The Horrendous Haunting Case of St. Louis Jane Doe

WARNING: This post contains graphic details regarding sexual abuse, child murder, and decapitation. Viewer discretion advised!

Enhanced image of her sweater

There's a lot of sick and sad feelings I have when it comes to writing my true crime posts. To know lives have been unfairly taken, young souls with lost innocence, and sometimes being buried without a name. All of this induces feelings of sadness.

This however might be one of the most horrific, depressing, and infuriating Doe case you'll ever read about.

Let me tell you about the disturbing and infamous case of St. Louis Jane Doe (1983), also dubbed Little Jane Doe and Precious Hope.

The Abandoned House

The infamous apartment

February 28th, 1983. Two men walk into an abandoned Victorian apartment building, in St. Louis, Missouri. They're looking for scrap metal for their go-cart, and they enter the basement.

It's dark in there, but everything is going normally. One of the men then lights a lighter, about to light his cigarette. But the light illuminating from it reveals something...unexpected. He takes a closer look to make sure he's seeing it right. He is.

It's a female's headless body, lying on it's back, with it's hands tied behind it's back.

Both men, horrified, left the area and alerted authorities. Detectives Joe Burgoon and Herb Riley arrive, initially thinking the victim would've been a sex worker or drug addict of some sorts. Maybe from Cabane Courts, a house nearby known for such.

Then they turned their body...and realized the victim was prepubescent. A child or pre-teen girl.

The horror of this case was only started to be realized.

Death & Description

Edited crime-scene photo with rope

The victim had been hogtied with a red and white nylon rope. She had been horrifically raped (semen had been recovered from the scene) before being strangled to death. Afterwards, a large knife was used to behead her. Her head has never been recovered.

It's believed she had been killed elsewhere due to a lack of blood at the scene, before being brought to the empty house. There was no other abuse marks on her body, and her stomach was empty. She had been dead for at most 5 days.

Nylon rope

St. Louis Jane Doe was an African American preteen girl around the ages of 8 to 11, about 4'10 - 5'6, and weighed anywhere from 70 to 80 pounds. She had a medium brown complexion, but no scars, marks, or tattoos of any kind.

She did have spina bifida in her sacrum, but this may have been asymptomatic or unnoticeable. She was well-nourished and had two coats of nail polish, red and purple.

The only clothing found on her was a yellow V-neck sweater. This sweater would be the symbol of this case for years to come.

Original photo of sweater

Nylon rope and her sweater

There are what I believe, two post-mortem pics of the victim, neither of which I will share on this blog for obvious reasons.

The first is a lesser-known one, which I found in a video called "St. Louis Jane Doe - The Case That Haunts". It's actually a touching video dedicated to the victim, but it also features a PM of what I believe is the victim's decapitated body (with beheaded neck in frame). While there isn't much blood, it's still horrendous to even describe, so be careful if you end up coming across it.

The second post-mortem of the girl isn't of this, but it is still highly disturbing. It depicts her bloodied and little hands at the scene, being tied with the rope. You can also see the red and purple nail polish I described. It's much easier to find this rather triggering and upsetting PM pic online, so be careful when searching this case up.

Investigation

Press conference held to bring attention to the crime

The horrifying details of the case quickly lead to it's widespread infamy in Missouri. Despite this, the case would prove hard to solve. Of course, biological evidence like the semen recovered would likely be more important nowadays, but it sadly seems that was more or less ignored when originally investigated.

That wasn't to say there wasn't an attempt to know what happened to this girl. After checking Missouri school records, police believe she may have been from out of state. Ads on the girl's murder were ran in "every African American newspaper and magazine in the country", in hopes her family or friends would make the connection and claim the girl. Sadly, this was to no avail.

Newspaper detailing the murder

Then comes one of the most infuriating details of this investigation- when authorities looked at psychics. I'm very iffy on using psychics for criminal cases in the first place, but what happened here genuinely hurts me. 

One psychic claimed the girl's head would be discovered on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. It hasn't. Psychic Sharon Notle was even more specific: she said the child was a Chippewa Indian named Shannon Johnson, and her killer was currently living in southern Texas. This has also been disproven and resulted in a dead-end. The most infuriating incident however was- get this-  *inhale*

The sweater and nylon rope recovered at the crime scene were sent to a psychic in Florida. But then they...they got LOST in the mail and have NEVER been recovered. No, really. HOW IS SUCH MISHANDLING POSSIBLE?!! 

