Three Does:

I have some spare time today, so I thought I'd do a quick write up of a few Doe cases that I was reading about recently. 

I was browsing the Doe Network for the first time in a while and thought I'd share a couple of them here with you.

Keep in mind, these ones might bum you out a bit, one involves a toddler so if you don't want to read about that feel free to select another topic from the navigation strip above.

Here we go!

1. On the 11th of August 1994, a fisherman in Australia caught more than he bargained for while trawling for squid on his boat “Lady Marion” in the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales.

Tugging at a snagged line caused various colored pieces of plastic and metal to bob up and break the water’s surface. Out of curiosity he reeled the line in and upon further inspection noticed human bones protruding from the plastic.

(image: Wikipedia)

Police responded to his report by dragging the river, and turned up the remains of a dark haired Caucasian man estimated between his mid-twenties to mid-forties. Unusually, he was bound to a metal frame (that seemed to be constructed to fit his dimensions) by lengths of red rope and wire. It was described in one report [X] as a “Steel crucifix” having “arm and leg crossbar supports.

News.com.au Provided a photograph of both the rack and the boat on their website.

(Pic: news.com.au)

The report also revealed that the same red (sometimes said to be orange in some articles) rope was also used to tie one of the plastic bags around the victims head.

Rack man was dressed in a dark outfit consisting of track pants and a t shirt with a polo collar, his lighter and cigarettes were still in his pocket.  

His skull had suffered trauma- identified after analysis as several heavy blows to the head. However it is unclear if he died before being thrown into the river, or after.

(Reconstruction: News Corp Australia)

The weight of both the victim and the rack and the effort that went into this unusual disposal indicates more than one perpetrator. Investigators working the case offer a gang hit as a theory, but they can only speculate, as no one has been able to identify the Doe- and not from lack of trying.

The unknown homicide victim, sometimes referred to as “rack man” in the media, had clearly been killed and dumped with the purpose of never being discovered.  The fisherman who recovered him did so only by accident after a decade of trawling the same area week after week.

Rack man had potentially been there for 2-5 years, and almost never saw the light of day.

Despite a $100,000 reward, the case remains unsolved.

If you have any information on this case call: 02-94110940 or 02-94110948

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2. Nine days before Valentines in 2005, the headless body of a male child washed up on the shore of Rockaway beach in Queens, New york. 

His remains were discovered by a dog walker named Cecilia Davis, who, along with 200 others, would later attend his funeral funded by the Children of hope foundation. 

According to the New York times, she first thought it was a seal, until she noticed the boys foot. “February 5th, it was time to walk my dog, Monty. And we walked up the street where I live to the beach. And I let the dog go. And he likes to run. He was having a good time. And I was picking up seashells. I happened to look up, and there was some large pieces of driftwood that had been washed up on shore. And I ran over there to investigate. And I looked down, and I saw a bed sheet. I was very stunned when I saw, and I realized it was a child’s body. I called 911. Yeah, I’m in Rockaway Park. I just found a body of a child. Well, it turned out to be a boy between 3 and 5 years old.” She said when appearing on the Montel Williams talk show 

“Valentine Hope”, as he came to be known, was determined to be white or Hispanic and around 4 years old. 

He was wrapped in blanket printed with Disney characters and had been forced into a bag with various injuries such as damage to his ribs and spine, before presumably being tossed into the sea. 

Although discovered headless, it was concluded that he had not been executed by way of beheading or decapitation, and that he had just decomposed while floating in the ocean. His death was officially ruled as a homicide, although it could not be determined by which method. His identity and killer(s) remain unknown. 

Please report to the NYCPD on 718-318-4224 if you have any information on this case. 

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3. The Normal Hill Cemetery John Doe It was the 21st of September, 1989, when workers at the Normal Hill Cemetery in Lewiston, Nez Perce County, Idaho, discovered the skeletal remains of a John Doe already occupying the fresh plot that they were attempting to dig. 

Shocked by their discovery, they referred to cemetery records but could find no entry for the coffin-less man. The remains were not buried uniform to the other existing graves; rather they had been thrown in a shallow grave 10 years previously, according to analysis.

 It was determined he was white and that he was in his mid-twenties when he met his end. A model reconstruction was released to the public but nobody came forward to identify him.

His dental records remain on file, and those who think they have any information on the case are encouraged to contact (anonymously if desired) the Lewiston Police Department on 208-746-0171. 

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