too many gifts

there's 1 family who loves giving me gifts. usually macadamia nut cookies and something else. it's nice if it's only a few a year (Christmas and my birthday and maybe one other) but they wanted to give me going back to school presents.

Scientology controversies

Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of controversies. Some major sources of controversy are the Church's aggressive attitude in dealing with its perceived enemies and critics, allegations of mistreatment of members, and predatory financial practices, for example the high cost of religious training and perceived exploitative practices. When mainstream media outlets have reported alleged abuses, representatives of the church have tended to deny such allegations. Secrecy: The church maintains strict control over the use of its symbols, names and religious texts. Although U.S. intellectual property law allows for "fair use" of material for commentary, parody, educational purposes, etc., critics of the church such as Gerry Armstrong have argued that the church unfairly and illegally uses the legal system to suppress "fair" uses, including suppressing any mention of the space opera aspects of the religion, including the story of Xenu. One example cited by critics is a 1995 lawsuit against the Washington Post newspaper et al. The Religious Technology Center (RTC), the corporation that controls L. Ron Hubbard's copyrighted materials, sued to prevent a Post reporter from describing church teachings at the center of another lawsuit, claiming copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and that the circulation of their "advanced technology" teachings would cause "devastating, cataclysmic spiritual harm" to those not prepared. In her judgment in favor of the Post, Judge Leonie Brinkema noted: When the RTC first approached the Court with its ex parte request for the seizure warrant and Temporary Restraining Order, the dispute was presented as a straight-forward one under copyright and trade secret law. However, the Court is now convinced that the primary motivation of RTC in suing Lerma, DGS and the Post is to stifle criticism of Scientology in general and to harass its critics. As the increasingly vitriolic rhetoric of its briefs and oral argument now demonstrates, the RTC appears far more concerned about criticism of Scientology than vindication of its secrets. — U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, Religious Technology Center v. Arnaldo Lerma, Washington Post, Mark Fisher, and Richard Leiby, 29 November 1995 Scientology and psychiatry: There have been a number of controversies between Scientology and psychiatry since the founding of the Church of Scientology in 1952. Scientology is publicly, and often vehemently, opposed to both psychiatry and psychology. Scientologists view psychiatry as a barbaric and corrupt profession and encourage alternative care based on spiritual healing. According to the Church of Scientology, psychiatry has a long history of improper and abusive care. The group's views have been disputed, criticized and condemned by experts in the medical and scientific community and been a source of public controversy. The Church of Scientology’s objection to secular ideas about mental health are religious in nature, based on the conviction that humans are essentially divine beings who have been marred by negative experiences acquired over several lifetimes. Scientology also purports that the secular perception of what is mentally normal are not based on science, a contradiction to the claims of psychiatry and psychology. The Church founded an anti-psychiatry organization called Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), which operates a museum in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California called Psychiatry: An Industry of Death. The museum is dedicated to criticizing what it describes as "an industry driven entirely by profit". It has a variety of displays and exhibits that highlight physical psychiatric treatments, such as restraints, psychoactive drugs, Electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery (including lobotomy, a procedure abandoned in the 1960s). "Attack the Attacker" policy: Scientology has a reputation for hostile action toward anyone who criticizes it in a public forum; executives within the organization have proclaimed that Scientology is "not a turn-the-other-cheek religion". Journalists, politicians, former Scientologists and various anti-cult groups have made accusations of wrongdoing against Scientology since the 1960s, and Scientology has targeted these critics - almost without exception - for retaliation, in the form of lawsuits and public counter-accusations of personal wrongdoing. Many of Scientology's critics have also reported they were subject to threats and harassment in their private lives. The organization's actions reflect a formal policy for dealing with criticism instituted by L. Ron Hubbard, called "attack the attacker". Hubbard codified this policy in the latter half of the 1960s in response to government investigations into the organization. In 1966, Hubbard wrote a criticism of the organization's behavior and noted the "correct procedure" for attacking enemies of Scientology: (1) Spot who is attacking us. (2) Start investigating them promptly for felonies or worse using own professionals, not outside agencies. (3) Double curve our reply by saying we welcome an investigation of them. (4) Start feeding lurid, blood, sex, crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press. Don't ever tamely submit to an investigation of us. Make it rough, rough on attackers all the way. You can get "reasonable about it" and lose. Sure we break no laws. Sure we have nothing to hide. BUT attackers are simply an anti-Scientology propaganda agency so far as we are concerned. They have proven they want no facts and will only lie no matter what they discover. So BANISH all ideas that any fair hearing is intended and start our attack with their first breath. Never wait. Never talk about us—only them. Use their blood, sex, crime to get headlines. Don't use us. I speak from 15 years of experience in this. There has never yet been an attacker who was not reeking with crime. All we had to do was look for it and murder would come out. — Attacks on Scientology, "Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter", 25 February 1966 Scientology and Me: In 2007 a BBC documentary on Scientology by reporter John Sweeney came under scrutiny by Scientologists. Sweeney alleged that "While making our BBC Panorama film Scientology and Me I have been shouted at, spied on, had my hotel invaded at midnight, denounced as a 'bigot' by star Scientologists, brain-washed—that is how it felt to me—in a mock up of a Nazi-style torture chamber and chased round the streets of Los Angeles by sinister strangers". This resulted in a video being distributed by Scientologists of a shouting match between Sweeney and Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis. The church has reportedly released a DVD that accuses the BBC of organising a demonstration outside a Scientology office in London, during which "terrorist death threats" were made against Scientologists. The BBC described the allegations as "clearly laughable and utter nonsense". Sandy Smith, the BBC programme's producer, commented that the church of Scientology has "no way of dealing with any kind of criticism at all". Fair Game: Hubbard detailed his rules for attacking critics in a number of policy letters, including one often quoted by critics as "the Fair Game policy". This allowed that those who had been declared enemies of the Church, called "suppressive persons" (SPs), "May be deprived of property or injured by any means...May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed". (taken from HCOPL Oct. 18, 1967 Issue IV, Penalties for Lower Conditions ) The aforementioned policy was canceled and replaced by HCOPL July 21, 1968, Penalties for Lower Conditions. The wordings "May be deprived of property or injured by any means...May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed", are not found in this reference. Scientology critics argue that only the term but not the practice was removed. To support this contention, they refer to "HCO Policy Letter of October 21, 1968" which says, "The practice of declaring people FAIR GAME will cease. FAIR GAME may not appear on any Ethics Order. It causes bad public relations. This P/L does not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of a SP." According to a book by Omar Garrison, HCOPL March 7, 1969, was created under pressure by the government of New Zealand. Garrison quotes from the HCOPL, "We are going in the direction of mild ethics and involvement with the Society". Garrison then states, "It was partly on the basis of these policy reforms that the New Zealand Commission of Inquiry recommended that no legislative action be taken against Scientology". The source of Omar Garrison for this is most likely the Dumbleton-Powles Report, additional data and quotations are found in this report. In 1977, top officials of Scientology's "Guardian's Office", an internal security force run by Hubbard's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, admitted that fair game was policy in the GO. (U.S. v. Kember, Budlong Sentencing Memorandum - Undated, 1981). In separate cases in 1979 and 1984, attorneys for Scientology argued that the Fair Game policy was in fact a core belief of Scientology and as such deserved protection as religious expression. "Dead agenting": In the 1970s, Hubbard continued to codify the policy of "attacking the attacker" and assigned a term to it that is used frequently within Scientology: "dead agenting". Used as a verb, "dead agenting" is described by Hubbard as a technique for countering negative accusations against Scientology by diverting the critical statements and making counter-accusations against the accuser; in other words, to "attack the attacker". Hubbard defined the PR (public relations) policy on "dead agenting" in a 1974 bulletin: The technique of proving utterances false is called "DEAD AGENTING." It's in the first book of Chinese espionage. When the enemy agent gives false data, those who believed him but now find it false kill him—or at least cease to believe him. So the PR slang for it is 'Dead Agenting.'" — L. Ron Hubbard, Board Policy Letter, PR Series 24: Handling Hostile Contacts/Dead Agenting, May 30, 1974. The phrase comes from a misunderstanding of the chapter on espionage in The Art of War. The Scientology-sponsored website, religiousfreedomwatch.org, features depictions of so-called "anti-religious extremists", most of them critics of Scientology. Featuring photos of the critics and claimed evidence of their personal wrongdoing (sometimes very vague, for example: "Documentation received by Religious Freedom Watch shows that Kristi Wachter paid an individual to carry out a specific project for her, and also instructed this individual to lie about what he was doing in case he was caught"). The "Religious Freedom Watch" site is often cited by alt.religion.scientology users as a contemporary example of "dead agenting". Dead agenting has also been carried out by flier campaigns against some critics—using so-called "DA fliers". Bonnie Woods, an ex-member who began counseling people involved with Scientology and their families, became a target along with her husband in 1993 when the Church of Scientology started a leaflet operation denouncing her as a "hate campaigner" with demonstrators outside their home and around East Grinstead. After a long battle of libel suits, in 1999, the church agreed to issue an apology and to pay £55,000 damages and £100,000 costs to the Woods.

where did this come from?

after school my back started hurting for some unknown reason. my back will randomly hurt like that but usually i'll know where it comes from.

