In 1966, a young woman drowned in Ropers Motel pool in Pecos, Texas and more than 50 years later she remains unidentified. Othram is teaming up with the Pecos Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to use advanced DNA testing to identify the woman, or at least identify a family member that might know of this woman’s identity.
The day of her death, the Pecos Jane Doe checked into the Ropers Motel with an unknown male companion. They used the names , Mr. and Mrs. Russell Battoun, at check in. The man was believed to have been around 25 years old had a slender build and short blonde hair. The young woman was believed to have been between 17-20 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed around 120 pounds. She was wearing a pair of dark shorts and a flowered blouse. Later that day, a hotel employee found the woman’s lifeless body in the pool. Hotel staff called an ambulance but the woman had died. As the Pecos Jane Doe was being taken away in an ambulance, the male companion checked out from the hotel and was never seen again.
Now, more than 50 years later, Pecos Police Department Chief of Police, Lisa Tarango, has continued the search for Pecos Jane Doe’s true identity. The victim is buried with a gravestone marked, ‘Unknown Girl Drowned July 5, 1966” and Pecos Police Department officials continue to visit her grave and bring flowers. The Pecos Police Department is covering a substantial portion of the cost for the advanced DNA testing but a DNASolves fund has been established to cover the remaining costs. Those wishing to contribute can contact the Pecos Police Department or contribute here.
The Pecos Jane Doe artistic sketch was prepared by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and provides a suggestion of what she may have looked like during her life. If anyone has information about the Pecos Jane Doe contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST/1-800-843-5678 or the Pecos Police Department at 432-445-4911 attention Cpl. Felix Salcido. This case is entered at NamUs as UP13480.
Republished courtesy of DNASolves.com/Othram. Photo: Pecos Jane Doe artistic sketch prepared by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Credit: NCMEC