NC DURHAM JANE DOE: WF, 25-35, found in plastic storage container in Durham, NC - 22 Oct 2016 *MELISSA ANN POITRA*

NamUs UP15960

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

identifyus.org

Unidentified White Female
Found October 22, 2016 in Durham County, NC
Body Condition: Not recognizable - near complete or complete skeleton
Probable year of death: to

Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 25-35
Approximate Height: 63 estimate.
Approximate Weight: cannot estimate.
Hair Color: Brown; six to seven inches in lenght
Eye Color: Unknown
Scars and marks: nothing
Clothing & Accessories

Clothing: 36 Width, 32 Length jeans and two white socks; Nike shoes
Jewerly: Nothing.
Footwear: nothing
Accessories: Yellow metal Pulsar watch and 3 keys.

Case History: Skeletal remains found in a storage unit inside a plastic, storage container. Unknown how long the remains had been there, but the unit hasn't changed ownership since 2010.

#JaneDoe was found in a storage unit in Durham Co, #NorthCarolina in 2016. The unit had been rented since 2010! WHO WAS SHE?

Skeletal remains found in a storage unit inside a plastic, storage container. Unknown how long the remains had been there, but the unit hasn't changed ownership since 2010.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[GrandmaBear]

I think it is likely, not a sure bet but likely, that they can at least look at the renter of the unit and who surrounds that person and who that person claims had access and then question or look into anyone around those individuals who is missing or not accounted for. Also, whether there are prints on the barrel/tote, etc.

However, then one would think she would be identified based on those suspicions... So perhaps the victim was a stranger who the person who put her in the unit picked up...

Strange though... How did they come to make a legal entry or find her to begin with?? Or did the storage unit renter find her and report it? Just doesn't add up.

 

[Guess Who]

I think it is likely, not a sure bet but likely, that they can at least look at the renter of the unit and who surrounds that person and who that person claims had access and then question or look into anyone around those individuals who is missing or not accounted for. Also, whether there are prints on the barrel/tote, etc.

However, then one would think she would be identified based on those suspicions... So perhaps the victim was a stranger who the person who put her in the unit picked up...

Strange though... How did they come to make a legal entry or find her to begin with?? Or did the storage unit renter find her and report it? Just doesn't add up.

nonpayment of rent would give them legal entry

 

[GrandmaBear]

nonpayment of rent would give them legal entry

I considered that but it said it had been the same renter since something like 2010 and so I assumed the rent was up to date although I guess it does not say that. Also, they still have to give notice to the renter before entry and in our area, they publicize it in the paper too if necessary.

 

[Mel70]

but how many people had access to the unit?

I just don't buy that.

 

[Mel70]

A perp will tell you they lent the key to everyone in town.

But they are ultimately responsible for the unit.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I just don't buy that.

I have to somewhat agree. I feel a perp would definitely say several had access just so he is not suspected but I don't think most people give a ton of people access to their storage unit. I have one and no one has access. If I had someone go to it for me, there are but a few I would consider. I have entered those my adult children have had to assist or move something for them or store something for them.

You don't get a locked unit except to protect something and most people would allow no one in it any more so than who would be trusted with a key to their home. Generally for most people, that is very few people.

 

[Mel70]

And of it's your unit and a body was found you're suspect 1. You would then be asked who else had access. IDK isn't a satisfactory answer to me.

 

[Guess Who]

I have to somewhat agree. I feel a perp would definitely say several had access just so he is not suspected but I don't think most people give a ton of people access to their storage unit. I have one and no one has access. If I had someone go to it for me, there are but a few I would consider. I have entered those my adult children have had to assist or move something for them or store something for them.

You don't get a locked unit except to protect something and most people would allow no one in it any more so than who would be trusted with a key to their home. Generally for most people, that is very few people.

but you have to have evidence in order to make sure the correct person is charged. You either have to eliminate the unit owner or include them and if it was entered due to non payment, is the owner even alive? If the owner is not alive, how long? I would be more interested in finding out who was actually paying for the unit. That is the person I would be most interested in. While the unit we had was in our names, our daughter was the one responsible for making the payments. I sure wasn't going to pay for her storage when she was capable of doing it herself and it was 100% her stuff and who she let enter was not my concern

 

[GrandmaBear]

And of it's your unit and a body was found you're suspect 1. You would then be asked who else had access. IDK isn't a satisfactory answer to me.

I think there is little doubt the renter of the unit has been talked to if known, if alive and if located...

 

[Mel70]

But there again it's an immediate circle. Information from LE needs to be known.