Buckskin Girl

Buckskin Girl is the nickname given to an unidentified female murder victim discovered in 1981 in Troy, Miami County, Ohio. She is known for her distinct hairstyle along with the tasseled suede jacket she wore. The victim may have been murdered by a serial killer who had killed many prostitutes or dancers in the area, although this specific case had no indication of sexual activity. Discovery and death: The victim was found within thirty-six and fifty hours of her death off of Ohio State Route 55, near Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio after police responded to a call stating that a woman's body had been found along a road. A passerby had first noticed the victim's poncho and soon after discovered the victim's body. The body had been placed face-down and the victim had suffered trauma to the head, strangulation and her shoes were absent from the scene. Authorities believed that she had been killed elsewhere and left on the road after her death. Some believe she may have been a teenage runaway or a possible victim of a serial killer who had murdered multiple prostitutes in the region. However, the scene showed no signs of sexual assault, rape or other sexual activity, indicating that the Buckskin Girl had not been a sex worker. Because of the absence of footwear, some believe she may have been murdered by an abusive significant other. A retired investigator stated that the victim was not likely from the area where she was found. Description: The young woman's reddish-brown hair was braided into pigtails on both sides of her head. Blue rubber bands had been used to hold the braids in place. Her eyes were a "light brown" and she had many freckles across her face. Her nose was described to be "very pointed" as well. Her personal hygiene was described to be well maintained, and all of her teeth, including the wisdom teeth, were in good condition and had no evidence of fillings or other dental work, except for a porcelain crown on her upper-right incisor. The victim was described to have had a "normal" amount of pubic hair that was reddish-brown, indicating that she did not dye her hair. The victim had a ruddy complexion, indicating she spent a lot of time outdoors. She was between 5'4" and 5'6" and weighed 125 - 130 pounds. Several scars were also found on the body, including a vertical scar under the chin, on one wrist, the arms and the ankle. Her bra size was 32D. She wore Wrangler jeans, a patterned brown and orange turtleneck pullover sweater, a white bra, as well as a deerskin poncho that appeared to have been handmade with purple lining. She wore no shoes or socks. Investigation: The body was autopsied on the afternoon that it was discovered. The coroner officially ruled her death as being the result of strangulation. Early efforts to identify the Buckskin Girl involved the creation of a sketch of the face that would be published in local newspapers and television networks on April 28, 1981. About two hundred leads were followed as a result of media attention, yet none resulted in any solution. She was eventually buried, but her clothing remains in storage at the local police department. Because of the short time the victim had been deceased, it was possible to obtain her fingerprints. Her dental information and DNA were also taken. Although these three elements are considered vital for identifying a body, they have not led to her identity. Approximately 165 missing women and girls were ruled out as possible identities of the victim, including Tina Kemp, Pamela Harvey Rousseau and Karen Zendrosky. Some believed that she had been a runaway teenager or a transient wanderer, although her excellent personal hygiene suggested that she had access to hygiene products not too long before her death. Since her body was located near a town road instead of a highway, the probability of her being a "wanderer" for a significant amount of time was initially thought to be negligible. In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a forensic facial reconstruction of the victim and added her case to their website, depicting her with and without her braided hairstyle. Later that year, the Miami County Police Department approved forensic palynology tests on the victim's clothing, which suggested that she had spent time in the Northeastern part of the United States, as well as in the Western part of the country, or northern Mexico. Soot particles were also found on some of her clothing, which suggested she had been in a populous region, most likely near vehicles. Serial killer theory: Some investigators speculate that the Buckskin Girl was the first of many victims killed by an unidentified serial killer who perpetrated his murders in the 1980s and 1990s, continuing until 2004, in Ohio. Such a serial killer was suspected to have killed approximately seven to ten other women, presumed prostitutes and exotic dancers, in Ohio. In 1991, a press conference preceded the creation of a task force which attempted to connect various murders in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois. These cases were originally connected by a reporter who discovered similarities between unsolved murders in the area. On an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, the case was briefly detailed along with several other cases connected to the unidentified serial killer. The program connected the Buckskin Girl with the murders of Shirley Dee Taylor, Anna Marie Patterson, Hebron Jane Doe and other murder cases. All of the victims had been beaten or strangled and had some clothing or jewelry missing. The Buckskin Girl wore no jewelry, had her footwear removed, and died in a similar manner to that of the other victims. There are, however, several indications disputing this theory. The Buckskin Girl was missing shoes when she was found, but there was no indication that she had participated in any sexual activity prior to death. Furthermore, she was fairly well-groomed, unlike many of the other victims. Some, like the Hebron Jane Doe had participated in sexual activity before their deaths, a factor which indicated that they were sex workers. Also diverging from the theory, Patterson's body had been wrapped in a sleeping bag and was likely stored in a refrigerated area for "nearly a month" before it was located on the side of a highway. It is thought that the women who may have been victims of the serial killer could have met with a man at a truck stop while working as prostitutes. In the case of Anna Marie Patterson, there was a suspect, identified over a CB radio as "Dr. No", believed to be between the ages of 25 and 40. Patterson's husband, who was involved with her work as a sex worker, stated that she was uncomfortable accepting the man's requests, as other local prostitutes, some speaking over the radio, had expressed that they were suspicious of the man and did not wish to meet with him. Police have suspected that this person may have been her killer, and that he may also have been involved in the death of the Buckskin Girl. Earlier, it was presumed that she had been a victim of a different span of killings, known as the Redhead murders, but this theory has been ruled out. Early speculation also made a connection to the murder of a 27-year-old woman in February 1981, yet police never made an official link between these two murders.

Redhead murders

The "Redhead murders" are a series of unsolved homicides believed to have been committed by an unidentified serial killer in various parts of the United States, including Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. It is presumed that the killings occurred between October 1978 and the 1980s, but they may have continued until 1992. The victims, many of whom have never been identified, usually had reddish hair and their bodies were abandoned along major highways in the United States; presumably, they were hitchhiking or engaged in prostitution. Authorities are unsure of how many people were responsible for these murders, if they were all performed by the same perpetrator(s), or how many victims there were. It is believed that a total of six to eleven victims were involved. Victims- Wetzel County victim: The body of a white female was found naked alongside Route 250 near Littleton, Wetzel County, West Virginia on February 13, 1983. A pair of senior citizens reported that they thought the remains were a mannequin before discovering it was a human corpse. The body had been placed at the area recently, as the snow was on the ground and absent on the body. Tire tracks and footprints indicate she died at a different area and was transported to the location where she was found. It is presumed that she had died two days before. She had not been an apparent victim of sexual assault, although foul play may have been involved in her death. This woman's cause of death was not officially determined, but she is a possible victim, as she may have been suffocated or strangled. This woman was one of the older victims, as her age range was between 35 and 45. The woman's hair was auburn, which matched the criteria for the killer. Her height was estimated to be approximately five feet six inches (168 cm) and weight as 135 pounds (61 kg). Her eyes were presumed to be brown, although decomposition made it difficult to accurately determine eye color. She had two distinct scars, including one found on her abdomen from a Caesarean section, indicating she had at least one child and another found on one of the index fingers. The woman's legs and underarms were shaven, indicating an attention to grooming not characteristic of a transient or hitchhiker. A person of interest has emerged in this case, believed to be a middle-aged white male at the height of approximately five feet ten inches (178 cm) and weighing 185 to 200 pounds (84 to 91 kg). The man was seen near the area where the body was found and could have been involved with disposing of her body. The victim herself may have been seen alive in Wheeling, West Virginia as an employee or customer at a bar. She was subsequently buried after a funeral took place. Lisa Nichols: The body of 28-year-old Lisa Nichols, who also used the last name of Jarvis, was found on September 16, 1984 along Interstate 40 near West Memphis, Arkansas. She was a resident of West Virginia and authorities were not able to come into contact with family members for some time, indicating she was estranged from them, resulting in her remaining unidentified for nearly a year. Her body was not identified until June 1985, nine months after she was strangled and left wearing only a sweater. Nichols is believed to be a part of the Redhead Murders, as she was found along a highway and had strawberry-blond hair at the time of her demise. Her remains were identified by a couple from Florida, who had allowed her to stay with them for a period of time. Nichols may have been murdered after leaving a truck stop along the highway and may have attempted to hitchhike. Campbell County victim: On January 1, 1985, another victim was found near Jellico, Tennessee, in Campbell County on interstate 75. Although her murder occurred three days before, presumably on December 30, 1984, she was already in an advanced state of decomposition. Like the others, she was white and had short red hair, which was somewhat curly. She was likely between the ages of 17 and 25, although she may have been as old as 30 at the time she was murdered. The victim was found clothed, with a tan pullover, a shirt and jeans. The Jane Doe had green or hazel eyes, which could not be positively confirmed as a certain color because of the state of her body. The young woman also had freckles, various scars and burn marks on her body and was two and a half to five months pregnant when murdered by an undisclosed method. She had no evidence of dental work, except for a partial denture holding two false teeth on her upper jaw. It is believed that she was between five feet one and five feet four inches (163 cm) when she died and was approximately 110 to 115 pounds (50 to 52 kg), although The Doe Network and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System state her body was too decomposed to estimate the weight of the victim. Second Campbell County victim: The second Campbell County victim was found on April 3, 1985, but her hair color is unknown, which does not immediately indicate she was a victim of the Redhead Murderer. She was believed to have died between 1981 and 1984, one to four years before. Unlike the other victims, she was younger, between 9 and 15, when the others were estimated to be over 16. She was located by a passerby about 200 yards off Big Wheel Gap Road, four miles southwest of Jellico in Campbell County, some distance from interstate 75, near a strip mine. The cause of this girl's death is unknown, as her remains were partial, but still may be homicide. Thirty-two bones, including her skull, were all that were recovered from the scene. Her skull allowed facial reconstruction. She wore a necklace and bracelet made of plastic buttons from clothing. There were a pair of boots recovered that were size 5, which may not belong to the victim, and a few scraps of clothing. Due to the condition of her body, her height, weight, eye color and hair color were not possible to estimate. Cheatham County victim: The skeletonized body of a red-haired female was located on March 31, 1985 in Pleasant View, Cheatham County, Tennessee. She was believed to have died three to five months before, due to an unknown cause. However, her case is possibly linked to the redhead murders because her remains were found at the side of a highway, interstate 24. Unlike some of the other victims, she wore clothing: a shirt, sweater, pants and underwear. She was white, between five feet and five feet two inches (157 cm) tall with an inestimable weight. By examining her teeth, the victim had some evidence of crowding and overlapping of her teeth. This woman was believed to be between the ages of thirty-one and forty at the time of her death. Knox County victim: The body of a woman who had died by suffocation was found in a white Admiral refrigerator in Gray, Knox County, Kentucky on April 1, 1985, alongside Route 25. The refrigerator had a decal of the words "Super Woman" on the front. The victim had been dead for a few days, and was nude except for two distinctive necklace pendants, one of a heart and the other of a gold-colored eagle, and two pairs of socks; one white, and the other white with green and yellow stripes. There were reports that the victim may have been soliciting a ride to North Carolina over CB radio. Five hundred people attended her funeral, which was also televised. The case was a local sensation in Gray, as the town was a "quiet" and "sleepy" place where little out of the ordinary usually happened. Distinguishing features of the body included a number of moles (on the right side of her neck, near one ankle, and below each breast), a yellow-stained upper incisor, and a scar and other marks on her abdomen, indicating that she had borne a child. Her eyes were light brown and her hair was red and nearly a foot long, which fit the pattern of the redhead killer. After her autopsy, she was determined to be between 24 and 35 years old and approximately 4 feet 9 to 4 feet 11 inches tall. It is also possible that she owned a pair of boots found near the refrigerator. Several missing persons have been eliminated as possible matches for the victim. After the case was publicized in January 2013, the police received some tips, but it is unknown if they became solid leads. Greene County victim: On April 14, 1985, a young white female's body was located in Greenville, Greene County, Tennessee. She had died by severe blunt-force trauma and possibly a stab wound three to six weeks before and was an advanced state of decomposition. However, her fingerprints were possible to obtain, as well as her DNA and dental information. She had been approximately six to eight weeks pregnant shortly before she died, but had miscarried recently. She was estimated to be 14 to 20 years old (possibly as old as 25) and was five feet four inches to five feet six inches (168 cm) tall at a weight of 130 to 140 pounds (59 to 64 kg). She had a slight overbite and had some fillings in her teeth, showing that she had dental care in life. She had also painted her fingernails pink. Because she had light brown to blond hair with red highlights, it is possible that her case could be related to the Redhead murders. Authorities hoped in late April 1985 that they would identify her body by comparing her fingerprints to other people's but were unsuccessful, as she remains unidentified today. Six missing women were ruled out as possible identities of the victim. Other possible victims: It is possible that the Rising Fawn Jane Doe, located in 1988 in Georgia may have been a victim of the Redhead Murderer, according to amateur sleuths online. This victim was sexually assaulted, and had been strangled to death; she was between 16 and 25 years old. She had red hair, like the other victims and was found near interstate 59. Also suggested as possible victims included the female victim of the Pemiscot County Does, found in Arkansas in 1978, the Desoto County Jane Doe, found in 1985, the Pulaski County Jane Doe, found in 1985 in Arkansas, the Hawayr County Jane Doe (identified as Priscilla Ann Blevins), the Roane County Jane Doe, found in 1987, the Benton County Jane Doe, found in 1990, the Hebron Jane Doe, found in Ohio in 1990 and the Simpson County Jane Doe, found in Tennessee in 2001. -The Mississippi County victim has an inconsistency with the murders since she was seen alive with a man, also unidentified, whose body was found in Missouri, but is believed to have been killed by the same person. She also had blond hair and was murdered by gunshot, years before most of the Redhead murders took place. She was, however, found alongside interstate 55. Priscilla Blevins was located in North Carolina along interstate 40 in March 1985, 10 years after she disappeared from her home in Charlotte. Her remains were identified in 2012. Blevins' cause of death has not been established, however, it is believed that she died in July 1975 at the time of her disappearance and that her body was dumped at the side of I-40 soon after her death, where it remained until discovered by a member of a highway work crew. -Although the Roane County victim was found in Tennessee and was white, her body had been burned, unlike any of the suspected victims. She also had a hysterectomy and tracheotomy, which none of the other victims had. Also, it has not been stated if her remains were located near a highway. Her hair color was impossible to determine because of the condition of the body. The Pulaski County Jane Doe was also found in 1985 alongside a road. She had auburn hair but was not located along a highway. Her cause of death is not known and she had died sometime earlier, as her body was reduced to bones. The Benton County Jane Doe was found in 1990 along Highway 102 and was murdered by a gunshot wound. Her skeletonized remains had been set on fire and only some bones were recovered. It is known that she was shot before she was burned during the same year she was located. She was found near interstate 102. -The Hebron Jane Doe, a suspected prostitute, was located in Ohio in 1990, which is a considerable distance from most of the states where the red-haired victims were found. She was also killed five years after most of the murders happened, but had red hair and was left near an interstate. She had also had sexual intercourse shortly before her death. April Lacy was murdered in 1996 and left along a road in Texas. Some believe she may have been a victim of the same killer, although the date of her death was not around the same time as the other victims. -The Simpson County Jane Doe remains largely inconsistent with the time span of the murders, as she died in 2001, as decomposition suggests. She was, however, found near interstate 75 and had reddish-colored hair. Investigation: It is believed that most of the victims remain unidentified due to being estranged or not close with existing family members or may not have been native to the states in which that they were found. In 1985, not long after the Greene County victim was found, the states of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance with the cases. There were inconsistencies with some of the victims, as some were found with or without clothing and some had a sexual encounter before their murders. During the conference, it was stated that four victims found in Texas and a victim found in 1981 in Ohio, nicknamed "Buckskin Girl," were ruled out as possible victims in 1985. A possible suspect emerged in the mid-eighties when a 37-year-old trucker attacked and attempted to strangle a woman with reddish hair, but was later dismissed, although he had left her lying near a highway, presuming she was dead. Another suspect was a 32-year-old trucker in Pennsylvania who was questioned after kidnapping and raping a young woman in the state of Indiana before she managed to escape. This suspect was also dismissed, after being questioned by Tennessee police.

