Post by LadyBlue on Sept 2, 2011 18:31:13 GMT -5
Remains IDed As Woman Missing Since 1983
Posted: 11:47 am PDT September 1, 2011
MONTEREY, Calif. -- Authorities have identified skeletal remains recently discovered near a Monterey shopping center as those of a 20-year-old woman who went missing in 1983.
The remains of Jennifer Lynn Morris of Pacific Grove were found by a land surveyor on Aug. 18. Monterey police Lt. Leslie Sonne says investigators used dental records to identify them.
Sonne tells The Monterey County Herald that Morris appears to have been killed at the scene although she would not say what led investigators to that conclusion. Police have not identified any suspects.
Morris, a part-time student, was last seen on Jan. 24, 1983.
Her parents reported her missing after finding her car in the parking lot of a movie theater at the shopping center.
Sonne says investigators plan to reinterview Morris' friends and family to try to generate leads.
Skeletal remains found Aug. 18 by a land surveyor in a wooded area near Del Monte Shopping Center were those of a 20-year-old Pacific Grove woman who disappeared in the winter of 1983.
Dental records led to identification of Jennifer Lynn Morris, who was last seen about 3 p.m. on Jan. 24, 1983, after she made a purchase at a store in the center, police said Wednesday.
Evidence at the scene indicates Morris was the victim of a homicide, said Monterey police Lt. Leslie Sonné. She wouldn't disclose what led investigators to conclude Morris had been killed.
"We're fighting from a low position on this one," she said. "What we do have, we have to keep pretty close."
Morris was a part-time student living with her parents and one of two brothers when she vanished. Her parents, who are now both dead, reported her missing after they found her 1971 Ford Pinto in the parking lot near the former Cinema 70 movie theater at the center.
Police notified Morris' two brothers of the new development.
"I think they are both relieved to know where she was," Sonné said.
Jody Turner, a 46-year-old Pacific Grove resident, said she was best friends with Morris, who lived a few homes away, since they met in 1971.
"I have mixed feelings," Turner said. "I'm shocked and I'm angry to think she had been in the same place all this time."
Sonné said the wooded area where Morris' remains were found was much farther back from the shopping center in 1983 before the center expanded and a new theater was built.
"Now the questions are who, when and what happened," Sonné said.
Police dogs re-examined the site Wednesday to make sure investigators hadn't missed anything, she said.
"Obviously, it's going to be a puzzle," she said. "But in this era, with the technology that is available ... anything's possible."
At the time of her disappearance, Morris' photo was released to the media and her father went on television appealing to the public for help. He was so upset by his daughter's disappearance he was never able to return to work, Sonné said.
Sonné said investigators talked to a number of people at the time and received tips from people who may have seen her at the shopping center. But there were never any confirmed sightings and investigators never focused on persons of interest, let alone suspects, she said.
She said when investigators reviewed the case in the 1990s, "no red flags" jumped out.
"Now we go backwards, talk to people she knew, re-interview friends and family members ... and look at the evidence with new technology to see if there are any suspect leads," she said.
While investigators don't know how long the remains were at the site where they were found, Sonné said, "It looks like everything occurred at the scene."
Turner said she planned to go to the shopping center with Morris that day, but the two had a little argument.
"I'm still beating myself about that," she said.
Morris went to a bank in Pacific Grove for her mother and then went to the Monterey center, where she bought a new skirt, Turner said.
The skirt was found crammed under a seat in Morris' car, Turner said.
"She would have never crammed a bag of clothes like that," she said.
Morris was a "beautiful young lady" who was "always smiling and laughing," Turner said. She wasn't a partyer, but "just a good person," she said.
"I just hope that she's at peace now that they have found her," she said.
www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18803989
Posted: 11:47 am PDT September 1, 2011
MONTEREY, Calif. -- Authorities have identified skeletal remains recently discovered near a Monterey shopping center as those of a 20-year-old woman who went missing in 1983.
The remains of Jennifer Lynn Morris of Pacific Grove were found by a land surveyor on Aug. 18. Monterey police Lt. Leslie Sonne says investigators used dental records to identify them.
Sonne tells The Monterey County Herald that Morris appears to have been killed at the scene although she would not say what led investigators to that conclusion. Police have not identified any suspects.
Morris, a part-time student, was last seen on Jan. 24, 1983.
Her parents reported her missing after finding her car in the parking lot of a movie theater at the shopping center.
Sonne says investigators plan to reinterview Morris' friends and family to try to generate leads.
Skeletal remains found Aug. 18 by a land surveyor in a wooded area near Del Monte Shopping Center were those of a 20-year-old Pacific Grove woman who disappeared in the winter of 1983.
Dental records led to identification of Jennifer Lynn Morris, who was last seen about 3 p.m. on Jan. 24, 1983, after she made a purchase at a store in the center, police said Wednesday.
Evidence at the scene indicates Morris was the victim of a homicide, said Monterey police Lt. Leslie Sonné. She wouldn't disclose what led investigators to conclude Morris had been killed.
"We're fighting from a low position on this one," she said. "What we do have, we have to keep pretty close."
Morris was a part-time student living with her parents and one of two brothers when she vanished. Her parents, who are now both dead, reported her missing after they found her 1971 Ford Pinto in the parking lot near the former Cinema 70 movie theater at the center.
Police notified Morris' two brothers of the new development.
"I think they are both relieved to know where she was," Sonné said.
Jody Turner, a 46-year-old Pacific Grove resident, said she was best friends with Morris, who lived a few homes away, since they met in 1971.
"I have mixed feelings," Turner said. "I'm shocked and I'm angry to think she had been in the same place all this time."
Sonné said the wooded area where Morris' remains were found was much farther back from the shopping center in 1983 before the center expanded and a new theater was built.
"Now the questions are who, when and what happened," Sonné said.
Police dogs re-examined the site Wednesday to make sure investigators hadn't missed anything, she said.
"Obviously, it's going to be a puzzle," she said. "But in this era, with the technology that is available ... anything's possible."
At the time of her disappearance, Morris' photo was released to the media and her father went on television appealing to the public for help. He was so upset by his daughter's disappearance he was never able to return to work, Sonné said.
Sonné said investigators talked to a number of people at the time and received tips from people who may have seen her at the shopping center. But there were never any confirmed sightings and investigators never focused on persons of interest, let alone suspects, she said.
She said when investigators reviewed the case in the 1990s, "no red flags" jumped out.
"Now we go backwards, talk to people she knew, re-interview friends and family members ... and look at the evidence with new technology to see if there are any suspect leads," she said.
While investigators don't know how long the remains were at the site where they were found, Sonné said, "It looks like everything occurred at the scene."
Turner said she planned to go to the shopping center with Morris that day, but the two had a little argument.
"I'm still beating myself about that," she said.
Morris went to a bank in Pacific Grove for her mother and then went to the Monterey center, where she bought a new skirt, Turner said.
The skirt was found crammed under a seat in Morris' car, Turner said.
"She would have never crammed a bag of clothes like that," she said.
Morris was a "beautiful young lady" who was "always smiling and laughing," Turner said. She wasn't a partyer, but "just a good person," she said.
"I just hope that she's at peace now that they have found her," she said.
www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18803989