Burial & 2013 examination

Ten months after her discovery, with no leads and the case sadly going cold, St. Louis Jane Doe was buried in a well known but "derelict" African American graveyard, Washington Park Cemetery. To humanize the girl, she was named "Precious Hope" on her grave.

Original grave and burial

In 2013, the case was re-opened and authorities wanted to re-examine her body. However, due to the poor condition the cemetery was, her body had been misplaced. Low quality records for her 1983 funeral were used to recover her.

The NCMEC did isotope analysis on the girl, and it's proposed the girl had spent most of her childhood in two possible U.S. sections:

A) One of ten south-eastern states:

• Florida
• Georgia
• Alabama
• Mississippi
• Louisiana
• Arkansas
• Texas
• Tennessee
• North or South Carolina

B) One of midwestern to midtlantic states:

• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Wisconsin
• Indiana
• West Virginia

After re-examination, she was buried in the Calvary Cemetery, more specifically the Garden of Innocents, where other unidentified and unclaimed murdered children are laid to rest. And with that, the tragic case of St. Louis Jane Doe remains unsolved.

Her current grave

Theories & Rule-Outs

With a crime as brutal as this, it makes sense why many Websleuths (including myself) wonder more about who this girl was and why she was horrifically murdered.

A common theory on what happened to this girl was that- as abhorrent as it sounds, the girl had been killed by a family member. Sadly, abuse and murder between relatives is not uncommon. The theory would also explain why there may not have been missing reports on the girl, despite her being only around 9 and clearly vulnerable. 

A similar case like this happened in 2001, also in Missouri, where the headless body of a toddler was found. Thankfully, unlike this victim, her head was eventually found. She was similarly nicknamed Precious Doe, until 2005, when her identity was revealed to be 3-year-old Erica Green. She had been killed by her mom's abusive boyfriend. Both of them were charged. [I may talk about Erica's murder in a future post]

Erica Michelle Marie Green, who faced a similar fate to St. Louis Jane Doe

Of course though, in Erica's case, the autopsy revealed the victim had previous abuse marks, which makes sense considering her living situations. As you may recall from earlier, St. Louis Jane Doe, aside from the obvious traumatic injuries, had no signs of previous abuse. In fact, she was well-nourished, with nail polish, suggesting she came from a decent house-hold. How sudden was her killing? Had she been kidnapped?

There also is one named suspect in the murder- a suspected serial killer named Vernon Brown. He raped and murdered women and young girls during 1985 and 1986. Most of his victims were pre-teen Black girls, just like our victim. He was prolific in Missouri and possibly Indiana. He's also a suspect in some other murders, although there hasn't been any confirmed link between him and the St. Louis Jane Doe. He was executed for his crimes in 2005.

Vernon Brown

Here's all rule-outs for the victim as of 2025, according to NamUs:

• Nikole Betterson
• Sharaun Cole
• Yohanna Cyr
• Telethia Good
• Shaunda Green
• Toya Hill
• Sherise Magee
• Sheila Quinn
• Sherri Truesdale
• Beverly Ward
• Northampton County Jane Doe (1983) [ruled out as her missing head]

Shauran Cole (12), one of the rule-outs for St. Louis Jane Doe.

Thoughts

Well...it was hard to sit through that one. Like, this case genuinely tears me up a bit.

This case always pains me in many ways. To know a child had been subjected to rape and violent murder. To know some sick induvial(s) hogtied and decapitated a young girl. To know her head has never been recovered. To know they likely got away with it. To know at some point, this girl had an identity- a life, and it, along with her innocence, was ripped away. To know that CRUCIAL EVIDENCE was likely LOST!

And tragically, for decades, we still haven't solved ANY of it. Not only has she been buried without a name, but without a face. This is a horrible injustice that just makes me mad and sad. I just wish I could know this poor girl's name. She went through horror the last day of her short life, and someone did it only for their demented lack of remorse. Officers involved in this case were both traumatized, but also deeply involved and continue to think about this girl to this day.

I take passion in talking about true crime, both because it's intriguing, but also because it makes me seriously think about things, and spread awareness on topics like this. I think it's important we remember this girl was not just some case for you to read on my blog or on Wikipedia- this girl was a somebody. She could've been a daughter. A sister. A cousin. A neighbor. A student. A friend. Anyone.

"Is all hope lost?"