massive seizure

when i was 5 i had a serious seizure that i was hospitalized for. i've had seizures since i was a little kid. it's horrible to have but i'm used to them. i'm not blaming them for my lack of driving but that is why i'm scared to do so. most people don't know about them until i tell them. guess it's not that big a part of my life.

St. Louis Jane Doe

The St. Louis Jane Doe is an unidentified girl who was found murdered on February 28, 1983 in St. Louis, Missouri. She has also been nicknamed "Hope" and the "Little Jane Doe." The victim was estimated to be between eight and eleven when she was murdered, and is believed to have been killed by strangulation. She had also been raped before her murder, with her body then decapitated. The brutality of the crime has led to national attention. The head of the Jane Doe has never been located, preventing dental examination and the possibility of a traditional facial reconstruction. Discovery: The headless body of an African-American child was found on the afternoon of February 28, 1983 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was believed to have been strangled three to five days earlier before her decapitated body was disposed of in the basement of an abandoned house. Her remains were found by two looters after one lit a cigarette that created enough light to expose the body. Her body was naked except for a yellow sweater, and was left on her stomach, with her hands bound behind her back with red and white nylon rope. The victim was initially believed to have been a prostitute until police had moved her body and discovered she did not have developed breasts, indicating she had not gone through puberty. Further examination was conducted within the next week. Examination: It was concluded that the victim was not killed at the location where she was discovered, as no traces of blood were found by the body. The girl was also bound at the wrists with a red nylon cord and lying face down. Her head had been severed cleanly by a large blade, possibly a carving knife. She was between eight and eleven and was prepubescent; she had also been raped. She wore only a yellow, long sleeved V-Neck sweater and two coats of nail polish on her fingers - both of them shades of red. Her head has never been found, but the fingerprints, footprints and DNA information have been collected. Because there were no distinct marks or deformities on her body, except for spina bifida occulta, it is unlikely that she would be identified. Four missing girls have been ruled out as the victim, as well as the Northampton County Jane Doe from North Carolina, who was ruled out to be the remaining parts of the body. She was approximately 4'10" to 5'6" tall when she was alive, which is considered tall for that age. After ten months her burial took place in December 1983. Investigation: Authorities decided to exhume the body in 2013 in order to gather more forensic information about the victim. The remains had been misplaced, along with many other bodies in the Washington Park Cemetery, due to the negligence of cemetery records and were not found until mid June. The remains were located by using camera calibration techniques to determine precisely where a photograph of the casket had been taken on the day of the burial. After tests on samples of her bones were concluded, the victim is believed to have spent a large portion of her life in the Midwestern and Northeastern states, or perhaps West Virginia.[2][14] Her sweater had previously been sent to a psychic in Florida but was never returned, presumably lost in the mail. She was also presumed to have been a victim of Vernon Brown, who had murdered young girls in a similar manner. Brown was executed in 2005 and never confessed to murdering the Jane Doe, despite efforts made by investigators.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the President of the United States reauthorized the allocation of $40 million in funding for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as part of Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 3092; 113th Congress). The current chair of the organization is child safety advocate Patty Wetterling, mother of Jacob Wetterling. History- Founding and early years: The formation of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was spurred by notable child abductions, such as the 1979 abduction of six-year-old Etan Patz from New York City, and the 1981 abduction and murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh from a shopping mall in Hollywood, Florida. Because police had the ability to record and track information about stolen cars, stolen guns, and even stolen horses with the FBI's national crime computer, it was believed that the same should be done with children. In 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the Missing Children's Assistance Act, which established a National Resource Center and Clearinghouse on Missing & Exploited Children. On June 13, 1984, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was formed by President Ronald Reagan in a White House ceremony to maintain those resources. The national 24-hour toll-free missing children's hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST, was also established. Primarily funded by the Justice Department, the NCMEC acts as an information clearinghouse and resource for parents, children, law enforcement agencies, schools, and communities to assist in locating missing children and to raise public awareness about ways to prevent child abduction, child sexual abuse and child pornography. John Walsh, Noreen Gosch, and others advocated establishing the center as a result of frustration stemming from a lack of resources and coordination between law enforcement and other government agencies. The Center provides information to help locate children reported missing (by parental abduction, child abduction, or running away from home) and to assist physically and sexually abused children. In this resource capacity, the NCMEC distributes photographs of missing children and accepts tips and information from the public. It also coordinates these activities with numerous state and federal law enforcement agencies. During the mid to late 1980s, the toy Teddy Ruxpin became the "Official Spokesbear" for the center at the height of his popularity. Due to this partnership, some stories featured extra information for kids to stay safe from abductions, sexual predators, etc. This also caused his animated series to feature a clip titled "Protect Yourself" in which safety information for kids would be given by then popular child actors. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the President of the United States voted to reauthorize $40 million in funding for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as part of Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 3092; 113th Congress). The Center not only specializes in locating missing children, but identifying the deceased. There are a number of unidentified decedents in the country, some of which are children, teenagers and young adults. Like missing children, posters are created for the cases and, is possible, show forensic facial reconstructions of the subject that show an estimation of their appearance while alive. The reconstructions that the NCMEC creates have been regarded to be state-of-the-art and have been stated to have been mistaken for photographs. Applications to the US seeking return of children: Effective September 5, 1995, applications seeking the return of or access to children in the US under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction were processed through the NCMEC for the US Department of State, Office of Children's Issues under contract with the US Department of State and the US Department of Justice. On April 1, 2008, the US Office of Children's Issues re-assumed U.S. Central Authority duties for processing incoming cases under the Hague Abduction Convention. As a result of its status as a government contractor as well as funding provided under the Missing Children Act and Missing Children's Assistance Act, the NCMEC received (as of 2008) US$40-million funding each year from the US Government. International: In 1998, the NCMEC Board of Directors approved the creation of a separate international organization, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC); the two now act as sister organizations. ICMEC combats child sexual exploitation, child pornography, and child abduction. ICMEC held its first Board of Directors meeting in 1998. It was officially launched in April 1999. ICMEC along with NCMEC runs a global missing children’s network of 22 countries. ICMEC has trained law enforcement personnel from 121 countries, works with law enforcement in over 100 countries, and has worked with legislatures in 100 countries to adopt new laws combating child pornography. ICMEC also encourages the creation of national operational centers built on a public-private partnership model, and leads global financial and industry coalitions to eradicate child sexual exploitation and child pornography. The Koons Family Institute on International Law and Policy is the International Centre’s research arm. In August 2008, ICMEC was granted "Special Consultative Status" by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), to assist the UN with its expertise regarding child sexual exploitation and child abduction. ICMEC also works with the intergovernmental organization INTERPOL, the inter-continental organization the Organization of American States (the OAS), and the Hague Conference on Private International Law. NCMEC is an associate of PACT Parents and Abducted Children Together in the United Kingdom. Publications: In 2007 NCMEC and Duracell along with the public relations firm PainePR produced a children's book title The Great Tomato Adventure: A Story About Smart Safety Choices along with a series of educational tools for parents and guardians of older children called Teachable Moments Guides. The books were produced and published by Arbor Books and the foreword was written by actress, and best-selling children's book author, Jada Pinkett Smith. Both tools were introduced as an extension of the successful child safety program that launched in 2006. The book was made available as a free download via the Power of Parents program website. Notable board and staff members: -Ernie Allen, former President and CEO -Dennis DeConcini, former United States Senator

no recital

i'm not going to have a recital unfortunately for my dance class. it would've been awesome but we gotta go with it.

