On Saturday the 17th of July, 1982, a young woman and a companion walked across a meadow known to locals as the sheep flats. She was 5 and a half feet tall, of slender build with light brown hair, which was pulled back into a bun and hazel eyes.
Dressed for a day at the beach, the young woman and her companion sat down on a log, and she took off her shoes. It is not known how long they sat there together, but at some point, the two decided that it was time to walk back to their car. As the woman knelt down to tie up her shoes, her companion took out a gun. They then aimed it at the woman and fired.
The woman slumped over the log, and before they left, the companion covered the gunshot wound to the back of the woman’s head with a pair of men’s underwear. They then turned around and walked back to the parking area where their car had been left and drove to the freeway.
Sheep Flats Jane Doe. Picture Credit: CrimeWatchers.net
At 1:30 pm that afternoon, two hikers were walking in the same area when they came across a woman slumped over a log. After realising that she was dead, they called 911 and waited for the police to arrive.
When the police arrived, they were stuck with the image of a woman slumped over a log as if she had been trying to tie her shoe when she had been killed. She was fully clothed in a white lace bathing suit, Lee Rider jeans, sleeveless Buntees Sportswear t-shirt and pale-yellow tennis shoes. Over the back of her head was a pair of men’s underwear.
Across the meadow, they found a pair of footprints that lead to the log where the woman was found, and there was no identification found on her or in the surrounding area that matched her description. The area around the body showed no signs of a struggle, suggesting that the woman was comfortable and trusted the person they were with and she had no idea that she was going to be killed.
After forensics had finished at the scene, the woman’s body was taken to the morgue for an autopsy. Removal of the underwear on the woman’s head revealed a gunshot wound, which was recorded as her cause of death. There were no defensive wounds found on her body, which added weight to the theory that she hadn’t put up a fight before her death and liver mortis was blanching by the time she was found.
She had extensive and distinctive dental work and a vaccination scar on her upper left arm. Her left big toenail was black due to bad bruising; there was a small scar on her left knee, a scar on her top right shin, a scar on her right foot and an 11cm scar on her abdomen which was consistent with a cesarean.
With no identification, the police started to search hotels and motels in the area in the hopes that someone would recognise her or there would be some unclaimed baggage. No one they talked to was able to identify her in any way, and none of them had any unclaimed baggage.
Sheep Flats Jane Doe. Picture Credit: CrimeWatchers.net
In the days following her discovery, the police collected DNA samples from her body but with no way to identify her the case went cold, and she was given the name Sheep Flats Jane Doe or Washoe County Jane Doe.
This did not stop the police from working on the case. Over the next 36 years, the police would come back to the case multiple times with the belief that if they could identify her, they would be able to find who had killed her.
Her DNA was uploaded to the Missing Person’s Database when it was created, and as of 2015, the police had excluded 227 missing women.
A re-examination of the evidence caused a reworking of the police theory that she was of European descent. Her teeth looked as though they were in poor condition and had been for a couple of years before her death.
This new knowledge brought forth the belief that in her early life she had had the resources to get dental care but more recently it was possible she no longer had access to those same resources; possibly due to a voluntary estrangement from family and friends who could also believe that she had just left town.
Investigations into the shirt that she was wearing at the time of her death revealed that it was only sold on the west coast of the US leading the police to believe that at some point she had lived on that side of the country. Adding to this new information, a more accurate sketch of the Jane Doe was created and distributed to the media.
Geneology results done by the DNA Doe Project. Picture Credit: DNA Doe Project
The most recent developments regarding this case revolve around the DNA Doe Project, who was recently given the DNA in hopes that they could help identify her as they had done with Marcia King (to read her story click here). Most recent updates from their Facebook page show they have developed a DNA profile which will soon be uploaded to GEDMatch. From their DNA profile, they believe that one of her Grandparents was Italian or of Italian descent and that her mitochondrial group is H16a1.
If you have any information regarding this case, please call the Washoe County Sherif at (755) 328-3320 or Secret Witness at (775) 322-4900.
Sources:
CrimeWatchers.Net. (n.d) WASHOE COUNTY JANE DOE: WF, 25-35 – found near Lake Tahoe, NV – 17 July 1982 *GRAPHIC*
https://crimewatchers.net/forum/index.php?threads/washoe-county-jane-doe-wf-25-35-found-near-lake-tahoe-nv-17-july-1982-graphic.5488/
DNA Doe Project Facebook. (n.d). Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/DNADoeProject
NamUs. (n.d). Unidentified Person/NamUs #UP8427
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/8427
Pearce, E. (2015). New Details Released in 33 Year Old Cold Case
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/New-Theory-New-Sketch-New-Life-To-A-33-Year-Old-Murder-317665371.html
Pearche, E. (2015). Cold Case: After 33 Years Jane Doe Murder Victim Still Unidentified
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/Cold-Case-After-33-Years-Jane-Doe-Murder-Victim-Still-Unidentified-294304131.html
The Doe Network. (n.d). 156UFNV – Unidentified Female
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/156ufnv.html
Washoe County Sherif Department. (n.d). Case#: G82-0433
https://www.washoesheriff.com/sub.php?page=unsolved-homicides
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