The Mystery of the Cheerleader in the Trunk
The Catoctin Mountain is the easternmost ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains and stands at 1,900 feet in elevation at its highest point. The mountain is home to many federal, state, local, and private protected lands including Gambrill State Park located in Frederick, Maryland. It was in this park on August 24, 1982 that mushroom hunters made a gruesome discovery. A few feet off of a gravel road they came across a steamer trunk that was lightly covered in some foliage. Unbeknownst to them, they had just come across the body of a murder victim whose identity and the identity of her killer remain a mystery to this day.
The woman in the trunk likely had medium length dark brown hair that was slightly wavy, though her natural hair color might have been more reddish-brown based on her pubic hair. She was initially believed to be somewhere between 17–45 years old, but this range was narrowed down to 17–27 years old by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2020. She was somewhere between 5 foot three inches and 5 foot five inches in height and likely weighed between 100–130 pounds. She was naked and the only thing found with her remains was a dark blue towel. It is believed that she had been dead anywhere from a few months to ten years prior to her discovery and her remains were skeletal. Because of this her eye color was unable to be determined.
Her cause of death was also unable to be determined. But, given the circumstances of her discovery, her death is believed to be a homicide. Some online believe that her cause of death might have been strangulation as her styloid process was broken and there was discoloration on one of her thoracic vertebrae.
She had extensive dental work done. She had two crowns in her left front teeth, a root canal, and several fillings. The fillings include one gold filled tooth on the upper right side and several silver fillings. Her teeth were examined by a forensic dentist who believed that the work on the Jane Doe had been done at a dental school as some of the techniques that were used were not typically used in a dentist’s office but they are still taught to and practiced by students.
Some of the most distinguishing factors about this Jane Doe is the wear on her pelvis, the wear on her lower back, and the fact that she had spondylosis. Spondylosis is the degeneration of the bones and disks of the neck and back. These details led investigators to believe that Jane Doe was heavily involved in sports such as dancing, gymnastics, or cheerleading. Obviously, this is where the Cheerleader in the Trunk got her nickname. Spondylosis was connected to these sports because some of the causes of spondylosis are trauma, previous injuries, falls, and/or excessive high impact exercise. Spondylosis can be asymptomatic or it can cause neck and back pain. So, Jane Doe may have complained about neck or back pain to friends and/or family. Additionally, the wear on her heels made investigators believe that she wore heels quite often.
Was She a Cheerleader?
This is a question that many have pondered over the years. Investigators seem fairly confident about it but does it truly make sense?
The one issue that many have with this assertion is the fact that she likely was not reported missing. If Jane Doe had been a cheerleader, or any of the other sports mentioned, her absence would have likely been noticed. She would be missed by teammates, coaches, and her parents who would have likely been heavily involved in her sport(s) activities. It is likely that she was involved in some kind of sport as the wear and tear on her body indicate long-term damage. However, given the fact that she has gone unidentified for this long, she likely was not involved in team sports close to her death.
If some do not believe that she was involved in these sports, what do they think caused the damage? Many believe that she was, in fact, an exotic dancer. Despite how many view exotic dancing, it does require some intense physical activity. This assertion is strengthened by the fact that she likely wore heels quite often which is common footwear for exotic dancers. This would also explain why she was never reported missing as she could have been estranged from family or her disappearance might not have been taken seriously because of her line of work.
Who Was Her Killer?
If I’m being honest, we do not know. However, with some knowledge of the city of Frederick, Maryland we can make some educated guesses. It is a frequent stop for truckers as it is just off of I-70 and has a plethora of truck stops. Truck driver’s being killers is not a new concept and many of these serial killers were identified and arrested. These include killers like Robert Ben Rhodes, Keith Hunter Jesperson, Clark Perry Baldwin, and many more. While many have been arrested and faced justice for their heinous crimes, many remain unknown to this day. This is likely due to the mobile nature of the offenders. By the time the victim is found the killer could already be two states away.
The map above was compiled by the FBI and released back in 2009 and depicts 500 murders that fit their criteria of women living high-risk lifestyles who are raped, murdered, and dumped along highways.
Many of the women that were picked up by these truckers were sex workers and/or drug addicts. The previous speculation that she was an exotic dancer could still fit this profile. Multiple studies have shown that exotic dancers are significantly more likely to turn to sex work than the average person. One study conducted in Maryland reported that 61% of the exotic dancers studied reported engaging in transactional sex. 67% of those first did so after beginning to dance. Also, 43% admitted to selling sex and 57% reported using drugs. All of these statistics to say, it is possible that Jane Doe’s work as an exotic dancer could have exposed her to the world of sex work and drugs. This would put her right into the victim profile for the many truck driving serial killers.
