Halton Region Woman, found 1978

Born: 1913-1923.

Found: On or around October 23, 1978, near Chudleigh Farm (off HWYs 25 and 401, see map below).

Physical description: Female, white, 5'3" to 5'4" tall, 110-115 lbs with grey/white/blond hair. She was wearing the following: a) wool jacket: white, black machine made with dark buttons, b) hand-made top: green, yellow, orange and pink flower-pattern, c) heavy blue knitted sweater with wooden buttons, d) brown pants (size 36).

Distinct marks: Severe osteoarthritis in her right hip joint, lower thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae. She likely complained of back pain. She also was missing all her teeth for a significant length of time leading up to her death.

Other items found: The following items were found nearby:
- A pair of brown-rimmed eye glasses
- $1.18 CDN
- A blue nylon jacket
- A pair of purple socks
- A pair of men's cotton underwear
- A red, white, blue print handkerchief
- A white slip
- A pink blouse
- Red, white, black suit pants
- White, green blue wool scarf
- A pair of brown leather winter boots
- A pair of dark navy ladies shoes
- A brown wooden handle kitchen knife
- A blue plastic pen holder
- A pair of scissors
- Assorted buttons
- A pen and a pencil
- A plastic bag containing two Bibles

Case number: 20050067OPP

Blog posts about the Halton Region Woman, found 1978

Featured

Sep 8, 2015

New details of personal items for Halton Woman, found 1978, released by Police. #KnowYourMissing

Sep 8, 2015

Since the first article we wrote regarding the Halton Woman, found 1978 in April 2015, a long list of personal items has been added to her OPP database page.

Sep 8, 2015

May 20, 2015

New Photo and Info for Unidentified Halton Region Woman, Found 1978

May 20, 2015

I spoke today with a Detective with the Halton Regional Police Homicide Unit. He provided an extra photograph, and some extra key information:

Here is the original photo, and a colourized, zoomed image for clarity:

May 20, 2015

Apr 28, 2015

An Eerie Similarity

Apr 28, 2015

Today as the details of Rose Mary Friday's disappearance were being entered onto the site we were struck by an eerie similarity between her and the found, unidentified Halton Region Woman.

Friday went missing in June of 1974, though was not reported missing until October when her husband remarried and his new wife grew suspicious of Rose Mary's sudden absence (we haven't yet determined how he was remarried without a divorce or death certificate for Friday, but we will find out).

Four years after her disappearance, a woman's skeleton was found 30 minutes away from Brampton (Friday's city).

It's important to note that the likelihood of there being a positive match is very low. Having said that, here are the similarities/differences:

Apr 28, 2015

Apr 21, 2015

Halton Woman's news coverage, 1978

Apr 21, 2015

The original article about the still-unidentified woman found in Halton gives some extra detail to the case. Two key facts mentioned in the story that aren't in later police missing persons listings are: a) that the Halton Woman was found badly decomposed (which means she may have been there for a long time), b) that no foul play was suspected (this may have changed in the pathologist's report, but it is unavailable).

Once these files are attained it will be interesting to see what the pathologist ruled as time and cause of death. It could help in finding her friends and loved ones with a more precise timeline.

Apr 21, 2015

Ideal next steps for the Halton Region Woman, found 1978

Apr 21, 2015

The more I look at the file on this found, unidentified woman, the more I am convinced that this project needs to exist. The RCMP listing gives a single, almost indistinguishable, black and white photograph of a scrap of clothing to help the public identify this woman. Keep in mind that they list some very unique clothing, such as a "green, yellow...pink and orange floral pattern" homemade jacket.

Given the volume of evidence found, the ideal next steps would be to take photographs of her clothing. The RCMP report also mentions some very distinguishing features such as missing teeth and "severe osteoarthritis [in her] lower thoracic and lumbar" areas, resulting in high levels of pain. Moreover, (and especially considering there are some talented artists on the internet already doing this in their spare time), confirm whether an artist rendering could be done of her face to approximate her appearance.

After that, it would be a matter of distribution. Social media may not be the best way to go since she was found so long ago (1978) (her relatives and loved ones may not be the Twitter and Facebook types), but perhaps newspaper coverage could really help disseminate some new information about her.

I'll be contacting the RCMP, and will let you know how it unfolds.

Apr 21, 2015