Arizona's Cold Case: "Valentine Sally" identified after 39 years

 Last June, DNA helped identify the unidentified body of "Valentine Jane Doe"- you can read more about that story Here.

Today, I woke up to discover that another Cold Case unidentified person has been identified because of DNA- Arizona's "Valentine Sally".

"Valentine Sally" was a murder victim (strangled) found on February 14, 1982 near Westbound Interstate 40, about 11 miles west of Williams, Arizona (Coconino County). The girl had been last seen on February 3rd at the Monte Carlo Truck Stop in Ashfork with an older man. When she was found on the 14th, it was observed she had been dead for a week or two.

 

Characteristics & Clothing:

-Blonde Hair, Scars on Foot & Thigh, ears pierced

-Red & White Striped Sweater, Designer jeans, size 9, bra and handkerchief 

Sketch of the man who she was seen with, could have been in his 60s. 

In 1984, "Valentine Sally" was misidentified as a Florida girl who ran away in 1980- Melody Cutlip. Lieutenant Jack Judd of the Coconino Sheriff's Office found Cutlip's missing person's report and thought it could be the same person. He forensic odontologist Homer Campbell check it out and all he did was enlarge pictures of Cutlip's teeth and compared them to them "Valentine Sally's". 

Cutlip's mother refused to believe this was her daughter and so "Valentine Sally" was buried in a cemetery in Williams with Cutlip's name on it, Valentine Sally underneath it.

Unfortunately, there is no picture online of Valentine Sally's tombstone.

Four years later, in 1988, Cutlip returned home, proving that she was still very much alive. Despite this, her name still remains on the tombstone in Williams. Melody Cutlip actually died in 1998 in Louisiana in a car accident. 

Melody Eugenia Freeman Cutlip
22 Jan 1966 Tampa, Florida
11 Sep 1998 Jackson Parish, Louisiana 

The Truth

With the help of DNA, on Friday February 19, 2021, "Valentine Sally" was finally identified as Carolyn Eaton, a 17 year old who went missing from St. Louis, Missouri in 1981. She lived with her family in a suburb called Bellefontaine Neighbors. 

I searched Newspapers.com, but couldn't find anything in 1981 for Carolyn Eaton's disappearance. I also couldn't find an actual picture of Carolyn.

 I am so happy that her family now has closure! I really hope that either her remains are exumed and returned to her hometown and properly buried, or at least the tombstone is changed to her name. I also hope that in the future, justice will be brought and her killed will be identified next.

                        May you Rest in Peace Carolyn Eaton 

My Search for Ruth Eileen Mendenhall

*Update towards end-- 5/28/20

Happy Sunday!

Since 2014, I have been researching my great-aunt Ruth Eileen Mendenhall. She is a mystery and it's taken years and years to dig up what I have been able to find about her. 

So, this post is sort of a compilation of all of those previous posts I have already written, dating back to 2014. 

~In June 2014, this is what I knew of Ruth:

Ruth Eileen Mendenhall

born: 16 Jan 1927 in Dayton, Ohio

died: Unknown (rumored- California), age- unknown

Parents: Earl Dwight Mendenhall (1894-1972) & 

             Edna Grace Miles (1894-1934)

Siblings: Harold Earl Mendenhall (1916-1989) (my grandfather)

         Robert Eugene Mendenhall (1919-1993)

So, back then, the rumor in the family was that Ruth was 14 when the family disowned her. My mother always said that she thought she had gotten pregnant and kicked out of the house. Her family supposedly trashed all of her possessions and pictures of her. One picture was found- it had fallen behind a dresser. 

Ruth in her 3rd grade picture, 1935 at Shiloh Springs School in Dayton Ohio. 
Ruth is the girl in the middle row, 4th one from the left.
Look at that mischievous face!! 
(Shiloh Springs School- 5816 North Main Street in Dayton Ohio. It was demolished in Aug 2012)

In the 70's, after Ruth's parents had passed, her brothers tried looking for her. They hired a private investigator who found her living in California, married to a doctor. She didn't want any contact so that was that.