The Murder of Starr Valley Jane Doe, July 1972

At about 9am on Friday, July 14, 1972, a rancher named Marion Morton discovered the nude body of a young woman in the Starr Valley area of rural Elko County, Nevada, about 8 mi south of I-80. The body was found lying on the north side of a hill just off of Dennis Flats Rd, about 0.5 mi west of Starr Valley Rd. According to one source, "Although the road is known by locals, a person not familiar with the area would have to have driven a considerable distance to get to the location."

Jane Doe's body had been posed: some sources say she was posed in "an odd cross-like manner," while others state that she was spread-eagle, i.e. arms extended away from her body and legs splayed. According to one modern source, one of her hands was outstretched with the index finger pointing west, while her head was turned the other way.

Reconstruction from NamUs.

Jane Doe was the victim of a homicide. She had been shot in the head twice with a .22 caliber pistol, once in the left cheek, and the other in her neck.

Her body was decomposed to the point of being unrecognizable at the time of discovery. While a contemporary source indicates that, "It was estimated by Elko County authorities that she had been dead since about the previous Sunday, July 9, 1972," NamUs lists the estimated postmortem interval as months, and her year of death as 1972.

It was determined that Jane Doe was a white female, 20 to 25 years old — though Doe Network says 17-25 — 5'2, and about 110-115 lbs. She had sandy, reddish-brown hair that was shoulder-length and a bit curly. Her eye color is unknown due to the condition of the remains. She had a scar on the outside of her right knee, as well as an appendectomy scar on her abdomen.

According to the Doe Network, Jane Doe's "teeth were well formed, well aligned, missing lower right second bicuspid, all four third molars [wisdom teeth] were present and uninterrupted."

A witness reported seeing a dark blue VW bug with Tennessee plates leaving the area on about July 7, 1972. "The car is believed to have been one reported stolen from Tennessee, but it has never been recovered."

Despite the Tennessee plates, in 1998 a detective posited that Jane Doe may have been a victim of serial killer Ted Bundy, who drove a VW bug and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1972. However, I have found no other speculation regarding this, and the theory generally seems to not be believed.

In the 2020s artist Lily Martina Lee created a woven shroud for Jane Doe to remember her and had photos taken at the discovery site. She used trained cadaver dogs to pinpoint the exact location where Jane Doe was found; links with photos can be found below. The shroud is part of Lee's art collection that she calls "The Great Basin Murders."

I found out about this case from Lee's website. Jane Doe has also been mentioned in a post from an amateur sleuth-run site that I use to find related cases: the Murder Incorp. blog, which compiles contemporary sources about crimes in CA from the 1960s and 70s that either have been recently confirmed to still be, or the blogger suspects to be, unsolved. Special focus is put on cases that bear resemblance and/or occurred somewhat in proximity to confirmed and possible EARONS and Zodiac crimes.

Jane Doe's dental records, as well as one fingerprint, are available for comparison, while her DNA is not. A sketched reconstruction of her is available on all modern databases. She has two MP exclusions on NamUs: she is not Ingrid Angela Anderson or Nadine Timm.

Anyone with information regarding Jane Doe is urged to contact the Elko County Sheriff's Office at (775) 738-3421. The Medical Examiner/Coroner case number is 197200455.

Note: There was a partial solar eclipse visible in Nevada on July 10, 1972, only four days before Jane Doe was found, and only one day after the latest estimated date of death. See the Holidays & Events Reference Page for more info.