Late summer 1979

My name is Tina, and I’m from the state of Ohio. That’s what I told my friends in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We all hung out at the beach. Can you blame us? It’s Florida and the ocean is beautiful. Summer 1979, I’m in my twenties, I have my entire life ahead of me. Why not spend my time at the beach?

Well, I thought I had my whole life ahead of me. Then I met someone who stole my future, my life. I was killed at the hands of a homicidal maniac. I was strangled and left for dead in a wooded lot in the rural area of Miami-Dade, Florida.

Rumor has it that I might have been known on the beach by the name Sheeba. So, that’s what the local cops reported. Then this other young lady came forward and said that I was a runaway from Ohio. I told her my name was Tina.

Again—I tell you Ohio or Florida, where would you want to spend your twenties, the prime of your life? For me, it was Florida. It doesn’t matter if I ran away from Ohio, or if I made it up. I ended up on the beach in Fort Lauderdale until some ruthless monster took my life.

Sunny beaches and me with my strawberry blonde hair, gray-green eyes, and long legs (5'8"); Who could ask for more? Oh wait, I could. I mean living my twenties on the beach was great, but what was next? I could have had a long, loving life with a husband and children, maybe even a career. I never got that chance. I never got to see what came after my beach days. No, it all ended on September 4, 1979. I was wearing a white T-shirt, floral scarf, and long blue jeans.

So before I came to play on the beaches of Fort Lauderdale, I ran away. Most likely, I ran from the state of Ohio. Someone out there knows who I am. Someone out there must remember me. My friends from high school? Neighbors from the street I grew up on? Churches, social clubs, maybe even local cops from my old hometown—someone somewhere out there knows who I am. Please call these people and tell them my name. It’s time for me come home.

If you have information about me, please call:

Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner District 11,
Number One Bob Hope Road,
Miami, FL 33136-1133,
(305) 545-2400, (305) 545-2412 Fax
Case #1979-2413, NCIC # U154194129,

View her profile data here: Miami Dade Florida Jane Doe September 1979