Unidentified Female
Found Deceased
- Found: February 15, 1991
- Location: Big Coppitt Key, Monroe County, Florida
- Estimated; TOD: February 14, 1991
- COD: Homicide by strangulation
Physical Description
- Estimated Age: 16-25 years old
- Race: Unknown
- Gender: Female
- Height: 5'4" to 5'7"
- Weight: 130-145 lbs.
- Hair Color: Dark brown, straight and cut just above the collar.
- Eye Color: Brown to green.
- Distinguishing Marks/Features: She was a non-smoker. Her ears were pierced four times each. She may have carried a baby to full-term. She had stretch marks on her abdomen. She was suffering from ovarian and fallopian tube cysts, which may have caused her abdominal pain. She had two tattoos: the word "Love" encircled by a heart on her upper left arm/shoulder; and a cross with sun rays emitting from the center located between the thumb and forefinger of her left hand. She had antemortem skeletal markers of anemia.
- Dentals: Available. She had excellent dental care. One filling was present. Around age 10, she had two top teeth extracted.
- Fingerprints: Not available.
- DNA: Available in CODIS.
Personal Items
- Clothing: Found near her body - a blue/purple/red striped knitted Forenza long-sleeved cardigan sweater, blue Big Yank knee-length denim shorts, a bikini top, and black Clicks moccasin-style shoes with red stitching, leather fringe down the back seam, and some turquoise-style bead work (size 6 1/2B), sold by Baker Shoes in 1989.
- Jewelry: She wore a Timex watch with a silver band on her right wrist. She had two earrings in her left ear - one silver ball and one white imitation pearl. She had four earrings in her right ear
Report
Windsurfers camping in the area near Bahia Honda State Recreation area, located near mile marker 35 on US 1 in the Florida Keys, discovered the victim's body in a wooded area south of Bahia Honda Channel Bridge near a recreational area known as the “horseshoe” on West Summerland Key. The area was frequently used as an illegal campground.
Her body was nude and on a dirt trail in a heavily wooded area. She had been beaten and strangled with her bikini top. Investigators believe she was raped, but that was not determined.
Investigators received tips that the victim, aka Florida Jane Doe or Valentine Jane Doe, had been seen by motorists hitchhiking along US 1 in the Keys. Because of her clothing, especially the sweater and moccasins, she stood out. Based on the tips, police determined that the girl was in Key West and walked northbound on US 1 on Big Coppitt Key, about ten miles north of Key West on Valentine's Day She was seen by another eyewitness at mile marker 15 and around 6:30 p.m. that night at mile marker 17.
It is believed that she was not from the area as her clothing was not typical of someone who was from South Florida, she did not have any tan lines at all, and she didn't wear tennis shoes or sandals.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information about this case please contact;
- Agency Name: District 16 - Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office
- Agency Contact Person: E. Hunt Scheuerman
- Agency Phone Number: 305-743-9011
- Agency Name: Monroe County Sheriff's Department
- Agency Contact Person: N/A
- Agency Phone Number: 305-853-3211
- Agency Case Number: LE: 1991-00027; NCMEC: 1103868
- NCIC Case Number: U340001574
- NamUs Case Number: UP #6182
More Sources
“The Horseshoe,” in the Florida Keys
Witnesses saw Jane Doe hitchhiking the day of her murder. She was last seen near mile marker 17 on U.S. Highway 1, about 18 miles from where her body was discovered