decorating again

i'm hoping i'll be put in charge of decorating again this year. my mom said i'd outdone myself so that's why i hope for that again.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division, the park opened on October 1, 1971, as the first of four theme parks at the resort. Initialized by Walt Disney and designed by WED Enterprises, its layout and attractions are based on Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, and is dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters. The park is represented by Cinderella Castle, inspired by the fairy tale castle seen in the 1950 film. In 2016, the park hosted 20.395 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the world for the eleventh consecutive year and the most visited theme park in North America for at least the past seventeen years. Dedication: Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney... and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney's dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place ... a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together. — Roy O. Disney, October 25, 1971 History: Although Walt Disney had been highly involved in planning the Florida Project, Walt Disney Productions began construction on Magic Kingdom and the entire resort in 1967 after his death. The park was built as a larger, improved version of Disneyland Park in California. There are several anecdotes relating to reasons for some of the features of Walt Disney World, and Magic Kingdom specifically. According to one story, Walt Disney once saw a Frontierland cowboy walking through Tomorrowland at Disneyland. He disliked that the cowboy intruded on the futuristic setting of Tomorrowland and wanted to avoid situations like this in the new park. Therefore, Magic Kingdom was built over a series of tunnels called utilidors, a portmanteau of utility and corridor, allowing employees (called "cast members") or VIP guests to move through the park out of sight from guests. Because of Florida's high water table, the tunnels could not be put underground, so they were built at the existing grade, meaning the park is built on the second story, giving Magic Kingdom an elevation of 108 feet (33 m). The area around the utilidors was filled in with dirt removed from the Seven Seas Lagoon, which was being constructed at the same time. The utilidors were built in the initial construction and were not extended as the park expanded. The tunnels were intended to be designed into all subsequent Walt Disney World parks, but were set aside mostly because of financial constraints. Future World at Epcot and Pleasure Island each have a smaller network of utilidors. Magic Kingdom opened as the first part of the Walt Disney World Resort on October 1, 1971, commencing concurrently with Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. It opened with twenty-three attractions, three unique to the park and twenty replicas of attractions at Disneyland, split into six themed lands, five copies of those at Disneyland (Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland) and the Magic Kingdom exclusive of Liberty Square. The Walt Disney Company promised to increase this number with a combination of replicas and unique attractions. While there is no individual dedication to Magic Kingdom, the dedication by Roy O. Disney for the entire resort was placed within its gates. The first, and as of today, only land added to the original roster of lands in the park was Mickey's Toontown Fair. The land originally opened in 1988 as Mickey's Birthdayland to celebrate Mickey Mouse's 60th birthday. Later the land was renovated as Mickey's Starland and eventually to Mickey's Toontown Fair. The land was home to attractions such as Mickey's Country House, Minnie's Country House, The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm, and Donald's Boat. It closed on February 12, 2011, to make way for the expansion of Fantasyland. The Walt Disney World Railroad station in Mickey's Toontown Fair, which opened with Mickey's Birthdayland in 1988, was closed for the duration of the construction. In 2012, the space where Mickey's Toontown Fair sat reopened as a part of Fantasyland, in a sub-land called the Storybook Circus, where the Dumbo the Flying Elephant was relocated. The Barnstormer was retained and was re-themed to The Great Goofini. Since opening day, Magic Kingdom has been closed temporarily because of six hurricanes: Floyd, Frances, Charley, Jeanne, Wilma, and Matthew. It was also closed in the middle of the day on September 11, 2001, due to the terrorist attacks that day. In addition, there are four "phases" of park closure when Magic Kingdom exceeds capacity, ranging from restricted access for most guests (Phase 1) to full closure for everyone, even cast members (Phase 4). "Magic Kingdom" was often used as an unofficial nickname for Disneyland before Walt Disney World was built. The official tagline for Disneyland is "The Happiest Place On Earth", while the tagline for Magic Kingdom is "The Most Magical Place On Earth". In 1994, to differentiate it from Disneyland, the park was officially renamed Magic Kingdom Park, but is known as Magic Kingdom. Like all Disney theme parks, the official name of the park does not start with an article ("the"), though it is commonly referred to that way, and a sign on the railroad station at the front of the park reads "The Magic Kingdom". Alcoholic beverages are forbidden throughout the park, unlike at other Disney attractions worldwide. In 2012, the Be Our Guest restaurant opened selling wine and beer for the first time. This was the only place in the park where alcohol was permitted until December 2016 when four additional restaurants began selling beer and wine including Cinderella's Royal Table, Liberty Tree Tavern, Tony's Town Square Restaurant, and the Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen. Lands: Magic Kingdom is divided into six themed "lands." It is designed like a wheel, with the hub in front of Cinderella Castle, pathways spoke out across the 107 acres (43 ha) of the park and lead to these six lands. The 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Walt Disney World Railroad circles around the entire 1.5-mile (2.4 km) perimeter of the park and makes stops at Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland, and Fantasyland. One of the world's busiest steam-powered railroads, it transports 3.7 million passengers each year. The railroad has four steam locomotives, #1 Walter E. Disney (a 4-6-0 Ten-wheeler), #2 Lilly Belle (a 2-6-0 Mogul), #3 Roger E. Broggie (another 4-6-0 Ten-wheeler) and #4 Roy O. Disney (a 4-4-0 American). Main Street, U.S.A.: Symbolically, Main Street, U.S.A. represents the park's "opening credits," where guests pass under the train station (the opening curtain), then view the names of key personnel along the windows of the buildings' upper floors. Many windows bear the name of a fictional business, such as "Seven Summits Expeditions, Frank G. Wells President", with each representing a tribute to significant people connected to the Disney company and the development of the Walt Disney World Resort. It features stylistic influences from around the country. Taking its inspiration from New England to Missouri, this design is most noticeable in the four corners in the middle of Main Street, where each of the four corner buildings represents a different architectural style. There is no opera house as there is at Disneyland; instead, there is the Town Square Theater. Also, this is where Christopher George Weaver, the "mayor" of Main Street U.S.A., and one of the park's most important figures, resides. Main Street is lined with shops selling merchandise and food. The decor is early-20th century small-town America, inspired by Walt Disney's childhood and the film Lady and the Tramp. City Hall contains the Guest Relations lobby, where cast members provide information and assistance. A working barber shop gives haircuts for a fee. The Emporium carries a wide variety of Disney souvenirs such as plush toys, collectible pins and Mickey-ear hats. Tony’s Town Square Restaurant and The Plaza Restaurant are table-service locations. At the end of Main Street is Casey's Corner, where guests enjoy traditional American ballpark fare including hot dogs and fries while watching old cartoons on the bleachers. The Main Street Confectionery sells sweets priced by their weight, such as candied apples, crisped rice treats, chocolates, cookies and fudge.[14] Most windows bear the name of people who were influential at Disney parks. An example of a classic Main Street, U.S.A. attraction is the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Walt Disney World Railroad, which transports guest throughout the park, making stops at Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, and Frontierland. The railroad's previous stop at Mickey's Toontown Fair was replaced by the Fantasyland stop in 2012. Main Street, U.S.A. also has the Main Street Vehicles attraction, which includes a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[15] tramway with horse-drawn streetcars, and several old-fashioned motor vehicles. In the distance beyond the end of Main Street stands Cinderella Castle. Though only 189 feet (58 m) tall, it benefits from a technique known as forced perspective. The second stories of all the buildings along Main Street are shorter than the first stories, and the third stories are even shorter than the second, and the top windows of the castle are much smaller than they appear. The resulting visual effect is that the buildings appear to be larger and taller than they really are. The park contains two additional tributes: the Partners statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella Castle and the Sharing the Magic statue of Roy O. Disney sitting with Minnie Mouse in the Town Square section of Main Street, U.S.A. Both were sculpted by veteran Imagineer Blaine Gibson. In 2012, Disney replaced the shop in the Firehouse with a sign up for the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game. Adventureland: Adventureland represents the mystery of exploring foreign lands. It is themed to resemble the remote jungles in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the South Pacific, with an extension resembling a Caribbean town square. It contains classic attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, the Swiss Family Treehouse, and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Frontierland: In Frontierland guests can relive the American Old West, from the romanticized cowboys and Native Americans, to exploring the mysteries of the Rivers of America. It contains classic attractions such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, and the Country Bear Jamboree. Liberty Square: Liberty Square is inspired by a colonial American town set during the American Revolution. The Liberty Belle Riverboat travels down the park's Rivers of America. Liberty Square is home to such attractions as the Haunted Mansion, the Hall of Presidents, and The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History. A sign-up location for the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is behind the Christmas shop. Fantasyland: Fantasyland is themed in a medieval-faire/carnival style, in the words of Walt Disney: "Fantasyland is dedicated to the young at heart and to those who believe that when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true." Attractions include It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, and Mad Tea Party. From 2012 to 2014, Fantasyland was expanded to nearly double its size and new attractions and guest offerings were added, including sub-areas themed to Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, and The Little Mermaid. New attractions such as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid were introduced. Castle Courtyard: The original Fantasyland attractions left after the expansion was completed are located within the castle walls this courtyard area directly behind Cinderella Castle. Attractions here include: Mickey's PhilharMagic, Prince Charming Regal Carousel, "it's a small world" and Peter Pan's Flight to name a few. Storybook Circus: Part of Fantasyland, Storybook Circus is located at the former site of Mickey's Toontown Fair, and is based on elements from Dumbo and the Mickey Mouse universe. Attractions include The Barnstormer and Dumbo the Flying Elephant, which was removed from its former location on January 8, 2012. Also included is the Casey Jr. Splash n' Soak Station (a water play area themed to Casey Jr., the train from Dumbo). Storybook Circus began soft openings on March 12, 2012, with more parts opening on March 31. Mickey's Toontown Fair closed permanently on February 11, 2011, to make way for Storybook Circus. Some elements of Mickey's Toontown Fair were demolished, and others were re-themed to fit the circus concept. An expanded Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride was built, with an interactive queue, and a second Dumbo ride was built next to it, in order to increase capacity. The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm was re-themed to "The Great Goofini". A big top area was built for meet-and-greets, called Pete's Silly Sideshow. This attraction features Goofy as a stuntman, Minnie as a magician, Daisy as a fortune-teller, and Donald as a snake-charmer. Enchanted Forest: The completion of Enchanted Forest completed the expansion of New Fantasyland. Included is a new dark ride, themed to Disney's 1989 film The Little Mermaid, that originally opened at Disney California Adventure. There is also an area themed to Disney's 1991 film Beauty and the Beast, featuring the Beast's Castle with the new dining experience Be Our Guest Restaurant (offering quick-service lunches and table service dinners), as well as Gaston's Tavern and Belle's cottage. This portion of the New Fantasyland officially opened on December 6, 2012. Snow White's Scary Adventures was removed to build Princess Fairytale Hall, a meet-n-greet. Opened on May 28, 2014, another part of the New Fantasyland featuring an attraction themed to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which features Snow White's cottage and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster ride, the first roller coaster to move in a wobbling motion on track. Tomorrowland: Tomorrowland is set in an intergalactic city, a concept of the future as seen from around the 1950s: rockets, UFOs and robots, etc. In the words of Walt Disney: "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the door of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future." Classic attractions include Space Mountain, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover and the Tomorrowland Speedway. Other current attractions include Stitch's Great Escape!, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. The TRON Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster from Shanghai Disneyland will be opening to the north of Space Mountain in a new area of Tomorrowland, and it will be open before Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021. Transportation and Ticket Center: Magic Kingdom lies more than a mile away from its parking lot, on the opposite side of the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon. Upon arrival, guests are taken by the parking lot trams to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), which sells tickets to the parks and provides transportation connections throughout the resort complex. It also has a small gift shop and the central lost-and-found facility for all four theme parks. To reach the park, guests either use the Walt Disney World Monorail System, the ferryboats, or Disney Transport buses, depending on the location of their hotel or parking lot. The three hotels closest to Magic Kingdom, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, use either the ferry or monorail system to travel to Magic Kingdom. Guests staying at Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground can also ride a dedicated ferry boat to the Magic Kingdom docks. Guests of other hotels take buses to travel to the park, while guests who are not staying at any of the resort's hotels must use the monorail system or ferryboats to travel to the park from the Transportation and Ticket Center. The three ferries are clad in different trim colors and are named for past Disney executives: the General Joe Potter (blue), the Richard F. Irvine (red) and the Admiral Joe Fowler (green). The main monorail loop has two lanes. The outer lane is a direct nonstop loop between the TTC and Magic Kingdom, while the inner loop has additional stops at Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Epcot is accessible by a spur monorail line that was added upon that park's opening in 1982. Planned film: In 2012, Jon Favreau announced he was planning a film called Magic Kingdom. The film is described as “Night at the Museum at Disneyland,” meaning that the film would tell a story where all the characters at Disney come to life at night. Marc Abraham and Eric Newman of Strike Entertainment were scheduled to produce the film. Writer-producer Ronald D. Moore had previously written an original script for the project, which the studio eventually declined to use, stating that Favreau and a new screenwriter would develop a new script. As of 2014, Favreau was directing the 2016 adaptation of The Jungle Book, but still expressed interest in pursuing the project. In popular culture: -Adventures in the Magic Kingdom, a 1990 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System -Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, a 2003 science fiction novel by Cory Doctorow -The Kingdom Keepers, a 2005 novel by Ridley Pearson