 

[GrandmaBear]

but you have to have evidence in order to make sure the correct person is charged. You either have to eliminate the unit owner or include them and if it was entered due to non payment, is the owner even alive? If the owner is not alive, how long? I would be more interested in finding out who was actually paying for the unit. That is the person I would be most interested in. While the unit we had was in our names, our daughter was the one responsible for making the payments. I sure wasn't going to pay for her storage when she was capable of doing it herself and it was 100% her stuff and who she let enter was not my concern

For me, nothing I am saying means I think there is necessarily enough for an arrest but that certainly the renter and anyone with access has been talked to by LE, may be on their radar, and it would be interesting to know if they have or have not, etc.

 

[GrandmaBear]

But there again it's an immediate circle. Information from LE needs to be known.

I agree that even if not enough for an arrest it is and may well be relevant to identifying her and I would sure hope the he77 they have done and are doing such.

 

[Mel70]

O.K. So I finally was able to get ahold of the phone # for Homicide. I spoke to Seargeant Garcia. She just got transferred there but is familiar with the case. I gave her my personal information. She said she will call me bk by tomorrow. Homicide 919 560 4440 option 6. Option 1 for supervisors. Option 1 for Sgt Garcia.

 

[Kimster]

I would love to ask an attorney the law on illegal items being stored in a storage unit. Does the law view them as the owner of the unit being responsible? If so, why haven't we heard that anyone was arrested for wrongful disposal of a human body in this case? Or did they and we haven't found a link to it?

 

[Mel70]

I will find out more when Sgt. Garcia calls me no. I told her exactly why I was calling. That piece of information was missing.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I too would often love an attorney's input on some of these case questions. That is exactly my question, is where is that part of this story?

 

[Romulus]

Identified!

Remains Found in North Carolina Storage Unit Identified as Turtle Mountain Chippewa Woman Missing for 15 Years

BELCOURT, N.D. — Human remains were identified on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 as Melissa “Missy” Ann Poitra, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa—more than 1,600 miles away from her home in Durham, N.C. She had been missing since 2005 and was living with her boyfriend in the Durham area...

nativenewsonline.net

BELCOURT, N.D. — Human remains were identified on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 as Melissa “Missy” Ann Poitra, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa—more than 1,600 miles away from her home in Durham, N.C. She had been missing since 2005 and was living with her boyfriend in the Durham area at the time of her disappearance.

When an online article was published in 2016 about an unidentified woman in Durham being discovered in a plastic tote concealed in a storage unit, Missy’s sister Jessica Poitra had suspicions that the person was her sister, who had been missing for more than 10 years. According to the news article, the woman’s body had been at the scene for “up to a decade” before being discovered. It is unclear how long the remains may have been hidden in the storage unit in Durham County, but the unit was rented by the same person since 2010.

Police had named her Durham Jane Doe (a name often given by law enforcement when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed) and illustrated her as a white woman with white skin and red hair, said Jessica. “The woman had the same gap in her teeth as my sister did and we knew it was my sister,” Jessica told Native News Online. “But the police wouldn’t believe us.”


When the police announced the death it was presumed suspicious, but there was little evidence pointing to the identity of the victim or how she ended up in the storage unit. “I have no idea,” said Jessica as to how or why her sister was found dead. “We were told by the police that her death was suspected as a homicide.”

Missy Poitra (left) with her sister Jessica Poitra, in 2000. (Photo courtesy Jessica Poitra)

Missy’s family didn’t give up, however. Missy’s daughter Brittani Hetland, who is now 27-years-old and was only 10-years-old when her mother went missing, continued to call the Durham Police Department demanding them to conduct a DNA swab to test for a possible match of Durham’s Jane Doe. It wasn’t until November 2020 that police identified the remains discovered in October 2016 as being of Native American descent. Durham Police reached out to Missy’s father, Cary Poitra, to match his DNA sample against the remains of a Jane Doe in North Carolina. On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, Durham Police identified Durham Jane Doe as Melissa Ann Poitra through a DNA test.


“When I found out Durham Jane Doe was my sister, I didn’t believe it,” said Jessica.

The Durham Police Department announced on Nov. 5, 2020 that “Melissa Ann Poitra has not been in contact with her family for many years and they are trying to locate her” on the City of Durham’s website. They said that she was known to frequent the east Durham area and are seeking for the public’s help in locating Missy, who was last seen in the city in late 2005.

The family has to wait for the police report to update the name of Durham Jane Doe to Melissa Ann Poitra, and for the Durham County Coroner to release the remains to a nearby funeral home, which is expected to happen this week. “She was Jane Doe for almost six years,” said Jessica. “We are ready to bring her home.”


The family set up a GoFundMe to help Missy’s daughter drive to Durham to retrieve her mother’s remains so that she can be buried among her relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

“It’s a tragic, horrible day for North Dakota and all tribal nations,” North Dakota state Rep. Ruth Buffalo told Native News Online. “We send our condolences to the family.”

North Dakota was the first state in the country to pass legislation aimed at addressing the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Rep. Buffalo introduced a package of six bills to combat missing and murdered Indigenous people in her first term in 2019 and they passed almost unanimously with bipartisan support.