As pessimistic as I know it is, I kind of want to say no. But.. hopefully not. Genetic genealogy has identified decedents we've previously thought would be unidentified forever. For example, Joseph Zarelli was discovered dead in 1957, and got his name back in 2022. 

If we could, we may be able to locate the relatives of this victim and uncover her identity. It'd be especially important because it is harder to identify Black does due to their different ancestry. According to the DNA Doe Project (when they identified Vickie Smith):

"African-American Jane and John Does are often much more difficult to identify than people of Northern European descent because African-Americans are underrepresented in the public databases that allow law enforcement cases like this."

This is made even more complicated by the lack of a head. It's things like that prove we need to share more stories on Black murders and disappearances, without politicization, as they need just as much attention as White cases. 

I really hope one day to read an article entitling "St. Louis Jane Doe identified as..." I desperately want this girl to be identified sometime in my life, especially because she didn't get the chance to live one. Sadly, for now, things remain as unsolved as they've almost always been.

There's evil people out there. Her killers could still be alive, possibly elderly. I hope they never lived a good life. Someone out there knows/knew what happened to this poor child and/or who she was. When we don't say anything, nothing happens. If you have any possible information on the identity of her and/or her killer(s), please contact authorities. You might just be able to put this tragic cold case to rest.

Even though a lot of details of this case are atrocious and angering, there is at least one bittersweet detail of it- the victim's burial. To humanize and respect her, we gave her a precious nickname that reminds us she was not just a Jane Doe. And hopefully, we will know even more beyond that placeholder name.

Funeral before being re-buried in 2014

Rest in peace, St. Louis Jane Doe, our precious Hope. I hope we do know more about you. One day.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Unidentified Wiki

Doe Network

Wikipedia

Morbidology [GRAPHIC POSTMORTEM WARNING]

NCMEC

NCMEC - Video

NamUs

Find a Grave

There also exists a 2022 documentary made on the murder with a lot of updated details, called "Our Precious Hope: Revisited".

Other cases mentioned:

Erica Green (Unidentified Wiki)

Erica Green (Wikipedia)

Vernon Brown (Wikipedia)

Vernon Brown (Murderpedia)

- ninesevenpotatoes, 2025

The Melancholic Mindset of the Teen in the Tree

(Today's going to be a bit heavy...)

WARNING: This post discusses sensitive content regarding suicide and mental illness. Viewer discretion advised!

The timing on this post is actually coincidental, as September is National Suicide Awareness Month.

To any reader who may suffer from suicidal ideation or self-harm, please reach out for help. It's okay not to be okay, and it takes a team effort to get help. No matter how hard it is. You are strong and didn't come into this world just to hurt yourself. Learn more in the "Why This Case Matters" section. <=) - 97

Most of my true crime posts end up heartbreaking because a victim unfairly died, doesn't have their identity back, or their killer has evaded capture. Maybe some combination of all three. But in this post, you'll be feeling gut wretched because of a single suicide note. It's one of the most depressing and touching John Doe cases I've read about.

I would also like to preface I am not suicidal, nor have expressed extreme desire to hurt myself. There have been especially low points in my mental health, but overall, I don't think I'm in crisis. This case mainly hits hard for me not just at the fact this boy committed suicide, but mostly how he described himself. 

This is the case of Plaquemines Parish John Doe (1975), also known as Belle Chase John Doe.

Plaquemines Parish John Doe (195? - 1975)

To Tree or Not to Tree

Belle Chase, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. On Valentine's Day, a couple were driving through the woods on a road between Highway 23 and Mississippi River. That's when they discovered a terrible sight- someone hanging from a tree. Upon calling authorities, it was found it was a man hanging from a persimmon tree to be specific. He had tied a bed sheet into a slipknot and hung himself.

Contemporary image of a wooded area in Belle Chasse, similar to where the decedent was found

He was estimated to be White and in his late teens, around 16 to 18, 6', and about 150 to 160 pounds. He had only been dead for a few hours. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, with a slight buck tooth.

He was also fully clothed, wearing a maroon and yellow long-sleeved Puritan knit shirt. He also had a brown belt with blue Arrow pants. Interestingly enough he wore mismatched socks, one gray and one dark blue. And even more strangely, he wasn't wearing shoes.

Puritan shirt similar to what PPJD was presumably wearing (not actual clothing or approximation)

The other noticeable thing at the scene was a jar filled with note paper, which revealed itself to be a lengthy 4-paged suicide note addressed to his parents. The content of the note proved to be absolutely melancholic, and revealed the tragic mindset of the suicidal teenager. Keep a box of tissues nearby as we read it.