Discovery Island (Bay Lake)

Discovery Island is an 11.5 acres (4.7 ha) island in Bay Lake, Florida. It is located on the property of Walt Disney World in the city of Bay Lake. Between 1974 and 1999, it was open to guests as an attraction, where they could observe its many species of animals and birds. Disney originally named it Treasure Island, and later renamed it, Discovery Island. It currently sits abandoned, and Discovery Island is now the name of a land at Disney's Animal Kingdom. History: From the early 1900s, the island was known as Raz Island, named after the family that lived there. In the late 1930s, it was purchased for $800 by a man named Delmar "Radio Nick" Nicholson, who renamed it "Idle Bay Isle" and lived there for 20 years with his wife and pet crane. It was later sold, renamed "Riles Island," and used as a hunting retreat. Disney bought it in 1965 as part of its strategic property acquisitions before building the Walt Disney World Resort. The island opened as Treasure Island on April 8, 1974, as a place to observe wildlife, and was later renamed Discovery Island when it was recognized as a zoological park. It closed to the public on April 8, 1999, but continued to operate until July 9, 1999, at which point all of its animals had been relocated to Disney's Animal Kingdom (whose Safari Village hub area was renamed Discovery Island) and other zoos. After its closing, Disney considered teaming up with the makers of the Myst video game, Cyan, to create an interactive experience to be called "Myst Island". Guests would explore unusual locations and unravel a mystery about the island's previous inhabitants. Development of this attraction never got beyond the concept stage. The island's facilities were the home of the last known dusky seaside sparrow before it died in 1987. The subspecies was declared extinct in 1990. Today, Discovery Island is closed to the public. The island can easily be seen from Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, as well as from boat trips between them. It is adjacent to Disney's River Country, which closed in November 2001. Uncertainties and a lack of general information about it has led to speculation that it was shut down due to the amoeba species Naegleria fowleri being found in River Country. Attractions: -Trumpeter Springs – trumpeter swans -Parrots Perch – The Discovery Island Bird Show, featuring macaws, cockatoos, and other trained birds. -Bamboo Hollow – lemurs from Madagascar. -Cranes's Roost – demoiselle cranes -Avian Way – The United States' most extensive breeding colony of scarlet ibis -Pelican Bay – brown pelicans -Flamingo Lagoon – flamingos -Tortoise Beach – five Galápagos tortoises General information: -Admission cost in 1995 was $10.60 for adults and $5.83 for children aged three through nine. -There was a beach where swimming was not allowed, but playing and walking in sand was permitted.

hard to scare me

it's really super hard to scare me. i've only been freaked out a few times. usually via being blindsided.

Disney's River Country

Disney's River Country was the first water park at Walt Disney World. Located near Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, it opened on June 20, 1976, and closed indefinitely on November 2, 2001. On January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would be closed for good. Along with Discovery Island, it is one of only two Disney parks in their history to close permanently. Both were left to deteriorate rather than be demolished. History: Positioned on the shore of Bay Lake, near Discovery Island, the park featured a rustic wilderness theming, complete with rocks and man-made boulders. It was described as an "old-fashioned swimming hole" with "a twist of Huckleberry Finn". The original working title was "Pop's Willow Grove". The park was featured in a musical number from the 1977 Wonderful World of Disney episode "The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World", which included a song titled "River Country" and featured the then-current Mouseketeer lineup from the late 70s incarnation of The Mickey Mouse Club enjoying its attractions. The park featured a sandy bottom and unique water filtering system using confluent water from adjacent Bay Lake, which was dammed off creating a natural-looking man-made lagoon. The park's water was at a higher level than the lake's, which was an effort to prevent lake water from going into the park. Closure: In 1989, Disney opened a second water park, Typhoon Lagoon. It had much more parking, many more slides, newer amenities, and was much larger. In 1995, Disney opened a third water park, Blizzard Beach, which was also much bigger than River Country. As it did every year, the park closed at the end of the warm-weather season in November 2001, with the expectation that it would reopen in spring of 2002. On April 11, 2002, the Orlando Sentinel reported that “Walt Disney World’s first water park, River Country, has closed and may not reopen." Disney World spokesman Bill Warren stated that River Country could be reopened if ‘there’s enough guest demand.’” In 2005, the Walt Disney Company officially announced that River Country would never reopen. River Country was left abandoned, instead of being demolished, and is fenced off from the nearby Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. Disney employees monitor the park for trespassers, who risk up to lifetime bans if caught. On August 25, 2016, Disney announced that they would drain and fill in Upstream Plunge, the 330,000 gallon pool. There are no immediate plans to tear down any other part of the park. List of attractions- Attractions included: -Upstream Plunge, a kidney shaped clean-water pool. -Slippery Slide Falls, two water slides that emptied into Upstream Plunge. -Kiddie Cove, a kids zone with two large water slides and a cove. This area was targeted toward preteens. -Barrel Bridge, a bumpy bridge with barrels under it, similar to the one at Tom Sawyer Island. -White Water Rapids, a 330-foot (100 m) long inner tube river. -Bay Cove, a half-acre (2,000 m²) sand-bottom lake which featured a tire swing, boom swing, rope climb, and T-bar drop. -Boom Swing -Cable Ride -Tire Swing -Whoop 'n' Holler Hollow, two water slides, 260 ft (79 m) and 160 ft (49 m) long, that emptied into Bay Cove. -Bay Bridge -Indian Springs, a very small splash zone with fountains spraying kids. This area was mainly designed for guests under age 8. -Cypress Point Nature Trail, a trail among trees beside Bay Lake. -Pony Rides -Mercury WaterMouse Rental