“We must remain vigilant until no more sisters are stolen from their families and communities,” Buffalo said.

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Durham Police Department were contacted for more information.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Police had named her Durham Jane Doe (a name often given by law enforcement when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed) and illustrated her as a white woman with white skin and red hair, said Jessica. “The woman had the same gap in her teeth as my sister did and we knew it was my sister,” Jessica told Native News Online. “But the police wouldn’t believe us.”

Definitely problematic. Not a white female.

 

[Kimster]

Identified!

Remains Found in North Carolina Storage Unit Identified as Turtle Mountain Chippewa Woman Missing for 15 Years

BELCOURT, N.D. — Human remains were identified on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 as Melissa “Missy” Ann Poitra, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa—more than 1,600 miles away from her home in Durham, N.C. She had been missing since 2005 and was living with her boyfriend in the Durham area...

nativenewsonline.net

View attachment 11120

BELCOURT, N.D. — Human remains were identified on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 as Melissa “Missy” Ann Poitra, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa—more than 1,600 miles away from her home in Durham, N.C. She had been missing since 2005 and was living with her boyfriend in the Durham area at the time of her disappearance.

When an online article was published in 2016 about an unidentified woman in Durham being discovered in a plastic tote concealed in a storage unit, Missy’s sister Jessica Poitra had suspicions that the person was her sister, who had been missing for more than 10 years. According to the news article, the woman’s body had been at the scene for “up to a decade” before being discovered. It is unclear how long the remains may have been hidden in the storage unit in Durham County, but the unit was rented by the same person since 2010.

Police had named her Durham Jane Doe (a name often given by law enforcement when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed) and illustrated her as a white woman with white skin and red hair, said Jessica. “The woman had the same gap in her teeth as my sister did and we knew it was my sister,” Jessica told Native News Online. “But the police wouldn’t believe us.”


When the police announced the death it was presumed suspicious, but there was little evidence pointing to the identity of the victim or how she ended up in the storage unit. “I have no idea,” said Jessica as to how or why her sister was found dead. “We were told by the police that her death was suspected as a homicide.”

Missy Poitra (left) with her sister Jessica Poitra, in 2000. (Photo courtesy Jessica Poitra)

Missy’s family didn’t give up, however. Missy’s daughter Brittani Hetland, who is now 27-years-old and was only 10-years-old when her mother went missing, continued to call the Durham Police Department demanding them to conduct a DNA swab to test for a possible match of Durham’s Jane Doe. It wasn’t until November 2020 that police identified the remains discovered in October 2016 as being of Native American descent. Durham Police reached out to Missy’s father, Cary Poitra, to match his DNA sample against the remains of a Jane Doe in North Carolina. On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, Durham Police identified Durham Jane Doe as Melissa Ann Poitra through a DNA test.


“When I found out Durham Jane Doe was my sister, I didn’t believe it,” said Jessica.

The Durham Police Department announced on Nov. 5, 2020 that “Melissa Ann Poitra has not been in contact with her family for many years and they are trying to locate her” on the City of Durham’s website. They said that she was known to frequent the east Durham area and are seeking for the public’s help in locating Missy, who was last seen in the city in late 2005.

The family has to wait for the police report to update the name of Durham Jane Doe to Melissa Ann Poitra, and for the Durham County Coroner to release the remains to a nearby funeral home, which is expected to happen this week. “She was Jane Doe for almost six years,” said Jessica. “We are ready to bring her home.”


The family set up a GoFundMe to help Missy’s daughter drive to Durham to retrieve her mother’s remains so that she can be buried among her relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

“It’s a tragic, horrible day for North Dakota and all tribal nations,” North Dakota state Rep. Ruth Buffalo told Native News Online. “We send our condolences to the family.”

North Dakota was the first state in the country to pass legislation aimed at addressing the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Rep. Buffalo introduced a package of six bills to combat missing and murdered Indigenous people in her first term in 2019 and they passed almost unanimously with bipartisan support.


“We must remain vigilant until no more sisters are stolen from their families and communities,” Buffalo said.

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and the Durham Police Department were contacted for more information.

If this police department has ever said that they leave no stones unturned, they need to wake up and smell the coffee. They did not roll over every stone in this case. I hope it’s a lesson to them to be more thorough in the future.

So happy she’s been identified!

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

They released this in November 2020. When they already had her remains. And her family told them they thought it was her years ago. Apparently last seen in 2005... Storage unit hadn't changed owners since 2010. Found in 2016.

Missing Person - Melissa Poitra

Durham police are trying to locate 42-year-old Melissa Ann Poitra who was last known to have been seen in Durham in late 2005. While DPD investigators were recently looking into an unrelated case, the

durhamnc.gov

and

Police looking for woman last seen in Durham in 2005

Durham police are asking for the public's help locating a woman who was last seen in the city in late 2005.

www.wral.com