She drowned in 1966, and might have remained anonymous, if not for cutting-edge genetics, old-fashioned genealogy and the kindness of a West Texas town.
365 Days of Texas True Crime: Girl Unknown
I read the newspaper everyday, but not the one that comes out daily about what s going on right now. I read newspaper archives. I sift through stories of missing people, murders, bombings, and unsolved deaths.
I came across a story with not much information to go along with it a few years ago that seemed so perplexing and sad that I made some notes on it and never forgot about it.
Screenshot of news article
The story was about an attractive young women who was found face down in the Roper Motel Pool. They figured she was about 19 years old. In the paper the authorities were asking for help finding the male companion she was with at the motel. The motel manager reported that the young woman and and an unidentified man had checked into the motel about 2 p.m. There were witnesses that had reported hearing screams from the pool area. They ran to see what the trouble was to find the woman floating in the pool.
Clovis native part of article in Texas Monthly easternnewmexiconews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from easternnewmexiconews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Salina teenager identified as 1966 Texas Jane Doe
A teenager from Salina was identified Tuesday as a Jane Doe who drowned in 1966 in Pecos, Texas.
Jolaine Hemmy, who was 17 at the time of her death, was discovered on July 5, 1966, in the swimming pool of the Roper Motel in Pecos.
During a news conference, Lisa Tarango, the Pecos chief of police, said in research using local newspaper clippings, it appeared Hemmy and an unknown man checked into the motel under the names Mr. and Mrs. Russell Battuon, or Batuon, appearing to be a young, married couple.
According to reports, Hemmy was in the pool area while the unknown man was in the motel room at the time of the incident.