The Death of Gilroy Jane Doe, February 1980

Early in the evening of Saturday, February 9, 1980, trappers were "setting lines in the brushy growth" along the banks of the Pajaro River when they discovered a human skeleton on the north bank. The body was found near the confluence of the Pajaro and San Benito Rivers, just west — and/or "2000 yards southwest" — of the US Highway 101 crossing.

The trappers called authorities to report the body. Detectives from San Benito County were the first on the scene, which was along the county line; they soon, however, turned the case over to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, as it was in their jurisdiction, about four miles south of Gilroy, Santa Clara County, CA.

The remains were not recognizable, as they consisted of a complete or near-complete skeleton. They were determined to be that of a female. The body had been in the water and/or riverbed for at least a month, i.e., since at least early January 1980; an updated or more specific PMI is not available. Authorities believed that the remains may have washed downstream to the location where they were found due to heavy rains. An early newspaper article reported that there were no signs of foul play, and that some had speculated that, "the woman may have jumped or fallen into the river when it was swollen with rainwater."

Newspapers from the time of discovery reported that Jane Doe was believed to be a white woman in her 60s who was 5'6 and about 130 to 150 lbs. These estimates have since been revised: while a more specific age range is not provided, NamUs lists her age group as "Adult - Pre 30." According to the same source, Jane Doe was measured to be 5'0, while her weight could not be estimated due to the condition of her remains. Her race is also uncertain.

While Jane Doe's eye color is unknown, due to her remains being skeletal by the time of discovery, it is known that her hair was brown in color. No information is entered on NamUs regarding her clothing and accessories; contemporary newspapers indicated that her clothes had disintegrated.

Jane Doe reportedly had "very expensive dental work": she had a permanent upper front dental bridge with white gold. It is unknown if her dental records, as well as her DNA, are still available for comparison. Her fingerprints are seemingly unavailable due to the condition of the remains. 

Jane Doe's NamUs case, #UP111041, was created on November 2, 2023. It was last updated on May 22, 2025. She does not have any MP exclusions on NamUs. 

Anyone with information regarding Jane Doe is urged to contact the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner at (408) 793-1900. The agency case number is C80-0344. Informants may also contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff at (408) 808-4400 or so.website@sheriff.sccgov.org, agency case number 80-2300. Any little piece of information counts.

A Potential Match

On August 25, 2025, I submitted Jane Doe as a possible match to Jeannette Kamahele through the Doe Network. Mary Bell of the Doe Network replied, "Thank you for the suggested match. I don't show any comparison of these having been done so I will have our panel look at it. If [it] is proven to be a positive match, I will contact you further."

On Monday, October 13, 2025, I reached back out to Mary Bell again, asking about the status of my submission. She informed me that it did not pass Doe Network's panel, with the primary reason being that Jeannette is believed to be a victim of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murderer (SRHM), and Mary believed that there were some differences between SRHM's method of disposal and how Gilroy Jane Doe was found. However, I then replied back to Mary, noting that the circumstances around Jane Doe are actually quite similar to those of some SRHM victims:

1. Known SRHM victim Theresa Walsh was last seen in Zuma Beach in Malibu, and then found in Sonoma County; this is an over 7 hour drive; the distance between Cotati (Jeannette's last known location) and where Jane Doe was found (a little over 2hr drive) therefore pales in comparison
2. Like other SRHM victims — especially Yvonne Weber & Maureen Sterling, as well as Sonoma County Jane Doe 1979 — Gilroy Jane Doe's remains were found in a remote area several months to years after death.
3. Theresa Walsh's body was discovered in Mark West Creek, and many others, including Sonoma County Jane Doe 1979, were also found near creeks/bodies of water. Gilroy Jane Doe was found on the bank of the Pajaro River.
4. Regarding the argument that many/all found SRHM victims had been bound but that Gilroy Jane Doe was not, I again point out that it is thought that any items with Jane Doe when she entered the river had since dissolved away and/or became separated from the remains; this could include any binding materials.

In reply to the above, Mary Bell suggested that I bypass re-submitting the match to the Doe Network to be looked over again by its panel, and instead submit it directly to LE.

Encouraged by this, the following day — Tues., Oct. 14, 2025 — I submitted the match directly to LE by emailing the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department (in charge of Jeannette's case) and both the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and Medical Examiner-Coroner (in charge of Jane Doe's case) with all of the necessary information about the potential match, including the comparison table below:

	Jeannette Kamahele	Gilroy Jane Doe 1980
DLC/DBF	April 25, 1972	Found February 9, 1980 PMI at least one month; remains skeletal
Race/ethnicity	Japanese & Native Hawaiian	Uncertain
Location	Cotati, Sonoma County, CA	Four miles south of Gilroy, Santa Clara County, CA
Age	20 years old	Adult - Pre 30. Originally thought to be approx. 60 for unknown reasons
Hair color	Black	Brown [Possible photo-bleaching in interim?]
Eye color	Brown	Unknown
Height	5’5	5'0 to 5'6   [additional sources]
Weight	120 lbs	Could not estimate. Contemporary sources (see above) indicate about 130 lbs
Clothing & items	Levis, brown sweater, sandals, leather purse, & gold post earrings	None found. Any clothing or items with her are thought to have disintegrated in the water.
Circumstances	Disappeared while hitchhiking from the Cotati on-ramp off Highway 101 to Santa Rosa Community College. Possible victim of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Killer	Skeletal remains found on the north bank of the Pajaro River, just west of the US Highway 101 crossing, near the San Benito County line. COD unknown
Other characteristics	Wore a dental bridge	Had expensive dental work, including a white gold upper dental bridge

I have yet to receive a reply from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

Three days later — Fri., Oct. 17, 2025 — I received a reply from a member of the Santa Clara County ME Office, stating the following:

"Thank you for the submission. On review, there is insufficient information for us to confirm or exclude this possible match. We appreciate your assistance and interest in finding a name for this individual."

I replied back not long after receiving SCCME's email, asking if this indicates that Jane Doe's identifiers, such as DNA and dental records, are unavailable for comparison. As of almost about 19 hours after sending my response — i.e., the following day, Sat., Oct. 18th — I have yet to receive a reply.

Sources

NamUs

WebSleuths

Hollister Free Lance 2/11/80

The Californian 2/12/80

Note: While this write-up was originally published on August 20, 2025, I regularly revisit cases, fix any typos or formatting errors, check for updates, hyperlink new posts, ensure that I have exhausted all sources, etc., and then make note of when I last did so, no matter how minor. When edits are extensive, I re-post the write-up entirely. This post was last updated on October 18, 2025.