Sidney Leslie Goodwin

Sidney Leslie Goodwin was a 19-month-old English boy who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. His unidentified body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett after the sinking, and for decades was referred to as The Unknown Child. His headstone read "Erected to the memory of an unknown child whose remains were recovered after the disaster to the Titanic April 15th 1912". In 2008, mitochondrial DNA testing by the Armed Forces lab revealed his identity. Baby Goodwin is the only member of his family whose body has been recovered and subsequently identified. Early life: Sidney was born on 9 September 1910 in Melksham, Wiltshire, England. He was the youngest child born to Frederick Joseph and Augusta (née Tyler) Goodwin. Sidney had five older siblings - Lillian, Charles, William, Jessie, and Harold. SS New York and RMS Titanic: Frederick's brother, Thomas, had already left England and was living in Niagara Falls, New York. Thomas wrote to Frederick, telling him about the opening of a power station there. It has been speculated that the famed Schoellkopf Hydroelectric Power Station (Station A), due to open in 1912, would have been his employer had he lived. Frederick, a compositor, packed up his wife and six children to prepare for the move. They booked third-class passage on the S.S. New York out of Southampton, but due to a coal strike that year the vessel's passage was delayed, and they were transferred to the RMS Titanic. They boarded the Titanic in Southampton as third-class passengers. Not much is known about the Goodwins' activities during the voyage, except that they may have been separated by sex in opposite ends of the ship, Frederick and his older sons in the bow, and Augusta with Sidney and the girls in the stern. Harold also met and spent some time with Frank Goldsmith, who survived. By the time the Goodwins received a warning about the collision with the iceberg, all the lifeboats had been launched. The entire family perished in the sinking. In his book, The Night Lives On, historian Walter Lord devoted a chapter ("What Happened to the Goodwins?") to the family, using the fact that they were English to challenge the White Star Line's implication that such high numbers of third-class passengers perished because they could not understand the English language. The unknown child: The body of a fair-haired toddler was the fourth pulled from the ocean by the recovery ship CS Mackay-Bennett, on 17 April 1912. The description read: NO. 4 - MALE - ESTIMATED AGE, 2 - HAIR, FAIR.CLOTHING - Grey coat with fur on collar and cuffs; brown serge frock; petticoat; flannel garment; pink woolen singlet; brown shoes and stockings.No marks whatever. PROBABLY THIRD CLASS The sailors aboard the Mackay-Bennett, who were very shocked by the discovery of the unknown boy's body, paid for a monument, and he was buried on 4 May 1912 with a copper pendant placed in his coffin by recovery sailors that read "Our Babe". Before 2002 (when he was first, though mistakenly, identified through DNA testing), he was known simply as "The Unknown Child". His body, identified as that of a child around two years old, was initially believed to be that of either a two-year-old Swedish boy, Gösta Pålsson; or a two-year-old Irish boy, Eugene Rice, two other fair-haired toddlers who perished in the sinking. Identification and re-identification: The American PBS television series Secrets of the Dead initially identified the body as Eino Viljami Panula, a 13-month-old Finnish baby, based on DNA testing of three teeth and a small, weathered bone. However, with improved DNA testing available in 2008, Canadian researchers at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay tested the child's HVS1, a type of mitochondrial DNA molecule, and it did not match the Panula family. DNA extracted from the exhumed remains and DNA provided by a surviving maternal relative helped positively match the remains to Sidney, and the re-identification was announced on 30 July 2008. Although the bodies of two other children, both older boys, were recovered, it was Sidney who came to be a symbol of all the children lost in the sinking. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a marker was recently added to the memorial with his name and dates of birth and death.[10] A pair of his shoes were donated to Halifax's Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in 2002 by the descendants of a Halifax police officer who guarded the bodies and clothing of Titanic victims.

Wanda Jean Mays

Wanda Jean Mays was an American woman who disappeared on Georgia Mountain near Guntersville, Alabama in 1986. She was reported missing by her aunt and uncle in the early morning hours of May 12, when they found the guest room in which she was staying empty, its window apparently broken from inside. Mays' bloodied nightgown was found behind the family's home on Guntersville Lake, as was an empty canoe, also covered with blood, floating in the lake. The unusual details surrounding Mays' disappearance led her case to receive national attention, and it was profiled on the series Unsolved Mysteries twice beginning in 1987. With no leads, however, her disappearance became a cold case. In 2008, twenty-two years after her disappearance, it was confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, that formerly unidentified skeletal remains discovered in 2003 were those of Mays. Her death was officially ruled accidental. Early life: Wanda Jean Mays was born in 1959 to Jim and Dorothy (Dot) Mays in Panama, where her father had been stationed in the military. Mays grew up in Arkansas, Alabama, and Texas. She attended Arab High school in Arab, Alabama, and graduated from Wallace State College. At the time of Mays' disappearance, she was working as a secretary at Redstone Arsenal, a United States Army post. Disappearance: After meeting her parents for dinner on the evening of May 11, 1986, Mays stopped by the home of her aunt and uncle, Tyrus and Betty Dorman Sr., located on Georgia Mountain in Marshall County, Alabama, near Guntersville Lake. According to her father, Mays had reportedly been exhibiting signs of emotional distress at the time from a "chemical imbalance" that had been attributed to dieting. Mays decided to spend the night at her aunt and uncle's home rather than drive back to her apartment that evening, and went to bed at approximately 10:30pm. This was the last time she was seen alive. The following morning at 5am, May 12, the Dormans, while attempting to wake Wanda for her job, found the guest bedroom Mays had stayed in was locked. After accessing the room, the Dormans found the double-paned Venetian glass bedroom window had been broken from inside the house, and discovered blood on the window; however, no one in the house reported hearing the window break during the night. The bed had appeared to not have been slept in, and Mays' personal belongings were on the nightstand. On a boat dock on the lake, Mays' torn nightgown was discovered with bloodstains on it. Alleged sightings: On the morning of May 12, 1986, a local resident reported seeing a young woman matching Mays' description walking along Alabama State Route 62 near Guntersville, wearing oversized jeans. The witness stated that the woman's hair was wet, as if she'd been swimming. This report is now known to be false or mistaken. The following day, May 13, approximately 30 miles (48 km) away in Huntsville, Alabama, a female witness claimed to have seen a woman matching Mays' description sitting in the back seat of a car with two unidentified men at a convenience store; according to the witness, the woman appeared to be afraid. When the witness exited the convenience store, she saw the woman again, this time talking on a payphone beside one of the unidentified men. This report is also now known to be false or mistaken. Investigation: Initially believing Mays had drowned in the lake, Marshall County rescuers sent search divers to look for a potential body. Additionally, the lake was dragged, but no sign of Mays was found. During the search, an empty canoe was discovered drifting on the water; upon inspection, blood was discovered in the canoe. Upon lab testing, the blood discovered in the canoe was confirmed to match Mays' blood type. A homicide investigator, Edward Teal, was subsequently brought in to examine the case, and deemed it the "most mysterious case" he had ever worked on. A year after her disappearance, Mays' case was featured on the network series Unsolved Mysteries with host Karl Malden. Discovery: In October 2003, a hiker searching for ginseng plants discovered human bones at the foot of a 150 foot (46 m) cliff approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km) from the Dormans' home in Guntersville. The remains were unidentified until 2008, when they were sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's DNA lab in Quantico, Virginia, for testing; the FBI confirmed in January 2008 that the remains matched Mays. Ruling: In an official statement made by Marshall County Police Sheriff Scott Walls, Mays' death was ruled as accidental, with claims that no foul play was suspected; investigators believed Mays had unintentionally fallen from the cliff where she was discovered. In an official statement, Walls said: "We have found no evidence whatsoever of any foul play. Wanda Jean Mays' death was accidental. We have concluded that Miss Mays, who was suffering at the time from a known chemical imbalance, left the home on her own accord." One of Mays' brothers, John, made a public statement after the discovery, agreeing with the police's determination, citing his sister's frequent and unprovoked panic attacks as a probable cause for her death: "You know the window was broken from the inside that she went out of. She had an attack and it was something that scared her. She would just get terrified when she had these attacks. She would just be terrified of everything."

Kim Wall (journalist)

Kim Isabel Fredrika Wall was a Swedish freelance journalist who disappeared while on board the UC3 Nautilus, a privately-built midget submarine owned by Danish inventor Peter Madsen, on the night of 10–11 August 2017 in the bay of Køge, Denmark. The submarine sank under suspicious circumstances on the morning of 11 August; Madsen was rescued afterwards. Ten days later, Wall's dismembered torso was found washed up on a beach in the south west of Amager. Madsen was charged with negligent manslaughter in Wall's death. Early life and education: Kim Isabel Fredrika Wall was born on 23 March 1987 and grew up in Trelleborg, in the Scania region of southern Sweden. She went to Malmö Borgarskola, a gymnasium (upper secondary school) located in Malmö. There she chose an International Baccalaureate program, which gave her access to studies across the world. She studied at the London School of Economics & Political Science, graduating with a bachelor's degree (which included several months through the University of Beijing) in international relations in 2011. She continued with graduate studies in journalism and international affairs at Columbia University in New York City, for which she received a scholarship from the Sweden–America Foundation. She finished this study with a Master's degree in international affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. Career: Wall worked as a freelance journalist. Her work was published in The Guardian, The New York Times, Vice, Slate, Harper's Magazine and Time magazine. Topics she wrote about included the new Chinatown in Uganda, Gibtown, the problems of restarting tourism in Haiti, real-life "vampires", and Idi Amin’s torture chambers in Uganda. In 2016, she was awarded the Hansel Mieth Prize for Best Digital Reportage for "Exodus", a work on climate change and nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands. "Exodus" was translated into German and published by Süddeutsche Zeitung. Many of Wall's articles have been translated into different languages. UC3 Nautilus and death: On the evening of 10 August 2017, at around 19:00 local time (UTC+2), Wall went to Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, Denmark, and boarded the submarine UC3 Nautilus to interview its owner, Danish inventor Peter Madsen. According to a former classmate from Columbia University, she wanted to pitch a report for Wired. UC3 Nautilus was scheduled to sail from Copenhagen to the island of Bornholm for an exhibit the following day. However, Madsen sent a text notifying his crew that the trip had been cancelled. When Wall and Madsen failed to return to harbour at the agreed time, Wall's partner alerted the authorities in the early hours of 11 August, and a sea and land search operation was launched, based in the port of Øresund. At 10:30 on 11 August, visual contact was made with UC3 Nautilus at the Drogden lighthouse in Køge Bay, after which radio contact was established. According to Madsen, the submarine was on course towards the harbour. About thirty minutes later, the vessel suddenly sank and Madsen was rescued by a private boat, transporting him into port. Swedish police subsequently declared Wall missing. Later that day, Danish police charged Madsen with negligent manslaughter, suspecting him of having scuttled UC3 Nautilus to conceal or destroy evidence. Madsen denied the charges and stated that he put Wall ashore on Refshaleøen around 22:30 the evening before. UC3 Nautilus came to rest at a depth of 7 metres (23 ft), where it was approached by divers. However, it was not possible to enter UC3 Nautilus under those conditions, so a cargo ship was contracted to resurface the submarine and allow access for homicide investigators. On 12 August, Madsen said in closed court he buried Wall at sea after an accident. On 14 August, the police stated that the submarine sank due to a deliberate act. On 21 August, the dismembered torso of a woman was found washed up on a beach in the south-west of Amager. The police identified the torso as that of Wall on 23 August, saying it had been "deliberately mutilated." Investigator Jens Møller later told the press that Wall's torso had been stabbed multiple times to prevent air buildup inside from floating it to the surface, and that a piece of metal had been fastened to it to ensure its sinking to the bottom.

Wow

So in my dance class there was a self-hating gay Republican. He was mean to the teacher. As a class we supported our teacher as she kicked the jerk out. He was rude beyond belief. I mean he said he wasn't going to spend a penny if they weren't gonna dance 100% of the time. We have to LEARN something right? This isn't an excorsice class.

school

i can't wait to go back. i'm super excited. i've got mostly everything ready with the exception of something to eat tomorrow. i'll figure that out.

clumsy athlete

if i don't know what's going on or i'm not paying attention i will get hurt. usually it's my feet that get hurt but once i go hit with a handball, which is the size of a small volleyball. i hurt my heel today. it'll hopefully be ok by morning for my 1st day of school

clumsy

i'm so clumsy that while dancing i'll usually hurt my feet. despite this i like dancing

good thing

my semi-vegetarian diet has been helping. i've got a muscle disorder that (at it's worst) was giving me such a hard time and gave me up to 5 muscle spasms a day. the reason this helps is because it's calming what my body isn't otherwise. it's offers me a better life than being on my muscle spasm medication. it calms my muscle spams and unless my back is killing me i don't think i have had 5 a day. now it's usually 1.

