She Had Been Tied To A Tree In A Swamp And Although She Remained A Jane Doe For 44 Years, We Now Know Who The Singer Island Jane Doe Is
Singer Island, Florida. 44 years ago, the skeletal remains of a 15-year-old girl were discovered along with her deteriorated black and grey sweater in the Burnt Bridges area located off A1A.
She had been tied to a tree with wire and discarded in the swamp among some mangrove trees, and back then in 1974, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office couldn’t quite determine how long her remains had been there or how she had exactly died since there was no obvious trauma to her body.
Additionally, the condition of her clothing and her remains made it hard to find any evidence or chase down any leads in her case.
Although the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office created a poster that they circulated with her dental records on there, nobody knew who this teenage girl was, and she became nicknamed the Singer Island Jane Doe.
Last December, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office delivered her remains to a company called Othram so that they could help obtain her DNA and find her relatives, and that was a success.
After 44 years, that 15-year-old girl has finally been identified as Suzanne Gale Poole. Suzanne was reported as missing 2 years before her remains were discovered, and her birthday was February 12th, 1957.
She had lived in a trailer park in Broward County along with her dad, mom, and a couple of brothers.
Susan vanished before Christmas in 1972 and left behind her clothing and pocketbook at an apartment that her friend had where she was occasionally staying. Her family wondered for decades where she had gone.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office; pictured above is Suzanne Gale Poole
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The year that Susan vanished, a serial killer and police officer by the name of Gerard John Schaefer was active in the area where Susan lived, so authorities believe Susan could have been a victim of his.
“Gerard Schaefer is the best suspect due to the location, the fact that she’s in the mangroves, that she’s tied up in the mangroves,” Detective Springer said at a press conference.
“He was active back then, he was a Wilton Manors police officer when she was living there, and his M.O. was to pick up young girls hitchhiking, and back then, from her other friends, they told me that she did hitchhike, so everything kind of fits that way.”
Detective Springer is hoping the Broward County Sheriff’s Office has some evidence left over from Gerard Schaefer, and that there could be some pieces of jewelry among the evidence that may belong to Susan and that her family can identify.
Gerard was sentencing for kidnapping and murdering 16-year-old Georgia Jessup and 17-year-old Susan Place, who were from Broward County.
A few hours ago, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office shared a post on Facebook seeking some of Susan’s friends who might hold some answers for them in regards to solving her case.
“Susan’s mother is still alive and all we need is a lead,” the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office wrote.
“Who could have committed this heinous crime? Det. Springer is asking to speak to her friends.”
Julie Hunt, Greg Anderson, and Michelle Williamson are the names of Julie’s friends that Detective Springer is interested in talking to.
Susan’s family and friends that have been interviewed mentioned these particular friends of hers that Detective Springer would like to find.
Susan had dropped out of school in the weeks leading up to her disappearance, and Detective Springer is hoping that Susan’s three friends Julie, Greg, and Michelle can help put together the pieces on where she was and what she was doing before she vanished.
Detective Springer is also hoping that Susan’s three friends might be able to help tell them about more friends of Susan’s that they can talk to as well.
“These three could help us find the missing piece and give her family closure,” the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office continued.
“Anyone with information please reach out to Det. Springer or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.”
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