Starks Jane Doe

Some people love to solve mysteries. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s office is not giving up on a mystery from 1997. They are working hard to solve this mystery.

Sheriff Mancuso said “There’s no question that whoever did this is a brutal murderer. Because not only did they murder her but they tried to burn the body to cover up the evidence that may have been presented there” (KPLC TV 2009).

The woman he is referring to is me. They call me Starks Jane Doe. I guess we could flip that around and call me Jane Starks Doe; that has a better ring to it. The reality is that they can’t call me much else but Doe. See, they don’t know who I am. My identity remains a mystery. Yes, the mystery that Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s office is working to figure out.

What the sheriff’s office can you tell you is that I’m a non-white female, who might be black, 18 to 25 years old, approximately 5'5", and 137 lbs. I was found with only one kidney and my teeth were in good repair. I wore a red blouse, blue/tan plaid shirt or jacket, red shorts with blue flowers, and dark-colored sweat pants. I also wore a yellow-colored ring with one red stone and one white stone. This is all the information they know for certain about me.

Did you notice that some pertinent information was missing? Like, say, my eye color and hair color? Well, that’s because, as the sheriff said I had been burned after I had been killed. So they don’t know what my eye or hair color is. I want to make this point clear because North Texas University was nice enough to provide a forensic artist reconstruction of what I might have looked like when I was living. This reconstruction includes eyes and hair. Which, trust me, you probably appreciate seeing versus not having that to view; unfortunately, it can be misleading. So please don’t go solely based on the eye or hair color you see on the reconstruction. It’s really important to know that my eyes could have been any color. My hair could have been any color and styled in numerous ways. Okay, now that we are clear on that point, let’s move on.

Another thing that they don’t know is whether I had piercings, tattoos, or scars because somebody set me on fire. Due to the state of my remains, this information is simply no longer available. Keep that in mind when trying to figure out who I am. I might have had a surgical scar or an interesting tattoo that should identify me. Well, those markers are no longer an option. So, please don’t count them out!

What other information is available that might help? Well I was found on January 7, 1997 off Louisiana Hwy. 12 near the 10-mile marker of an old factory (cement slab) south of the highway. The sheriff, in the interview he gave to KPLC TV back in 2009, said that the area I was found in, not far from Starks, LA, was just 10 miles from the Texas line. This is a clue. See, I was found at the old factory south of the highway, but it’s speculated I was killed a day earlier somewhere else. See, I could have been from Texas. Heck, I could have been from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, or Florida too. For that matter, I could have been from just about anywhere. However, Louisiana, Texas, and the surrounding states does help narrow the possibility a bit.

I have been missing for many years now, and someone out there has got to be missing me. Someone out there knows I’m missing. I pray that someone out there is looking for me. Will you pray too? Will you help Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s office solve my mystery? Will you help them figure out who I am so they can tell my family what happened to me?

-----------------------------------------------------------

If you have any information please contact:

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office

Forensic Investigative Unit

337-494-4523

Case # 97-001363

VIEW HER PROFILE DATA AT A GLANCE HERE:  Calcasieu Louisiana Jane Doe January 1997

View, Print, Distribute her flyer:  Starks Jane Doe Flyer