This post is connected to the last post – Bitter Creek Betty and the I-90 Doe were killed by the same man, Clark Perry Baldwin. Because of this, the section regarding him will be the same as it was in Betty’s writeup.
The Discovery
On April 13, 1992, the decomposing remains were found off the shoulder of Interstate 90. The body was biologically female and showed signs of sexual assault. The Doe became known as Sheridan County Jane Doe or I-90 Jane Doe. Their cause of death was not able to be determined on autopsy, but due to the circumstances it is assumed to be a murder. The Doe was Caucasian and the estimated age of the doe was between 16 and 21.They stood between 5’5” and 5’6”, and weighed around 115 lbs. The I-90 Jane Doe had brown hair down to their shoulders and the texture was wavy. The hair had natural highlights, suggesting the Doe spent a substantial amount of time outside. Their eye color is not known.
The Doe was wearing brass earrings at the time of discovery. For clothing, the victim was found wearing a front-tie white and blue plaid midriff shirt. The buttons on the shirt were fake pearls and fake gemstones. They were also wearing blue jeans, though information about the brand and wash of the jeans is unavailable. A white plastic belt was looped through the jeans. The Doe was also wearing undergarments – a light blue bra in size 38C, and blue nylon underwear in a paisley pattern. Dentals, fingerprints, and DNA are all available for the I-90 Jane Doe.
via Stories of the Unsolved)
The Killer
Clark Perry Baldwin was arrested in May 2020 for the murder of three women, one of which was pregnant at the time of her murder. Baldwin lived in Iowa at the time of his arrest, but he had previously held a job as a truck driver. His known victims were found in Tennessee and Wyoming. The only identified victim was Pamela McCall. Her case was reopened in 2019 by investigators in Tennessee. They put DNA evidence from the scene of her murder into a national database and found matches to the two unidentified victims in Wyoming – Bitter Creek Betty and the I-90 Doe. With the three crimes now linked, investigators used the DNA to create a suspect profile. Though there were no matches in criminal databases, a close match was found in an open source genealogical database. Investigators were able to track down Baldwin by using that close match as a familial starting point. This genetic genealogy provided investigative leads which eventually led to Baldwin.
Baldwin was no stranger to law enforcement. In 1991, he was accused of and charged with the rape of a young woman. He had allegedly picked this woman up as she was hitchhiking, struck her on the head, tied her wrists, and covered her mouth. The attack culminated with Baldwin attempting to strangle the woman. She later claimed he held her at gunpoint. According to several sources, Baldwin had admitted to committing the crimes against this woman, but he was released as Grand Jury proceedings were pending. The victim was unable to be located to testify and charges were subsequently dropped. Additionally, in 1997, he was visited by the secret service as he was accused of counterfeiting money.
via the Des Moines Register)
Possible Identities
18 missing persons have been ruled out as being Jane Doe (I won’t list all of them out, but there’s a list here at Stories of the Unsolved).I could not find any matches to our Doe on NamUs. The only persons with cases in NamUs that match our Doe’s vital statistics – meaning height, weight, and (estimated) date of last contact – were far too old to match the suggested age range given to the Doe. I was unable to find any matches to our Doe on the Charley Project, either. I began my search with February 1992, as it was suggested that the Doe had been deceased for two months upon their discovery. Again, I came up blank. I could not find any possibilities.
And because I can’t find a match, I have a sinking suspicion that our Doe was never reported missing. There are a few scenarios in which this could happen, with two situations looming as most likely in my mind. The first situation is that our Jane Doe was a runaway. Historically, we can see trends of families not reporting runaways, or not being taken seriously by police when they attempted to report their loved one as missing. This definitely seems like a strong possibility based on our Doe’s age. Additionally, they may have been living a nomadic lifestyle either by choice or as a result of running away.
The second theory I have may also be related in much the same way – our Doe may have been engaged in sex work. This links to the despicable idea of the “less dead.” This term is used to describe vulnerable populations that are assumed to not attract attention when they go missing or are found murdered. If our Doe was engaged in such work at the time of her disappearance and murder, their absence may have either 1) gone unnoticed, 2) assumed to be intentional or that they moved to another area, and/or 3) gone unreported due to fear of the authorities. It’s deeply upsetting and our Doe deserves to have their story fully known. Their death should not be the only defining point of their life.
Investigating Agencies
The I-90 Jane Doe has gone 28 years without having their name returned to them. If you know anything or even think you might have a piece of information, please contact the proper authorities. You can contact the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office at 307-777-7181 and reference case number 1992-0119. You can also contact the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation contact person, Kathryn Normington, at 307-777-7181. You can also submit possible matches to the Doe Network for investigation.
Sources
- https://www.thetruckersreport.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/VICAP-Alert-2019-09-02-SEEKING-INFORMATION-HOMICIDE-SERIES-WY-TN-Updated-Public-1.pdf
- https://www.rocketminer.com/news/first-degree-murder-charges-filed-in-bitter-creek-betty-case/article_339737cf-96cd-546f-94fe-fdb184109c2d.html
- https://cowboystatedaily.com/2020/05/08/who-are-bitter-creek-betty-and-i-90-jane-doe/amp/
- https://wyo4news.com/news/arrest-of-cold-case-homicide-suspect/
- https://cowboystatedaily.com/2020/05/08/who-are-bitter-creek-betty-and-i-90-jane-doe/amp/
- https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/vicap/unidentified-persons/jane-doe-40
- https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/9970
- http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/390ufwy.html
- https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Public-Figure/sheridanjanedoe/posts/
- https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/2019/12/03/sheridan-county-jane-doe/amp/
- https://www.columbiatribune.com/news/20200507/trucker-charged-in-serial-killings-faces-scrutiny-across-us/1?template=ampart
- https://y95country.com/what-happened-to-bitter-creek-betty-and-sheridan-county-jane-doe/
- https://morbidology.com/bitter-creek-betty-sheridan-county-jane-doe/
