Nonfiction Nugget: John & Jane Doe – Finding or Identifying Missing Persons
Welcome to the next installment of my Nonfiction Nuggets series, which I share on the blog about every other month, in addition to my PI Posts, Character Coffee Chats and regular post updates. Today’s Nonfiction Nugget is about Jane Does and John Does and finding or identifying missing persons. I’ll be sharing some details about cases, so I would like to warn readers that the subject matter might be difficult for sensitive readers. Please take care as you read on. Also be prepared, as some of the information I share might also offer spoilers to anyone who hasn’t yet read the Jorja Matthews mystery series.
Jorja’s first case in No Mother of Mine, the first novel of the Jorja Matthews mystery series, is the case that clinched the idea regarding Jorja’s decision to become a private investigator. That particular case involved a missing local woman. Based on the evidence at hand, the police believed the local woman left on her own accord and her daughter, Kat, was raised to believe her mother had abandoned her.
Some secrets don’t remain hidden forever…
Especially when the right person digs for the details. When Kat decides to ask Jorja for help, she does so with the expectation that Jorja may find her mom living a life she fashioned out of the desire to remove herself from the husband and daughter who were weighing her down. What Jorja discovered, unfortunately, was much worse.
When I was a licensed private investigator, my specialty was with criminal matters and my expertise with witness interviews. I didn’t dabble in missing persons because I frankly didn’t have the extra time necessary to devote to these types of cases. And these cases do require a lot of time and attention, if you intend on doing a thorough job for the family or attorney who hires you to locate someone who doesn’t wish to be found. Or, in worst case scenarios, determine whether the missing person is the victim of a crime and only known as a Jane Doe or John Doe by whichever law enforcement agency located their body.
Investigations between the pages
There are many private investigators that specialize in cases involving missing persons. Through diligent, sometimes exhausting, work they are able to come up with results, whether good or bad. I often wondered about the many cases of missing persons, where so many questions were left unanswered, as well as the large number of cases involving unidentified remains yet to be solved. It’s truly heart wrenching for families involved with these types of cases. Not knowing what happened to a love one is especially painful because the family has to deal with the unknown while also assuming the worst.
When I drafted the first novel in the series, I decided it would be an interesting element to let Jorja investigate a missing person’s case. As the case unfolds, it allows the reader to take part in that investigation while Jorja puts the pieces together and the reader shadows her as she decides how to move along in the investigation. When Jorja first agreed to take the case, it was with the idea that Kat’s mother had run away but eventually, she wondered if something might have happened to Kat’s mother, so she had to switch up the way she went about her investigation.
There were different aspects behind the process as I wrote about the investigation into Kat’s missing mother. I met with a county detective and I asked him questions about how the county processed a missing person’s case, as well as how my character might be able to obtain certain records. I also researched missing person’s cases relating to the state patrol to get an idea about how they obtained and retained details about unidentified remains when they are found. In the process of my research, I also learned about The Doe Network.
A voice for the missing and unidentified
The Doe Network is a valuable organization full of volunteers who do what they can to help solve cold cases involving either missing persons or unidentified murder victims. The network was created in 1999 and currently shares details about cold cases with dates as early as the late 1800’s.
While researching the site, I was curious about the earliest cases in the U.S. shared on the network and this is what I discovered: the first reported unidentified male = 1912, the first missing male = 1881, the first unidentified female = 1887 and the first missing female = 1910. The case involving the missing female in 1910 is a curious case in many ways. One reason is that the family kept the disappearance a secret from the authorities for over a month while they employed the Pinkerton Detective Agency to assist them. This agency was the first known private detective agency and has an interesting history. I share more about the agency, as well as the first known private investigators in this post if you’d like to read further about it.
Heartbreaking mystery about a young boy
Of the thirty-one unidentified males reported in the U.S. between 1912 and 1959, the most notable is a young unidentified boy who was nicknamed “The Boy in the Box.” Sadly, that nickname came about because that’s where his body was found in 1957. Authorities guessed the child was between the ages of three and six years old when he died.
There have been many attempts over the years to identify the child and discover who left his body in a box. Some information provided gave authorities hope they may finally solve his identity and close the case. However, the identity of the victim and his murderer still remain a mystery. The case involving The Boy in the Box was a heartbreaking mystery in its day and many still hope the child might one day be identified. Until then, he rests at a cemetery in Philadelphia and his grave marker identifies him as “America’s Unknown Child.”
Where Washington cases stand against other states
I was also curious about which states in the U.S. had the most reported cases. When it comes to reported missing persons, California currently has the most males at 717 and also the most females at 469. Compare that to Washington State, with 66 reported missing males and 91 reported missing females. When it comes to unidentified victims, both Jane and John Does, California takes the lead with 263 females but Florida has the most unidentified males at 498, with California a close second at 479. Again, compare that to Washington State with 22 unidentified females and 40 males. While The Doe Network is an interesting research site, it’s also a helpful resource and a useful tool for private investigators, families or helpful citizens who might have information or wish to attempt to provide assistance once law enforcement has identified a matter as a cold case.
My John Doe story
Personally, and thankfully, I haven’t dealt with a case involving a missing person in my family. However, I have had my own experience with regard to a John Doe matter. When my dad was struck by an impaired driver, it was in another county and about an hour from where he lived. He was hit while he was on the side of the road attempting to assist someone he thought might be trapped in a vehicle. His wallet was not on him when he arrived at the hospital because it was still at the scene when they moved him by helicopter and flew him to yet another county even farther from home.
As a family, we received word from the authorities that there had been an accident but we had no details beyond what hospital he had been taken to. Because my dad had no identification on him when he arrived at the hospital, and communication must have been lacking between the authorities, the medics and hospital staff, he was signed in as a John Doe. When family first arrived at the hospital to ask for his status by name, it was upsetting to be informed he wasn’t at that hospital.
It was frightening, to say the least, to be told your loved one was badly injured and taken to a hospital. It was more distressing when no one could seem to find him. Eventually, we did verify he was a “John Doe” patient and we were allowed to see him when he got out of surgery, but the plaque with his “John Doe” name and number remained on the wall for another day or so until I finally asked if they would change it to his real name. While my “John Doe” experience was short lived, my dad did not survive the accident and the loss has greatly affected me. However, I can’t imagine how I’d be dealing with the loss if all I knew was that he was gone, but had no idea what happened to him or where he was.
As humans, we need closure
I decided to include a missing person’s case in my first novel to give Jorja a way to help give someone else that closure. In my most recent novel, I include a case of hit and run where the victim is originally thought to be missing, with no answers as to why. Fiction can mirror fact in so many ways, but the truth is that once the reader has finished a novel, they can set it aside and move on to the next without too much thought.
In the real world, anyone who lives with loss, while having no answers as to where the loved one is or what happened to them, will be deeply affected by that ordeal for the rest of their lives. Finding answers won’t take away the pain of loss, but it can help with the healing process, which is why I applaud law enforcement and private investigators, as well as organizations like The Doe Network, who do what’s possible to assist families in finding those answers so they may finally obtain closure.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of my Nonfiction Nuggets series and that you’ll continue to follow my blog for additional posts. I will continue to share weekly posts that will include PI topics, Character Coffee Chats, and more Nonfiction Nuggets, as well as author musings and updates. Feel free to search the archives for any past blog topics you might be interested in reading about further.
Until next time, have a great week and happy reading.