(Note that not all of the note was released by the police.)

In His Own Words

"Mom and Dad,

You have provided be excellent advantages and privileges and experiences. I am extremely grateful for all of your sacrifices, time and support. I am now repaying you with an arrogant act. In this light, I do see it as criminal. I can only hope that you see that it was me who caused it. I never did develop into a real person and I cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created. It is best if I cease to live, quietly, than risk that later I will break and shatter by violence or linger years under care. I implore you to see a psychiatrist in order that you might understand my death and my life. Ask thoroughly about what I was and you will see that it is not tragic that I am gone but more natural than if I continued. 

I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy. What frustrated me most in the last year was that I had built no ties to family or friends. There was nothing of lasting worth and value. I led a detached existence and I was a parody of a person-literally and figuratively. I didn't tell jokes-I was a joke. I am a bomb of frustration and should never marry or have children. It is safest to defuse the bomb harmlessly now. I do not want to bother with being a "reformed and cured" person limping through life. I am this self-centered.

I have wanted to do this for over a year. I am not sad or see this as tragic. I feel a release. This is the only way I know to attain harmony. I was a withdrawn baby who became an unpleasant, withdrawn person. I have convinced myself and others that I am not capable of being an asset to society. I am no longer interested in the world and know that it is not interested in me. When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing long ago."

That last line was cited from philosopher and psychologist Emile Durkheim's writing, then added this note for authorities:

"You are bound to preserve domestic peace and order. If you pursue who I was (and spend hundreds of dollars) you will accomplish little. There are no legal consequences of my death or any kind of entanglements. All that can happen is that you will shatter the domestic peace and order of two innocent lives. Do not deprive them of the hope that their "missing" son will return. Let me be, let it be as if I wasn't ever here. Simply cremate me as John Doe."

- Plaquemines Parish John Doe (1975).

Only known picture of his actual suicide note

Well, do you suddenly feel like bawling your eyes and wishing you could hug him? I did.

A Cry-Worthy Case

Unfortunately, aside from the facial reconstruction, his description, and what was released of the suicide note, it's unlikely this case will actually be solved for two reasons:

First of all, all reports, records, and documents from this case were tragically lost and presumably destroyed in a hurricane. There have been no report anything from the case survived from the Plaquemines Parish Sherriff's Office or Coroner's Office. (Some speculate this to be "divine intervention".)

Secondly, as requested, he was cremated, then buried in an unmarked grave at a cemetery in Gretna, meaning his body has been lost and his DNA is unavailable. 50 years later, and PPJD remains unidentified. And it may be like that forever. His parents he delivered the note to are likely deceased as of writing. And with that, the heart-aching mystery of PPJD remains open. As a result...we are left to speculate.

Theories - Suicide Note & Mental Health

So, with what the suicide note reveals on the mind of PPJD, there have been many theories on his life, death, and possible identities. I'm going to go through some of the most interesting ones, ranging from minor to shocking.

Let's start by further speculating about PPJD's mental and emotional wellbeing. I feel there was a good chance PPJD was suffering from a mental illness or disorder at the time of his death. We obviously can't officially diagnose PPJD based off a suicide note alone, but considering the language he used and committing to suicidal ideation highly suggests he had something, most likely depression. I mean..."I was born with a definite pervasive melancholy."

Many believe he also may have had disorders which often have a byproduct of depression or self-loathe, such as autism. Lines about his suggested explosive behavior like "I will break and shatter by violence" could suggest he had mood swings resulting from say, bipolar disorder. Many people suspect he had these conditions. His self-isolation could hint at anti-social traits as well.

Some other theories people suspect is that he may have been someone of the LGBTQ+ community and was felt like a freak for this. Some also think he may had more serious conditions, such as being psychopathy, sociopathy, or schizophrenia. He also could've indulged in drug misuse. I feel these are interesting theories, but there's not as much weight behind them to be likely compared to the other illnesses I mentioned. If we find out more about the life, we could figure stuff like this out.

Theories - His Life & Death

Now let's get into some ideas on what happened to PPJD, since the actual details of his death are cryptic. You may recall one weird detail upon discovery was that the boy was only found in his socks, and no shoes were recovered. Why this is was unclear; there's no reports of signs he walked to the tree he hung himself in his socks, as I feel they would be very dirty or murky. And it's also just a weird decision because the rest of his body was clothed.

