MY EFFORTS SO FAR: 

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I've searched the State of Texas/DPS missing persons and found nothing. She isn't even listed on the Doe Network or NAMUS (probably because her death certificate doesn't even list her as a Jane Doe).

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When I originally submitted a Public Information Request to the Texas Rangers, I received a response back stating "no case records were found". After months of research, I re-submitted my request and included the names of investigators and relevant dates. The response I got was "A manual search was done through our index card and file folder system. I searched by County, Rangers, and Year of the possible offense and did not locate any case file information related to the attached PIR."

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I also submitted a request to San Jacinto County Sheriff's office for case records early on as well. When I spoke with Ann from the records department, her response was "I honestly have no idea where to begin looking". I followed up by sending an email, but never got a reply. I have since visited the Sheriff's office and spoke with a woman named Valerie who said she would look into it herself, but warned me that a lot of older records used to be stored at the county courthouse and were lost in a flood. I couldn't find anything official to confirm this, but my guess is the flood happened in 1994. About a week later I get a follow-up email from Ann stating "I have checked in several places to find any information on this case. I have had no luck finding anything on this case or back from the 60s. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you."

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The Houston Forensic Center, where her autopsy was performed, did not respond to any of my email requests. When I called I was told they did not have the autopsy report and referred me to Harris County archives. I asked her about the evidence collected for testing found with the body. She said currently, once tested, evidence is released back to the county, but she's not sure what the protocol was back in 1962. She said to call the Houston Crime Lab for direction and clarification. When I called they didn't answer.

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I called Harris County archives and was told by a woman named Barbara that they didn't have any records or reports on the case, but she did email me one newspaper article she found from the Houston Post. She referred me to San Jacinto county Justice of the Peace who ordered the inquest.

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I visited San Jacinto county Justice of the Peace, precinct 3: Randy Ellisor. Ironically, he is related to the J.P. back in 1962. I met and spoke with a sweet woman named Trudy who called Mr. Randy Ellisor (also seemed very nice and helpful) who was able to tell me that the J.P. in 1962 was Columbus "Bud" Ellisor and referred me to a local judge who had previously worked for State Police who may have some knowledge of the case. I emailed the Judge Blanchette who responded with "My wife remembers, but she was only 11 at the time. You may want to check the funeral home. Pace Stancil is still in Cleveland (the one in Coldspring did not exist at that time). If they know where the autopsy was performed you may be able to get some information from the medical examiner. I do not know about the exhumation. I'm sure it would take a court order. Contact an attorney for information for which court to inquire. Sorry I could not help more. Good luck!"

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I visited the local courthouse where I was told they did not have any records and was referred back to the Sheriff's office.

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I visited Coldspring Public Library and Cleveland Public Library. Only Cleveland had a few newspaper articles on microfilm from The Cleveland Advocate. The librarian was very helpful (wish I got her name).

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I was able to find inquest records for San Jacinto county on the Texas State Library digital archives from 1953-1978. However, nothing for 1962 and I was only able to find records for Precinct 6.

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Stopped by Pace-Stancil Funeral Home who buried this Jane Doe to see if they knew the exact plot she was buried in (as there are about 20 unmarked graves). They were closed both times. I called and spoke to a woman who said she didn't think they had those records, and if they did, they would be in storage. She didn't exactly offer to look any further. She referred me to the Laurel Hill Cemetery Association. I called them but they were closed for the day.

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I managed to find an email for Beth Sewell, an officer for the Laurel Hill Cemetery Association. I emailed her and received a response back to call her to give her more information. She was curious as to what my motive was for hunting down answers on this Jane Doe. I explained I'm simply an interested citizen hoping to have her identified. She said she would take a look at records and let me know what she finds. That was in May 2024. I never got a response. 

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I emailed a PIR/PIA/FOIA request to Texas State Library and Archives and was told they did not have any records and was referred to Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center since they are the regional depository for the county.

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I emailed Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center and they did not have any records from 1962 for precinct 6 (but did for 1950s-1970s). They have newspaper archives, but no relevant articles found, and they do not carry Houston newspapers. I was also told that they do not house any investigative records/reports.

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While trying to find any surviving investigators from the case I found a family member of the investigating Sheriff. While they didn't know anything about the case they said they would ask other family members and get back to me.

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I also unexpectedly received an email from the daughter of one of the two fishermen who found the boxes containing the woman's torso. She corrected her father and uncle's names (newspapers had them wrong) and she shared what she knew of the case as both her father and uncle have passed away. She was very young at the time and her father didn't talk much about it, but did mention the "bushy-haired man". Her father worked for the highway department and was a flag man "that day" (I need clarification but assume he went to work same day after finding the remains) and stopped a bushy-haired in a black (?) station wagon that locked eyes with him and "gave him the death stare". He  was very suspicious of him based on the description published by local authorities, but he never saw him again after that. Her parents also owned a local gas station in Coldspring, and there was a young lady (perhaps a high school student) who would stop by to chat with her mother. She mentioned she was doing research on the torso case, and that someone was leaving flowers on Jane Doe's grave (glad someone knows which grave is hers!). She doesn't know the name of the young woman. And she agrees that Jane Doe could possibly have been a hotel/motel employee, probably housekeeping. She said there weren't many in the area at the time, but there were a couple mom-and-pop motels in town that she remembers. One was on old highway 59, which at the time ran through Cleveland. She believes it's a car wash now. She informed me that this case was printed in a tabloid, so I will have to hunt for that. She said she would speak to other family members and let me know if she found anything else out. 

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I called Pace-Stancil Funeral Home in Cleveland again and spoke with Lynn Oswalt, the manager/director. He said they do not have records from that time and do not have plot maps to be able to identify where Jane Doe was buried. He said the best person to speak to is Beth Sewell, who I have already spoken to and have not gotten a response. I reached out to Beth again, and again no response.

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I reached out to a few cold case podcasts to try to bring attention to this case. Gone Cold: Texas True Crime reviewed my request and did an episode on her case. You can listen here. Thank you Vincent and team!!! In his own research he did find an article that gave the killer the moniker "Mack the Knifer" (awful name). Like me, they reached out to local authorities and was told they didn't know anything about this case.