Brighton trunk murders

The Brighton trunk murders were two murders linked to Brighton, England, in 1934. In each, the dismembered body of a murdered woman was placed in a trunk. The murders led to Brighton being dubbed "The Queen of Slaughtering Places" (a play on "The Queen of Watering Places"). Unsolved June murder: The first murder came to light on 17 June 1934, when an unclaimed plywood trunk was noticed by William Joseph Vinnicombe at the left luggage office of Brighton railway station as he investigated a smell. He alerted the police and Chief Inspector Ronald Donaldson opened the trunk to find the dismembered torso of a woman. When other stations were alerted a suitcase at King's Cross railway station was found to contain the legs. The head and arms were never found. The press named the victim 'The Girl with the Pretty Feet' or simply 'Pretty Feet' because the corpse had 'Dancer's Feet', thought beautiful. The post-mortem by Sir Bernard Spilsbury revealed that the woman was about 25 and five months pregnant. Neither the victim nor the murderer was ever identified. Chief Inspector Donaldson suspected a local abortionist named Massiah based on what was known about him and on Spilsbury's notes: Internal examination of the torso had not revealed the cause of death; the legs and feet found at King's Cross belonged to the torso; the victim had been well nourished; she had been not younger than twenty-one and not older than twenty-eight, had stood about five feet two inches, and had weighed roughly eight and a half stones; she was five months pregnant at the time of death. Donaldson asked officers to watch Massiah covertly. One, drafted from Hove, confronted Massiah, expecting him to come quietly. Instead the doctor wrote a list of names and "...it seemed to the policeman that the sun had gone in: all of a sudden the consulting room was a place of sombre shadows....". The policeman did not tell Donaldson, who heard only when he was warned by a senior officer to back off. Massiah moved to London where a woman died while he was performing an abortion, yet he evaded prosecution. He remained on the General Medical Register and was removed only after he failed to re-register in 1952, following his retirement to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Spilsbury, always on the lookout for evidence of illegal abortions, described no evidence of interference with the pregnancy, and noted that the dismemberment showed no particular anatomical skill. Violette Kaye and Toni Mancini: Although the first murder was almost certainly unrelated to the second, it did lead to discovery of the second trunk murder. The victim was Violette Kaye (née Watts, also known as Saunders), aged 42. She had been a dancer and prostitute in London, where she had met Toni Mancini, aged 26, a petty criminal with a criminal record including theft and loitering who worked as a waiter and bouncer. He was also known as Cecil Lois England (his real name), Jack Notyre, Tony English and Hyman Gold. They moved to Brighton together in September 1933. Kaye and Mancini’s relationship was tempestuous. One argument occurred on 10 May 1934 at the Skylark café on the seafront, where Mancini worked, when an obviously drunk Kaye accused him of being familiar with a teenage waitress called Elizabeth Attrell. Kaye was never seen again and the following day Mancini told friends she had gone to Paris, and gave some of her clothes and belongings to Attrell. Her sister-in-law also received a telegram saying that she had taken a job abroad, which read "Going abroad. Good job. Sail Sunday. Will write. --Vi"; it was later established that this had been sent from Brighton that morning, by which time Kaye was already dead. Mancini then took new lodgings in 52 Kemp Street, close to the station, and transported a trunk there by handcart. He put the trunk at the foot of his bed, covered it with a cloth and used it as a coffee table – in spite of the smell and leaking fluids, of which visitors complained. Kaye’s absence had been noted by police and Mancini was questioned. Apparently panicked, he went on the run. During investigation related to the unsolved trunk murder, police searched premises close to the station and stumbled upon Kaye’s remains in Mancini’s lodgings. Mancini was arrested in South East London. The post mortem was carried out by Sir Bernard Spilsbury. Trial: Mancini's trial opened in December 1934 in Lewes Assizes and lasted five days. The prosecution was led by J C Cassells and on his team was Quintin Hogg (later Lord Hailsham). Norman Birkett was defence counsel. The prosecution focused on Kaye’s death by a blow to the head. A graphologist confirmed the handwriting on the form for the telegram sent to Kaye’s sister matched that on menus Mancini had written at the Skylark café. One witness, Doris Saville, said Mancini had asked her to provide a false alibi. Other witnesses, friends of Mancini, claimed he boasted in the days after the murder of giving his "missus" the biggest hiding of her life. Birkett’s defence focused on Kaye’s work as a prostitute and her character. Mancini claimed he had discovered Kaye’s body at the flat in Park Crescent, Brighton. Thinking the police would not believe his story because he had a criminal record he kept the matter a secret and put her body in a trunk. Birkett speculated she could have been murdered by a client or fallen down steps into the flat. The quality and nature of the forensic evidence was also drawn into doubt by the defence who queried the amount of morphine in Kaye’s blood and proved that items of clothing stained with blood had been purchased after Kaye’s death. The testimony of Sir Bernard Spilsbury, whose stellar career as principal Home Office pathologist was already in decline, was effectively demolished by the brilliant cross-examination and closing speech of Norman Birkett. A number of witnesses also confirmed that Mancini and Kaye had seemed a contented couple. After two and a quarter hours the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. In 1976, just before his death, Mancini confessed to a News of the World journalist. He explained that during a blazing row with Kaye she had attacked him with the hammer he had used to break coal for their fire. He had wrested the hammer from her, but when she had demanded it back, he had thrown it at her, hitting her on the left temple. A prosecution of Mancini for perjury was considered but rejected due to lack of corroboration. The case was dramatized in a 1951 episode of Orson Welles' radio drama The Black Museum titled "The Hammerhead" (with the story being changed to reveal the victim's sister as the killer). 1831 murder: The press attention to the 1934 trunk murders revived interest in a previous Brighton trunk murder. In the nineteenth century, John Holloway murdered his wife Celia Holloway, a painter on the Chain Pier, then transported her body in a trunk on a wheelbarrow to Lover’s Walk in Preston Park, Brighton, and buried the remains. Holloway was arrested, tried in Lewes and hanged at Horsham gaol on 16 December 1831.

Long Beach Jane Doe

Long Beach Jane Doe (known locally as Jane Doe 40) is an unidentified murder victim whose body was found in May 1974. Her suspected murderer was arrested but she has never been identified, despite extensive investigation. Discovery of the body: The strangled body of a young woman was found on May 28, 1974, on the jetty of Alamitos Beach in Long Beach, California. She was estimated to be between 20 and 28 years old and had been raped. Basic physical examination showed she was about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed about 118 pounds. The victim was white with possible Hispanic ancestry, as she had brown or black hair and brown eyes. She also had a unique scar on the back of her left hand, which was shaped like the letter T. She also had an inch-long scar on the back of her left thigh. She was wearing a white gold, 14-karat engagement ring with a small diamond. She was clothed in a pinkish-orange suit with a faux black fur coat and calf-high suede boots. The only items the Jane Doe carried were a house key and padlock key. The padlock key was attached to a broken chain. Investigation: No missing persons have been found who match the victim's description. Investigators have the girl's DNA and fingerprints. A forensic facial reconstruction was created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to assist with identification. Arrest of Gary Stamp: Police received a confession from a Texas man who claimed he had assisted with dumping the victim's body. He led authorities to another suspect. On May 20, 2013, a man named Gary Stamp (some sources state "Stump"), aged 61, was arrested. He confessed to the girl's murder but was not certain of her name, which may have been Anna. Stamp was arraigned on June 12, 2013, in Superior Court. The victim may have been seen at a bar earlier. Stamp told police that he had met her at a bar.

I-70 Killer

The I-70 killer is an unidentified American serial killer who is known to have killed six store clerks in the Midwest in the spring of 1992. His nickname derives from the fact that several of the stores in which his victims worked were located a few miles off of Interstate 70 (I-70). His victims were usually young, petite, brunette women. One of his victims was a man but he is believed to have mistaken the man for a woman as he often wore a ponytail. All of the stores attacked were speciality stores and were usually only robbed of a few hundred dollars. He is also suspected of shooting three more store clerks in Texas during 1993 and 1994, one of whom survived. Despite the case being featured on Unsolved Mysteries and Dark Minds, the killer is yet to be identified and investigators have not publicly identified any suspects. 1992 murder spree: The killing spree began on April 8, 1992 with the murder of 26-year-old Payless ShoeSource manager Robin Fuldauer in Indianapolis. She was alone in the store when she was shot, having been murdered sometime between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m. The next two murders occurred on April 11 at the La Bride d’Elegance bridal shop in Wichita. The victims were Patricia Smith, 23 and the store's owner, 32-year-old Patricia Majors. As this was the only case involving multiple victims, investigators believe the killer was under the impression that there was only one woman in the store. The women had stayed past the normal closing time of 6 p.m. to allow a male customer to pick up a cummerbund. Sometime after 6 p.m., the women allowed the killer into the store, thinking he was the customer they were waiting for. After the women were murdered, the actual customer arrived to pick up the cummerbund and came to face-to-face with the I-70 killer. The I-70 killer let the man go, who immediately notified police once the killer left. He would later provide details for a composite sketch. On April 27, Michael McCown, 40, was killed in his mother Sylvia's ceramics store in Terre Haute, Indiana. McCown was the only man killed during the spree and it is believed by investigators that the I-70 killer mistook him for a woman because of the store's name and because McCown wore a ponytail. On May 4, 24-year-old Nancy Kitzmiller was killed while working alone at Boot Village, a footwear shop in St. Charles, Missouri. She opened up the shop at noon and was found dead by customers at 2:30 p.m. The final confirmed murder occurred on May 7 in Raytown, Missouri. The victim was 37-year-old Sarah Blessing who was working in her gift shop, Store of Many Colors. The murder occurred during the day, and the owner of the video store next to the Kitzmiller's shop saw the killer enter the shop, heard a pop, and then saw him leave. He discovered Blessing's body after checking to see what had occurred in the store. A clerk at a nearby grocery store also saw the suspect. He was climbing a hill towards I-70. Possible murders in Texas: Investigators believe the I-70 killer may be responsible for two murders in 1993, and an attempted murder in 1994, all of which occurred in Texas. The two murder victims were 51-year-old Mary Ann Glasscock, who was killed on September 25, 1993 in Fort Worth at the Emporium Antiques store, and 22-year-old Amy Vess, who was shot to death in a dance apparel store in Arlington on November 1. The surviving victim was Vicki Webb, 35, who was shot on January 15, 1994 in Houston at the Alternatives gift shop. She briefly talked to the shooter before he shot her in the back of the head. The bullet did not penetrate into Webb's head due to a large vertebra being hit. The shooter attempted to shoot her again, but his gun misfired, and left presuming Webb to be dead. The modus operandi of the Texas killer was very similar to the I-70 killer and used a .22-caliber firearm, the same caliber as the I-70 killer. However, ballistics test determined that the gun used in the Texas murders was not the same as the one used in the I-70 killings, so investigators have not been able to confirm that the I-70 killer was responsible for the shootings in Texas. Investigation: The murders were conclusively linked after a St. Charles detective suspected a connection. All of the murders were committed with a .22-caliber firearm and the victims were usually petite, young women with long dark hair. Aside from the Wichita murders, all the victims were alone while murdered and shot in the back of the head. None of the scenes had any signs of sexual assault and while all stores were robbed, robbery appeared to be a secondary motive as all the stores were small speciality stores, which would not have had as much money as some of the larger stores. Based on witness testimonies, police strongly believe the murder weapon may have been an Intratec Scorpion pistol or an Erma Werke ET22 pistol, however they have not been able to rule out any other .22-caliber firearm models. The ammunition used in the killings was .22-caliber CCI copper-clad lead bullets. The cartridges of the bullets had been polished with jeweler's rouge. Midwest authorities linked the killer to the shootings in Texas in 1994, but Texas authorities were not convinced of a connection as different guns were used in each spree. Based on witness descriptions, investigators were able to produce two composite sketches of the killer and a physical description of the suspect. The I-70 killer was described as being a white man in his twenties or thirties, 5'7" (1.70 m) to 5'9" (1.75 m) tall, thin and having lazy eyelids and sandy blond or reddish hair in 1992. If he is still alive, he would be in his fifties or late forties. Police have not publicly identified any suspects and the case has been classified as a cold case. Popular culture: The case has been featured on Unsolved Mysteries and Investigation Discovery's Dark Minds.