One theory I briefly read online explains that maybe he had wore shoes as travelling, but the shoes were lost during what is known as "death throes", or more scientifically, "cadaveric spasms". This is basically during the very last stages of life where the body begins to violently shake or twitch, often after the victim has lost consciousness. It's possible his death throes as he asphyxiated from hanging himself resulted in his shoes falling into the murky water below him, and they weren't recovered.

I think that also could tie into a theory I made myself- that the boy might've left his house in a rush. I feel like the different socks thing isn't even that weird; I frequently wear mismatched socks, and I bet you have done that too. Often while rushing. So maybe he just absent mindedly chose incorrect socks while dressing up, and during his rush he didn't care too much to tie his shoes either, meaning they easily fell off during his death throes. That raises the question though- why and was he in a rush to leave his home in the first place?

Speaking of which, another mystery we have- what was the homelife and social life of PPJD before his death? We can be confident he had a mom and dad who were living at the time, but were they aware their son had disappeared? Had the victim gone to school, or did he have any friends? I feel like he would be decently well known to some people considering he was in his late teens. However, he also said something that frustrated him was the lack of familial ties he made, so maybe he felt like a loner in his family.

Something also noticeable is that the note in itself is very eloquent and self-aware, and demonstrates excellent cursive. Judging by this, I think he likely he was well educated in his life, although it is unclear if he was home-schooled or went to public school.

Another theory I found was that some believed he may have come from a mental hospital. We've already discussed his concerning mental health earlier, so he might've run away from the hospital to do this act. It could also explain why he wasn't wearing shoes and hung himself with a bedsheet. I wonder if there were any psych wards around the area that lost a patient.

One sad theory I saw suggests that maybe, his mom and dad already found out about his suicide but simply decided to not report his identification. Not out of malicious intent, but rather to respect their son's wishes. He did make it really heart felt to them, and maybe they thought it'd be better if he was buried under John Doe and grieve privately. This'll tie in with another theory on his possible identity. Speaking of which...

Theories - Possible Matches

10/5/25 - I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM YOU SOME OF THE INFORMATION HERE IS NOW SEVERELY OUT OF DATE! I don't know when or if I'll update it, but all you need to know is that the 2nd person is NOT him. In fact, I don't know HOW I missed this, but he was actually identified as SOMEONE ELSE BEFORE this post was even made! No, really, look here!  It's bittersweet, to be honest.

With speculation on the life of PPJD aside, let's get into two possible identities for this young man. Both are a bit older than his estimated age range, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't exclude them.

Bayard Cousins

Bayard William Cousins

Bayard Cousins disappeared on February 1st, 1975, a mere 2 weeks before PPJD's discovery. He left his home and left a note for his parents telling them "not to worry about him", which inherently lead them to worry about him. Apparently there were "no issues" with him at the time.

This is an interesting possibility, as he has a similar chin and nose. He also has the same dark hair as the decedent. However, there are some inconsistencies. He reportedly had a scar on one of his fingers of an unknown hand, which was never reported for PPJD. He was a bit taller than him, and also had hazel eyes as opposed to brown eyes, like the Doe had. Hazel does have a kind of "green" tone to brown, but it's still a bit of a reach. Our second candidate is a lot more possible.

Charles Wallace Jr.

Charles Wallace Jr.

This is one of the suggested identities most people seem most fascinated by, and so do I for reasons that'll be evident.

Charles Wallace Jr, from Tennnesse. was allegedly reported missing in 1975 at 19 (a little older than the Doe, but still close). He was said to have suffered from drug misuse and ran away from a center dealing with those problems. 

Already you can see some similarities between Charles and the decedent; both have mental / drug problems and the reconstruction has some similarities. But this is where the story gets very interesting: 

His mom actually heard about John Doe and decided to see if it could be her son. She travelled to Louisiana, looked at his body, and claimed that it was not her son. However.. the dental records for both PPJD and Charles were reportedly an EXACT match. Yep, they aligned. And yet, the mom said it was not him.

Now, either that is a wild coincidence, or there's more at play here. It's important to consider the body changes during the stages of death, so even if his face was recognizable, he may not have exactly resembled what he looked like in real life. Especially considering he hanged himself, which would've resulted in bruising and blood-shot eyes.

There are a few theories people have on this: Maybe his mom either didn't recognize his son due to postmortem differences, was in denial about it being her son even when she knew, or intentionally lied about not him not being Charles. This ties back to the bittersweet theory I mentioned earlier- about the parents wanting to respect his privacy and deciding not to identify him. Some also suspect she may not have claimed him because of a stigma around suicide at the time.

