive bushy eyebrows.[2][10] He stood over 6 feet tall, weighed about 150 pounds, and had had extensive, elaborate, dental work that may have been performed outside the United States. This might indicate a higher socioeconomic status.[5][10][13]

A unique type of root canal surgery had been performed during the man's life, which could be important for discovering who he was.[15] It looked as if he had been midway through a complete dental restoration.[3][16] The man had a four-inch appendectomy scar. He also had various scars on his back and shoulders, which indicated frequent participation in contact sports.[2][5][11]


.357 Magnum revolvers, the type of gun used for the murders.
He was wearing faded Levi brand jeans and a red T-shirt. The shirt read "Coors — America's Light Beer" on the front and "Camel Challenger GT Sebring '75" on the back, along with a Snoopy design.[2][3][4] The shirt was apparently a promotional item from the Sebring Races held in Sebring, Florida, in 1975, which were sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. He wore no underwear and carried a pack of "Grant's Truck Stop" matches in a pants pocket.[10] The matches are believed to have come from a Grant's Truck Stop in the Midwest.[8]

He wore a yellow gold Bulova Accutron wristwatch with a Twist-o-Flex band, bearing the serial number H918803.[9][5][8] Using this number, investigators were able to determine that Bulova had made the watch in 1968. But when the Bulova company downsized in the early 1970s, they destroyed many of their records, meaning that there was no way to ascertain where the victim's watch was distributed or bought. He also wore a 14-karat gold ring set with a gray star sapphire stone. The initials JPF were engraved inside the ring, which had a Florentine finish.[3][9] Both the ring and the watch were rather expensive. This, together with the man's elaborate dental work, suggested that he had come from an affluent family.[7][13]

"Jane Doe"
Sumter County Jane Doe Body.jpg


Born 1951–1958 (approximate)
Status Unidentified for 43 years, 4 months and 5 days
Died August 9. 1976 (aged 18-25)
Sumter County, South Carolina, United States
Cause of death Homicide by firearm
Known for Unidentified victim of homicide
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)

Female victim

The female victim was slightly younger than the man. She was originally thought to be between 18 and 20 years old.[4] After her case was entered into NamUs, her age estimate was increased to 18 to 25 years.[17] She stood 5' 5" tall, weighed 100 to 105 pounds, and had a slim build and an olive complexion like that of her companion. This led some observers to speculate that they may have been siblings.[1][9]

She had reddish-brown, shoulder-length hair and bluish-gray eyes (some sources state "hazel"[17]). She had two distinctive moles on the left side of her face near her mouth.[5][8][10]


Wedge-heeled sandals, similar those worn by the female victim.
The coroner noted that the young woman had unusually long, natural eyelashes and that both victims were very clean and well-groomed.[16] She had fillings in all of her back teeth, and her front teeth would have appeared straight and even if she were to smile. She had no surgical scars, had never been pregnant, and her legs had not been shaved.[4] Unlike her male companion, no scars were found on her body.[11]

She was wearing an unbleached white muslin blouse over a pink, front-tying halter top. She wore blue denim cut-off shorts (Daisy Dukes). She had a floral print scarf tied around her waist as a belt.[4][7]

She wore Stride-Rite brand wedge-heeled sandals that were lavender and hot pink in color.[3][18]

She wore three very distinctive rings.

The first ring was a black, oblong stone with what appeared to be small turquoise chips embedded in it.[5]
The second had an ornate scrolling feather shape with coral and turquoise stones.[7][13]
The third was a simple metal band with red, white, and blue stones.
These rings appeared to be authentic handmade Native American or Mexican costume jewelry. They were all made of sterling silver.[2][4][13] They appeared to have originated in the Southwestern United States.

Like the man beside her, the female victim wore no underwear

Leads and theories
In 1977, a man was arrested in Latta, South Carolina for driving while intoxicated. He owned a revolver (found in his vehicle) of the same kind as the murder weapon. It was proven to be the murder weapon after it was test-fired by investigators. The man was located but was not charged because insufficient evidence existed to file charges against this individual with the murders.[19]

Investigators traveled to the city of Brunswick, Georgia. They met with a mother and father who were thought to be possible acquaintances of the Jane Doe. Their daughter was missing and her ex-boyfriend had reported a similarity between the female victim and his ex-girlfriend.[8] However, after showing the parents of the missing woman photographs of the female victim, neither they nor her friends could verify that it was her. After a dental comparison, it was found that the two women did not match.[20]

The initials JPF, engraved inside the man's ring, supported the theory that his name was Jacques or at least started with a J.

The book of matches found in the man's pocket provided a further clue. The matches came from a truck stop chain which had locations in Idaho, Nebraska, and Arizona.[3] After information was released to the public, a man from Nebraska stated that he may have performed repairs on a car with Oregon or Washington license plates, whose owners matched the description of the victims. But this uncovered no additional leads.[3][16]

Some speculate that notable serial killer Henry Lee Lucas could have been involved in the murders. Lucas himself told police that he had been in South Carolina the day that the victims died, but he was received with scepticism as he had a penchant for false confessions. He was never charged with the crime and died in 2001 due to heart failure.[21][22] Earlier, Lucas had confessed to two murders that also happened in Sumter County; that of an elderly woman in 1975 and of a young man in 1983. Like most other leads, this revealed no additional clues to the pair's names or their actual murderer.[6]

In 2007, both bodies were exhumed to obtain DNA information.[23] This led to the theory that the pair had been siblings being disproved; the testing showed that they were not genetically related, though they did resemble each other.

They are currently undergoing testing by the DNA Doe project[10]

Burial
The couple's bodies were kept at a local funeral home in caskets with airtight, see-through lids in hopes that someone would identify them. People from all over the country called to inquire about them, including several parents of young runaways. None was able to identify the bodies.[3]

The bodies remained on display until they began to deteriorate. On August 14, 1977, one year and five days after the bodies were found, they were interred in Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Oswego, South Carolina.[10][24][25][26] Hundreds attended the funeral service. Law enforcement agencies raised several hundred dollars to pay the funeral home.[27]

Their graves have stone/granite markers which read "Male Unknown" and "Female Unknown

   

 

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Buckley was 25 years old when she was murdered in Sumter County, South Carolina, alongside James Freund. Originally speculated to have been dating, it turned out the two individuals had met each other while hitchhiking. She had gone missing from Manitou Springs, Colorado.