DISCOVERY:
On the morning of September 4, 1979, the residents of the Biscayne Gardens Apartments in Miami-Dade County, Florida discovered the body of an unidentified female. She was lying in the parking lot, near a dumpster placed on the edge of a wooded lot that was toward the back of the building.
Biscayne Gardens Apartments is located at 15555 Northwest 2nd Avenue in Miami and is situated just east of I-95. The interstate connects Miami with the rest of the east coast United States.
AUTOPSY:
Upon her body being brought in for examination, it was learnt that Jane Doe had died of strangulation, leading investigators to feel her death was the result of a homicide. While an exact time of death couldn’t be determined, the state of the remains leans toward it occurring just hours before she was found.
DETAILS:
Jane Doe is described as white and is thought to have been between 17 and 25 years of age. She stood anywhere from 5’6″ to 5’8″ and weighed approximately 120 pounds. She had strawberry blonde to red-coloured hair, and while her eyes were initially thought to be hazel, they’re now believed to have been either grey or green.
When found, Jane Doe was wearing a white t-shirt, a yellow floral scarf and blue jeans. She had some facial acne and burns to the inside of her calves, which likely came from the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle. Given she had teeth fillings, it’s believed she had access to some form of dental care at one point in her life.
According to investigators, she had said her name was Faloan S. Love and that she was born on June 3, 1961, meaning she would have been 18 years old at the time of her death. She’d shared she was unemployed and living at the Young Apartments in Hollywood, Florida, and that her closet relative was a man named Ben Misa, who at the time resided in Brooklyn, New York. It’s currently unknown if this information has been verified.
In 2014, a new angle was investigated. It is the belief of some that Jane Doe had been a young runaway from Ohio named Tina, who also went by the nickname “Sheeba”. She’d last been seen leaving the state prior to 1977. However, not much has been publicly shared regarding this lead.
According to investigators, it’s probable she was murdered in another location, before being dumped at the apartment building where she was found.
RULE OUTS:
1) Phyllis Berry, who went missing from Terlingua, Texas on November 11, 1975.
2) Priscilla Blevins, who went missing from Charlotte, North Carolina on July 7, 1975.
3) Rosemary E. Hamilton Buck, who went missing from Syracuse, New York on August 11, 1973.
4) Judy Lynn Davis, who went missing from Jacksonville, Florida on May 13, 1972.
5) Paula Lynch, who went missing from Marathon, Florida in 1978.
6) Katherine Ann Major, who went missing from Teton Village, Wyoming on September 19, 2009.
7) Michelle Mulcahy, who went missing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 7, 1979.
8) Suzanne Schultz, who went missing from Black Earth, Wisconsin on December 1, 1978.
9) Lynn Schulze, who went missing from Middlebury, Vermont on December 10, 1971.
10) Mary Ann Switalski, who went missing from Chicago, Illinois on July 15, 1963.
11) Joanne Williams, who went missing from Scranton, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1978.
12) Lisa Wilson, who went missing from Fort Worth, Texas on December 23, 1974.
13) Rebecca Dunn, who went missing from San Diego, California on April 1, 1979.
14) Martha Jean Lambert, who went missing from Elkton, Florida on November 27, 1985.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jane Doe’s fingerprints and dentals are currently available for comparison. According to NamUs, her DNA has also been processed.
Those with information regarding the identity of Jane Doe are being asked to contact the Miami-Dade Police Department at 305-476-5423 or the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office at 305-545-2400. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Image Credit: Samantha Steinberg/Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers
Stories of the Unsolved 