I think the Charles Wallace Jr. possibility could be re-examined considering the matching dentals can't be coincidence...there must be more than to this.

Overall Thoughts

Well...this was a tough one.

The case of PPJD is a highly tragic one that highlights the mind of a likely mentally ill teenager, and how it felt he could get no help. Reading and writing his story made me feel crestfallen and empathetic. It's especially heartbreaking he felt so loathing and hating of himself he thought he didn't even deserve to be known in death.

This actually raises an important discussion point-...is it worth it to identify PPJD? He himself has no desire to be identified, and his last known paragraph points to the fact nothing bad would arise if he were to remain unidentified. Would it be respectful for us to keep on trying to identify him, or would that be disrespecting his wishes? I believe everyone deserves to be buried under the name, but what if they don't want to? Especially if they were mentally ill? I'll let you decide.

Regardless on if we ever do figure out his identity, the suicide note highly touches me and makes me wish he could've gotten the proper help he needed before he decided to kill himself. Keep in mind this was in 1975, years before we started to make proper awareness, acceptance, and treatment of mental illnesses and disorders. He probably didn't feel he could reach any resources back then. In modern-day, maybe this young man could've gotten the help he needed before he did what he did. But it was not modern-day. And so, PPJD died, being the only one knowing of his identity. And maybe it'll be like that forever.

Why This Case Matters

Many people call suicide selfish or cowardly. This John Doe was aware of this as he referred to his suicide as an "arrogant act". While I understand the idea, I also feel it's a toxic viewpoint of it. Someone who commits suicide likely thought they had no where else to go, and they had truly reach their low point. It's not inherently someone's fault they want to kill themselves, and sadly there has been plenty of stigma towards some suicide victims. We can stop these stigmas by being more open and looking more into mental health beyond a superficial level.

Remember, mental health and illness are real. You can't snap out of being mentally ill. You're not alone. It takes, time, support, and help, but maturity and sensitivity can help people before they sadly resort to what this young man did. Suicide and suicidal ideation is more common than we think it is. But...it is preventable. If you and anyone you know seem to be showing signs of suicide...it's not too late to get help.

"Call or Text or Chat the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 any time of day. The Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones." 

I would like to end this with some of the most touching and heartbreaking lines from his note:

"Ask thoroughly about what I was and you will see that it is not tragic that I am gone but more natural than if I continued."

"I am extremely grateful for all of your sacrifices, time and support. I am now repaying you with an arrogant act. In this light, I do see it as criminal."

"I am a bomb of frustration and should never marry or have children. It is safest to defuse the bomb harmlessly now."

"Do not deprive them of the hope that their "missing" son will return. Let me be, let it be as if I wasn't ever here."

"I am not sad or see this as tragic. I feel a release. This is the only way I know to attain harmony."

- Plaquemines Parish John Doe (1975)

Rest in peace, Plaquemines Parish John Doe. Even if you didn't feel like it, you were always loved, even during death.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Unidentified Wiki

Wikipedia

Doe Network

Find a Grave

NamUs

Reddit

Medium - Madison Tramel

Bayard Cousins:

NamUs

Missing Wiki

Doe Network

- ninesevenpotatoes, 2025

The Does of September 11th [W.I.P]

Note that many aspects of this story are still unfinished as of releasing. I just wanted it to be released on 9/11. Come back by say, the end of the weekend if you want a full document.

WARNING: This post contains sensitive content regarding terrorism. Viewer discretion advised! 

(Also, there will be use of possibly triggering or disturbing images.)

The Story

Everyone know about 9/11. It needs almost no introduction. We all know what happened that infamous day in 2001.

At about 8'o clock, that fateful Fall day, U.S. History would be dramatically changed for the unexpected. The Islamic extremist network Al-Qaeda, and their leader at the time, Osama Bin-Ladin would reach it's peak infamy for what horrific acts they did. Hijacking those planes.

The smoke arising from the twin towers remains some of the most infamous images in history in general. Two planes manage to collapse what were the tallest buildings in the U.S.A, but it manage to destroy even more than that...lives.

It killed over 2,900 people, including many firemen, workers, and the plane passengers. Horrific for thousands of people that day- not just the victims, but their families. I remember learning about some of the well-known people of 9/11, such as the iconic photograph of survivor Marcy Borders, the "Dust Lady", to the youngest victim, Christine Lee Hanson, a cute toddler who was taken, alongside her family. 