This could explain why no one in the area seems to know her as she could have been picked up from somewhere else along I-70 or from anywhere else in the United States. Alternatively, she could have been dropped off by a previous John at one of the many truck stops in Frederick, Maryland. While we cannot conclusively prove that Jane Doe was killed by a trucker it would make a lot of sense.
Who Was She?
Again, we do not know. However, we do know who she isn’t.
Rule-Outs
The following is a list of missing women who are not the Cheerleader in the Trunk. All of these women are still missing, except for one.
Possible Identities
The following is a compiled list of possible identities for the Cheerleader in the Trunk. Obviously, all of these women are still missing.
It is important to remember that she could be any of the women listed above or she could be none of them. Many identified Jane and John Does were never reported missing or were written off by authorities as runaways.
Genetic Genealogy and Identification
Genetic genealogy has been a game changer in identifying Jane and John Does over the last few years, but many questions and concerns have been raised about user and familial privacy. These concerns have led to a U.K. inquest that concluded that they would avoid the use of genetic genealogy until proper laws and regulations can be proposed and passed. In the United States the rise of this technology happened so quickly that the states did not have time to make laws regarding it before it was already being used nationwide.
However, Maryland did pass law that would limit the usage of genetic genealogy back in October of 2021. Almost a year after the law was passed many of the facets of it have yet to be enacted. The Maryland Department of Health has failed to publish best practices and minimum qualifications for people using forensic genetic genealogy. Additionally, a task force created by the health department to work on new regulations surrounding genetic genealogy was disbanded with no explanation to its members. In an annual report, a branch of the governor’s office failed to disclose how often law enforcement accesses the data and how many complaints have been filed. Also, no funding was allocated to support the enforcement of the law in the most recent fiscal year.
As if all of the previous stuff wasn’t enough, it seems that there has been a breakdown in communication between the health department and law enforcement. It seems that the health department feels like they are lacking information and support and law enforcement think that the health department are dragging their feet.
All of this to say, while there is technically a law in Maryland that could possibly make it harder to use genetic genealogy in the case of the Cheerleader in the Trunk, it is not really being enforced.
Conclusions
The Cheerleader in the Trunk has been unidentified for almost 42 years and it seems like there is still so much that we don’t know. The Cheerleader in the Trunk does not have fingerprints available for identification, but she does have both her dental records and DNA available. Though it should be noted that the DNA has been deemed insufficient for profiling. It is unknown with the mess surrounding Maryland’s genetic genealogy law if they will attempt to use genetic genealogy in her case, but I really hope that they consider it. After over 40 years it seems like this could be our only chance of finally getting answers in her case.
Whatever the future might hold for the case of the Cheerleader in the Trunk if you have any information that could lead to the identification of the Cheerleader in the Trunk or her killer, please contact:
- Frederick Police Department at (301)-600–2101 in reference to case number 1982–0126333
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1(800)-843–5678 in reference to case number 1107673
Sources
- NamUs: UP7477
- Doe Network: 431UFMD
- NCMEC: Jane Frederick Doe
- Unidentified Wiki: Cheerleader in the Trunk
- The Crime Wire: “Who is the ‘Cheerleader in the Trunk’? A 1982 Cold Case by Taylor René
- Stories of the Unsolved: Cheerleader in the Trunk
- Websleuths: MD — Frederick, WhtFem 17–45, UP7477, in steamer trunk in state park, Spondylolysis, Aug’82
- Reddit: Cheerleader in the trunk by u/Cool-Slip-9852
- YouTube: still unidentified FORTY ONE YEARS later | who is the Cheerleader in the Trunk? by Georgia Marie
- FBI: Highway Serial Killings New Initiative on an Emerging Trend
- National Institute of Health: “Correlates of Current Transactional Sex among a Sample of Female Exotic Dancers in Baltimore, MD” by Jacqueline Reuben et al.
- National Institute of Justice: “Does Exotic Dancing Lead to Prostitution? An Exploratory Study” by Sandy Liles et al.
- National Park Service: Catoctin Mountain
- WMAR2News: “Maryland Quietly Shelves Part of Genealogy Privacy Law” by Patrick Terpstra
