Artesia Jane Doe
On October 26, 2020, a man who was hunting for quail in rural Graham County, Arizona came across a black bag that he thought was suspicious. The bag was in a cattle float box.
He called the sheriff and said that he believed the bag may contain a deceased child. He thought that because there were toys near the bag.
When police arrived, they quickly found that there was indeed a body in the bag.
A medical examiner conducted an investigation and determined that the body belonged to a white teenage girl with light brown or blonde hair. The ME said that she was likely aged between 13-17 and that she had died by homicide.
The girl’s hair had been cut short and she was wearing some very distinctive clothing.
The robe was identified as being from Walmart. Some comments online say the skull jacket was from Hot Topic.
As of July 2022, Artesia Doe has not been identified. None of the toys that were found near her have been made public.
Investigators did eventually revise the age range of the Doe and they now say that she could have been aged up to 22.
There are some missing females that have been examined and excluded as being this Jane Doe:
They are Alicia Navarro, Serenity Dennard, Karlie Guse and Riley Amaro.
Opelika Jane Doe
The remains of this little girl were found behind a trailer off Hurst Street in Alabama on January 28, 2012.
An anthropological study was conducted on the child’s bones. The findings suggested she was abused and malnourished prior to her death and placed her time of death between 2010 and 2012.
Police believe that she was killed in 2010 or 2011 though. They believe that as part of the abuse suffered by the child, her left eye was injured at some point. This left her blind in that eye and the scarring would have been obvious to anyone who came in contact with her.
‘Based on feedback from experts, we believe that she could not see out of her injured eye and that the injury could have occurred months to a year before her death,” said Sgt White. “This information is vital because we know that the injury was visible to anyone who interacted with the girl and may play a crucial role in identifying her.”
After this info came to light, photos of a child at a local Vacation Bible School emerged. The photos were provided to police by a teacher at the Bible School. Police believe the child in the pics is Opelika Jane Doe, but they have never been able to identify her.
This info is from the MissingKids.Org blog on this case:
The images were taken in the summer of 2011 at Greater Peace Community Church, located just three miles from where Opelika Jane Doe was found. “We know there are people who have information about who this child is. We’ve tracked down tips from across the country and now believe that she may have ties to the Orlando, Florida area,” said White. “We won’t stop until we can give this child her name back. She was just a little girl; she deserves dignity and a proper burial.”
In 2020, police released enhanced images of the Jane Doe to the public, making the scarring to her more evident.
“They have since been enhanced to bring out a clearer image of the little girl. The Bible School teacher who first brought them to the police believe the enhanced images depict a better likeness to the real little girl,” said Captain Shane Healey.
Based on the findings of Isotope testing, it is thought that the child was native to Alabama or its bordering states, including parts of Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, or South Carolina. The location of the remains indicated the individual or individuals who disposed of the body were familiar with the area and most likely native to Opelika.
The level of lead isotopes also suggested when she was between 1-3 years old she may have lived in an area where she was exposed to high lead levels before moving to a location where there was no lead exposure.
A pink shirt with long sleeves, a “ruffled” neckline, and heart-shaped buttons was found near the remains. The Doe is featured in some reconstructions wearing a pink shirt but it has never been confirmed that this shirt actually belonged to her.
There are two missing females who have been ruled out as being Opelika Jane Doe:
Jhessye Shockley
Angelica “Cassandra” Livingston
“This is the most heinous case in my 20 years, where a child was abused and neglected and then dumped. It’s very emotional for all of us detectives,” shared Opelika Police Captain Jonathan Clifton.
“She was badly abused and lived a tough life, and there is nothing fair about what she had to go through at all. We hope we can give her a small amount of justice if we can find out her name,” said Captain Shane Healey.
There is a $20,000 reward being offered in this case – contact your local Law Enforcement agency with information.
So I’m just now listening to this podcast episode, and this may have been discussed since then, but just wanted to say in case it hasn’t – vacation Bible school is usually only a week or two long, maybe a month at most. Sometimes it’s even just a half day, every day for only a week. So it makes sense to me why the teachers wouldn’t remember her name. Just wanted to make a note of that!