It's important to remember those victims are not just numbers. They all had lives, families, personalities, things like that like you and me. And it was taken away horrifically because of the intense consequences of racial and religious disparities.

Not All Identified

What I didn't know...was that not all of those 2,900+ poor people have been identified...or even truly found. In fact, unlike what I thought last year, it's way more than 2,900. There's possibly over 22,000 people that day who died, many without their name as of writing. Let me tell you about something you a little about them...

Now if you don't know, I am an avid user of the Unidentified Wiki, dedicated to documenting unidentified decedents and anonymous people worldwide. Through random circumstances, I found a page on a man named "Patrice Braut". And then I read the following:

"Patrice Braut was a man who was killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in Manhattan, New York. His remains were identified in March 2015 and was the 1639th victim to be identified. He was the only Belgian victim of the terrorist attack."

Suddenly, my interest peaked. 

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!]

The Falling Man

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!]

- ninesevenpotatoes, 2025

97 Day

TODAY IS 9/7, 97 DAY!!!

9 Tens, 7 Ones

I constantly make reference to the number 97, as my favorite number. 

My Scratch account is named 97Scratch. Many of my other early usernames were stylized 97[Website], including:

• 97Gamer (GameJolt)
• 97OldGrounder (Newgrounds)
• 97Decord (Discord)
• 97TheAnimator (YouTube)
• Revieweing97Shows (Qualitipedia, ugh)

Around 2022 or 2023 is when I slowly began my rebrand to use a single username for my websites, and I eventually came up with the classic all-lowercase long name ninesevenpotatoes. The "potatoes" part came from the fact I used the phrase "because potatoes" from Mr. Enter. 

Why 97?

97 is an oddly specific two-digit number. Most people probably have rounded or simple numbers as their favorites, such as 8, 10, 0, or whatever. So, why is my favorite number 97? Well, the origin of me using 97 is actually relatively simple:

Whenever I used the old Windows computer (which is sadly broken, R.I.P), the password contained the number 97 between 91 and 99. And for some reason the odd number combination in between two other extremes stuck out to me. This is probably why I used it for my Scratch username...after, y'know, my first first account.

I'm actually kinda shocked 97Scratch was even available, because it's such a basic username. There was a 96Scratch and a 98Scratch before me, and they joined over a DECADE before me! I guess that truly shows 97 was one of a kind.

So anyway, that's pretty much it for my oddly convoluted history with the number 97. Now it's time for my favorite part:

97 Facts About The Number 97

Many of these facts will range from extremely obvious to obscure trivia. Also, I wrote many parts out of order, which is why some will feel random. 