Cleveland Torso Murderer

The Cleveland Torso Murderer (also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run) was an unidentified serial killer who killed and dismembered at least 12 victims in the Cleveland area in the 1930s. Murders: The official number of murders attributed to the Cleveland Torso Murderer is twelve, although recent research has shown there are as many as twenty. The twelve victims were killed between 1935 and 1938. But some, including lead Cleveland Detective Peter Merylo, believe that there may have been 13 or more victims in the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Youngstown, Ohio, areas between the 1920s and 1950s. Two strong candidates for addition to the initial list of those killed are the unknown victim nicknamed the "Lady of the Lake", found on September 5, 1934, and Robert Robertson, found on July 22, 1950. The victims of the Cleveland Torso Murderer were usually drifters whose identities were never determined, although there were a few exceptions (victims numbers 2, 3, and 8 were identified as Edward Andrassy, Florence Polillo, and possibly Rose Wallace, respectively). Invariably, all the victims, male and female, appeared to hail from the lower class of society—easy prey in Depression-era Cleveland. Many were known as "working poor", who had nowhere else to live but the ramshackle shanty towns in the area known as the Cleveland Flats. The Torso Murderer always beheaded and often dismembered his victims, sometimes also cutting the torso in half. In many cases the cause of death was the decapitation or dismemberment itself. Most of the male victims were castrated, and some victims showed evidence of chemical treatment being applied to their bodies. Many of the victims were found after a considerable period of time following their deaths, sometimes a year or more. This made identification nearly impossible, especially since the heads were often not found. During the time of the "official" murders, Eliot Ness held the position of Public Safety Director of Cleveland, a position with authority over the police department and ancillary services, including the fire department. While Ness had little to do with the investigation, his posthumous reputation as leader of The Untouchables has made him an irresistible character in modern "torso murder" lore. Ness did contribute to the arrest and interrogation of one of the prime suspects, Dr. Francis E. Sweeney, as well as the demolition and burning of the Kingsbury Run, from which the killer took his victims. At one point in time, the killer even taunted Ness by placing the remains of two victims in full view of his office in city hall. Victims: Most researchers consider there to be twelve definite victims, although new evidence suggests a woman dubbed "The Lady of the Lake" could be included. Only two victims were positively identified; the other ten were six John Does and four Jane Does. Possible victims: Several non-canonical victims are commonly discussed in connection with the Torso Murderer. The first was nicknamed the "Lady of the Lake" and was found near Euclid Beach on the Lake Erie shore on September 5, 1934, at virtually the same spot as canonical victim number 7. Some researchers of the Torso Murderer's victims count the "Lady of the Lake" as victim number 1, or "Victim Zero". The headless body of an unidentified male was found in a boxcar in New Castle, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1936. Three headless victims were found in boxcars near McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, on May 3, 1940. All bore similar injuries to those inflicted by the Cleveland killer. Dismembered bodies were also found in the swamps near New Castle between the years 1921 and 1934 and between 1939 and 1942. In September 1940 an article in the New Castle News refers to the killer as "The Murder Swamp Killer". The almost identical similarities between the victims in New Castle to those in Cleveland, Ohio, coupled with the similarities between New Castle's Murder Swamp and Cleveland's Kingsbury Run, both of which were directly connected by a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line, were enough to convince Cleveland Detective Peter Merylo that the New Castle murders were the work of the "Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run". Merylo was convinced the connection was the railroad that ran twice a day between the two cities; he often rode the rails undercover looking for clues to the killer's identity. On July 22, 1950, the body of 41-year-old Robert Robertson was found at a business at 2138 Davenport Avenue in Cleveland. Police believed he had been dead six to eight weeks and appeared to have been intentionally decapitated. His death appeared to fit the profile of other victims: He was estranged from his family, had an arrest record and a drinking problem, and was on the fringes of society. Despite widespread newspaper coverage linking the murder to the crimes in the 1930s, detectives investigating Robertson's death treated it as an isolated crime. In 1939 the "Torso Killer" claimed to have killed a victim in Los Angeles, California. An investigation uncovered animal bones. Suspects: On August 24, 1939, a Cleveland resident named Frank Dolezal, 52, was arrested as a suspect in Florence Polillo's murder; he later died under suspicious circumstances in the Cuyahoga County jail. After his death it was discovered that he had suffered six broken ribs—injuries his friends say he did not have when arrested by Sheriff Martin L. O'Donnell some six weeks prior. Most researchers believe that no evidence exists that Dolezal was involved in the murders, although at one time he did admit killing Florence Polillo in self-defense. Before his death, he recanted his confession and recanted two others as well, saying he had been beaten until he confessed. Most investigators consider the last canonical murder to have been in 1938. One suspected individual was Dr. Francis E. Sweeney. Sweeney was a veteran of World War I who was assigned in a medical unit that conducted amputations and patching in the field. Sweeney was later personally interviewed by Eliot Ness, who oversaw the official investigation into the killings in his capacity as Cleveland's Safety Director. During this interrogation, Sweeney is said to have "failed to pass" two very early polygraph machine tests. Both tests were administered by polygraph expert Leonard Keeler, who told Ness he had his man. Nevertheless, Ness apparently felt there was little chance of obtaining a successful prosecution of the doctor, especially as he was the first cousin of one of Ness's political opponents, Congressman Martin L. Sweeney, who had hounded Ness publicly about his failure to catch the killer. (Congressman Sweeney was also related by marriage to Sherriff O'Donnell). After Dr. Sweeney committed himself, there were no more leads or connections that police could assign to him as a possible suspect. From his hospital confinement, threatening postcards with Sweeney's name mocked and harassed Ness and his family into the 1950s. Sweeney died in a veterans' hospital at Dayton in 1964. In 1997, another theory postulated that there may have been no single Butcher of Kingsbury Run because the murders could have been committed by different people. This was based on the assumption that the autopsy results were inconclusive. First, Cuyahoga County Coroner Arthur J. Pearce may have been inconsistent in his analysis as to whether the cuts on the bodies were expert or slapdash. Second, his successor, Samuel Gerber, who began to enjoy press attention from his involvement in such cases as the Sam Sheppard murder trial, garnered a reputation for sensational theories. Therefore, the only thing known for certain was that all the murder victims were dismembered. In popular culture: -Butcher's Dozen (1988) is the second of four novels by Max Allan Collins fictionalizing Ness's tenure as Cleveland's Public Safety Director. Changing some names, and reordering some events for dramatic purposes, it concludes that, although Ness was unable to actually name the killer (a fictionalized version of Sweeney) publicly, he did identify him and made sure he was no longer a danger to the public. The novel was expanded from a short story, "The Strawberry Teardrop" (1984), in which the main character is Collins's private eye hero, Nate Heller, and Ness plays a supporting role. -John Peyton Cooke's 1993 novel, Torsos, noting that eight of the killer's twelve (or thirteen) victims were men, suggests that there might have been a homosexual aspect to the series, and inserts a wholly fictional main character, a closeted gay Cleveland Police detective, to investigate the murders. -David Fincher planned to make a film about the murders after making a movie about another unidentified serial killer, known as the Zodiac Killer. A graphic novel entitled Torso, created by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, became the source for the film. The adaptation was greenlit by Paramount Pictures in 2006 but eventually cancelled. In 2013, the plan to make the film was revived, and it was reported that David Lowery would direct the film. -In 2015 Canadian band The Black River Drifters from Winnipeg, Manitoba released the single The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run from their album Hearts Gone Cold. -Author William Bernhardt wrote a novel about the murders and Elliot Ness's involvement, titled Nemesis: the Final Case of Elliot Ness. Although generally non-fiction, it was written as a novel, and makes some assumptions. The only significant deviation from the true story is the ending. A climax is fictionalized where Ness confirms the killer was Sweeney, and captures him, but is prevented from arresting him due to political pressure. It does try to remain factual to the case otherwise, while still remaining entertaining. NBC is currently in the works to adapt this book into a mini-series. No release date or cast has been announced as of January 2014. -In the 2012 film Seven Psychopaths, the Cleveland Torso Murderer (described as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run) is one of the serial killers murdered by Zachariah Rigby and his accomplice. The Cleveland Torso Murderer (referred to as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run) was mentioned in episode 415 of Criminal Minds when a serial killer copying other serial killers with each kill bases one of his murders after the aforementioned murderer. The murderer was also seen in a flashback in the same episode, in which he lured a victim. It was erroneously mentioned that the murderer lured his victims from gay bars before shooting, dismembering, and mutilating them. Also, Steven Parkett, who appeared in the Season Ten premiere, was heavily based on the murderer, even having a nickname similar to the murderer's alternate nickname ("The Mad Butcher of Bakersfield")