The Murder of San Fernando Jane Doe, April 1976

On Easter Sunday, April 11, 1976, remains of a human were found in a remote canyon area 90ft west of a paved portion of Lopez Canyon Rd in San Fernando, LA County, CA. While NamUs states that the remains consisted of a complete or near complete skeleton, Doe Network indicates that the condition of the remains was decomposed; this is supported by the fact that some things that would not be able to be determined if the body was fully skeletal, such as eye color and scars, were noted.

It was determined that the body was that of a white female who was a victim of homicidal violence. Evidence at the scene indicated that Jane Doe was either shot or stabbed to death. It is estimated that she died two to seven days prior to discovery, putting her death as occurring sometime between Sunday, April 4 to Friday, April 9, 1976. The unidentified body became known as San Fernando or Lopez Canyon Jane Doe.

Reconstruction created by NCMEC.

A special bulletin was released by the LA County Sheriff's Department requesting information about Jane Doe. This bulletin was released sometime between 1976 — when Jane Doe was found — and 1981, as that is when Peter J Pitchess — who is named as sheriff on the bulletin — retired. Sketches of Jane Doe were included in the bulletin. Another bulletin was also posted online by the LASD on September 27, 2007.

Jane Doe was a white female with a slim build. While both NamUs and NCMEC list her estimated age as 18-25 years old, the Doe Network and the Unidentified wiki put her as 16-26 years old, likely around 20. Her estimated age group on NamUs is listed as Adult. The original police bulletin states that Jane Doe was "18-23yrs, most likely 20yrs."

Jane Doe was 5'3-5'8 with brown eyes. While NamUs lists her estimated weight as 130-150 lbs, NCMEC and both police bulletins instead state that she was 100-120 lbs. The Doe Network and Unidentified wiki, which use all of the above as sources, put her weight as 100-150 lbs.

Jane Doe's hair, which was brown with traces of blond near the scalp, extended to her mid-back. Her eyebrows had been plucked. She had a one-inch vertical scar located three inches below her right kneecap. No tattoos were noted, though decomposition had occurred, so it's possible that she did have some.

Four reconstructions of the victim are available on the linked websites, including a recent one from NCMEC. There are also photos and a drawing of Jane Doe's shoes available.

Original sketch of Jane Doe. Photo from NamUs.

Jane Doe was wearing: a tan with multi-colored print "Styled in California" midriff blouse with rust-colored tree figures and long sleeves with elastic cuffs, size medium; purple bell-bottoms with 2-inch wide cuffs, two metal snaps, and a zipper in front, made in USA and labeled "Male"; light green panties with "Thursday" embroidered in darker green stitching; and black (though photos appear brown) clog shoes with heavy leather straps and 4-inch solid high heels with 3/4 inch crepe soles. Near the body was a brown cotton suede "Londontown by Checkpoint" jacket with a white wool collar and cuffs, labeled "RN504858 Made in Taiwan." No bra was found.

Jane Doe's dental records are available, as are three fingerprints from her left hand and her right footprint. Her DNA is not available for comparison. 

According to NamUs, the following MPs have been ruled out as being Jane Doe: she is not Eileen Hynson, Cindy Mellin, Shirley Frew, Beatrice Calderon, Kristina Allen, Robin Graham, Kristina Perkins, or Wilma Vermaas. Lulaida Morales Sejalbo and Debra/Deborah Lee Spickler are also on Jane Doe's exclusion list — though not correctly linked — however she is not on either of their own exclusion lists. They are likely still exclusions, as, according to a personal email from Mary Bell of the Doe Network, "Unfortunately, listing NamUs exclusions is not a high priority. We get exclusions all the time that never show up on the NamUs exclusion list."

Jane Doe has ten exclusions in total. Her NamUs page was last modified on June 4, 2025. 

Anyone with information should contact Betsy Magdaleno of the LA County Medical Examiner's Office at 323-343-0512 or IDUnit@me.lacounty.gov. The agency case number is 1976-04631. According to NCMEC, individuals can also contact the LA County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. The NCMEC, NCIC, and NamUs case numbers are 1106255, U809763297, and #UP4452.

Sources

NamUs 

Doe Network

Unidentified wiki 

NCMEC 

Original LA County Sheriff's Department Special Bulletin

2007 updated LASD Special Bulletin  

WebSleuths

FindAGrave   [Note: I am the creator and manager of her FindAGrave profile]