1. 97 is my favorite number.
2. 97 has 9 tens and 7 ones.
3. You could also make 97 with 4 twenties, 1 ten, and 7 ones.
4. Don't forget, 97 is 6 fifteens and 7 ones.
5. Lastly, 97 is composed up of 1 ninety-six and a single one.
6. Ninety-seven has eleven letters.
7. 97 is a prime number.
8. 97 is the only prime number in the 90s, making it the largest prime number less than 100.
9. 97 is the 25th prime number.
10. 97 is my nickname. This is relevant, because:
11. I asked my friends to give me "97 Facts". One thought they meant facts about me.
12. 97 is 3 numbers away from 100.
13. 97 rounds to 100 when you round to tens or hundreds.
14. Likewise, 0.97 rounds to 1 when you round to tenths or hundredths.
15. 97 is an odd number.
16. As of writing, this project was my 97th latest project on Scratch.
17. This is my 97th project on Scratch (at least considering ones I've deleted or never uploaded.)
18. I have a friend named 67Scratch, which is a clear parody of my username, 97Scratch.
19. Speaking of which, 97 - 67 = 30.
20. If you flip the 9 in 97, you'll get 67.
21. If you flip 97 entirely, you'll get L6. I don't know if that means anything.
22. The 97th character on this blog post is the letter E.
23. The 97th word or number on this blog post is 97. (What a coincidence.)
24. In 2 years and 11 months from this post, my Scratch account will be 9 years, 7 months old.
25. 97 is the first happy prime number.
26. 10-97 is police code for "arrived on the scene".
27. This was the 97th project I found when I searched "97" on Scratch.
28. 97 is the smallest prime number that is not a cluster prime.
29. 97 is an isolated prime between 95 and 99.
30. 97 in Greek is ϞΖ.
31. 15 × 9 − 75 + 20 − 6 + 51 − 6 + 1 − 75 × -2 − 85 − 24 − 60 − 4 = 97. 
32. I used to pronouce "97Scratch" as "nine-seven-scratch", not "ninety-seven-scratch".
33. I was 97 months old on June 15, 2018.
34. I was 97 days old on August 21st.
35. September 7th 1997 was the last ultimate 97 day.
36. September 7th 2097 will be the next ultimate 97 day.
37. Other ultimate 97 days: 1097, 1197, 1297, 1397, 1497, 1597, 1697, 1797, and 1897.
38. 97 years ago, it was September 7th, 1928.
39. 97 is a Proth prime.
40. In 9 years, 7 months, 9 weeks, and 7 days from now, I will be 25 years old.
41. 1997 was the 3rd to last year in the 1990s.
42. In 2 years, it'll be 20 years since the last ultimate 97 day.
43. I got this when I counted around 97 images on Google when searching "number 97".
44. On a hundreds chart, if you highlight 97 and the digits that make it, you have a right triangle.
45. 97% is an A+.
46. This is number 97 Yu-Gi-Oh. I don't know what this is.
47. 77 posts from now will be 97th blog post.
48. 97% of 97 is 94.09
49. The 97th day of the year is April 7th.
50. The 97th day of a leap year is April 8th.
51. 97 as a Pierpont prime as it is 3 × 2^5 + 1
52. It would take about 97 seconds to recite 97 97 times.
53. 9/7 is 1 2/7.
54. 9-7=2, and 97+2=99...and 97-7=90, and 90+9=99. I'm intentionally disorienting you.
55. 97 in Spanish is noventa y siente.
56. There are only two 2-digit numbers greater than 97.
57. It is impossible to drive at 97 MPH.
58. If you COULD drive 97 MPH, you'd quickly die in a bloody car crash.
59. Every three-digit number and beyond is greater than 97.
60. Klotho is asteroid 97.
61. 9797 is (97 x 1000 + 97) is an angel number.
62. My 97th subscriber was "The Cartoon Master".
63. The binary code 97 is 1100001.
64. As of writing this, I have 64 facts, which is 97 - 33.
65. 97 - 81 is 16. (81 is a reference to another one of my friends)
66. 97 minutes have passed in a day when it's 1:37 A.M.
67. X-Men '97 exists. That's all.
68. It's 97 minutes passed noon when it's 1:37 P.M.
69. There are 97 minutes left in a day when it's 10:23 P.M.
70. 97 hours is exactly 4 days...and an extra hour.
71. 97 feet is 31 yards...and an extra foot.
72. If someone was 8 feet and one inch tall, they would be 97 inches tall.
73. Eminem has a song called "97 Bonnie & Clyde".
74. When you keep repeating the alphabet, the 97th letter will be the letter S.
75. On the first day of 1997, the Emergency Alert System was introduced in the USA.
76. September 7th is 97 day.
77. July 9th is 97 day in places where they write the day before the month.
78. I was 9 years and 7 months old when 2020 began.
79. When I turn 16, my age will be the sum of 9 and 7.
80. When I turn 63, my age will be the product of 9 and 7
81. On September 26th, there will be 97 days left in the year.
82. On September 27th, in leap years, there will be 97 days left in the year.
83. If I were to live to 97, it would be 2107.
84. If I were to live to 2097, I would be 87.
85. 97 rhymes with 911.
86. Lists of 97 are actually quite uncommon. Especially when written.
87. 97 has 4 syllables.
88. 97 is an emrip prime, as when reversed it is 79.
89. 97 - 79 = 21, subtracting it from it's enrip.
90. 97's decimal unit code represents Latin lowecase 'a'.
91. 97 squared is 9409.
92. 97 multiplied 97 times is approximately 5.21 * 10^192.
93. As a roman numeral, 97 is XCVII.
94. If your IQ was 97, you would have below average intelligence.
95. If a 97 year old was 9'7 and weighed 97 pounds, they would be severely underweight.
96. On the contrast, if that 97 year old was 970 pounds, they'd be obese Class III.
97. THE NUMBER 97 IS EPIC!!!

And voila, gentleman, ladies, and everyone in-between. There's 97 random facts about 97. You will have a standardized test on this tommorow. Study this thoroughly.

Thanks for reading!

- ninesevenpotatoes, 97 Day, 2025