The disappearance and eventual discovery of the remains of Deana Hooper has been covered on many forums. It is an interesting case, primarily because of the location her skeleton was discovered bordering Columbus Parkway and Blue Rock Springs Park (see below). Thanks to Zamantha for turning the article into readable text.
Deana Hooper (18) disappeared July 11th 1974 Vallejo Times-Herald-March 13th 1975: A skeleton found Tuesday in an open field at Columbus Parkways and St. John's Mine Road was identified tentatively Wednesday. by Vallejo police as the remains of an 18- year-old Chinese girl from Sonoma.. Detective Richard Hoffman said the skeleton is presumed to be that of Deana Hooper, who had been reported missing here last July 15 by her sister, Mrs Tonna Albright of 901 Georgia Street, with whom she had been staying. Hoffman said Mrs. Albright made the tentative identification after viewing the clothing and sandals found at the scene of the discovery and recognized them as her sister's. Hoffman said Mrs. Albright also identified the ruby-colored birthstone ring on the right hand as that worn by her sister when she disappeared here nine months ago.
Hoffman said the first clue to the skeletons tentative identification came from Harold Thacker, a retired Vallejo police sergeant and now a criminal investigator to Mare Island. Hoffman said Thacker supplied the name of the missing Chinese girl after reading yesterday's Times-Herald account of the discovery of the skeleton. Thacker told Hoffman he recalled talking to the missing girl's father at Mare Island when he made inquiries at the shipyard after his daughter was reportedly last seen there. Hoffman said a check of Police Department records uncovered a missing persons report involving Deana Hooper which had been filed by her sister in Vallejo. Police immediately contacted the sister with the result to the skeletons' identity. Hoffman said confirmations of the identification rests with an examination of the Sonoma girl's dental charts, which have been released by a Napa dentist for checking with he skeleton's teeth.
Hoffman said the first clue to the skeletons tentative identification came from Harold Thacker, a retired Vallejo police sergeant and now a criminal investigator to Mare Island. Hoffman said Thacker supplied the name of the missing Chinese girl after reading yesterday's Times-Herald account of the discovery of the skeleton. Thacker told Hoffman he recalled talking to the missing girl's father at Mare Island when he made inquiries at the shipyard after his daughter was reportedly last seen there. Hoffman said a check of Police Department records uncovered a missing persons report involving Deana Hooper which had been filed by her sister in Vallejo. Police immediately contacted the sister with the result to the skeletons' identity. Hoffman said confirmations of the identification rests with an examination of the Sonoma girl's dental charts, which have been released by a Napa dentist for checking with he skeleton's teeth.
Detective Richard Hoffman and Sergeant James Husted look at the skeletal remains of Deana Hooper According to the missing person's report filed last July by Mrs. Albright, Hoffman said her sister last had been seen on July 11 at the Enlisted Men's Club on Mare Island (additional information below). Hoffman said Mrs. Albright gave no reason reason for delaying the report of her sister's disappearance until July 15th. Hoffman said Deana Hooper and Tonna Albright had been adopted about eight years ago from an orphanage in Hong Kong by their foster father Dean Hooper, a Caucasian ex-serviceman who now lives at 234 Thomson Ave, Sonoma. Hoffman said he notified Hooper that the skeleton found here had been tentatively identified as his missing adopted daughter. According to Hoffman, Hooper confirmed he had suspected all along that Deana was dead, after she disappeared without a trace last July and that Mrs. Albright confirmation of the identifications of the skeleton came as no surprise to him.
Hoffman said it is his belief the skeleton found Tuesday by an Oakland chiropractor and his 8-year-old son flying kites on the Azevedo Ranch, had lain in the field undetected since last July 12. He indicated the location of the skeleton in high weeds 40 feet east of the nearest roadway would have made it virtually impossible for someone to see the remains, unless a passerby stumbled by accident on that site. Hoffman said the skeleton now is being examined by an anthropologist at the University of California at Davis in the hope of determining the cause of the death. Meanwhile, he said the police investigation into the girls' disappearance is continuing.
Here is a map showing 901 Georgia Street and St Johns Mine Road.
Images along Saint Johns Mine created by Samuel Dapore-Scwartz.
Additional information:
#1] Established in 1892, Mare Island Golf Club in Vallejo, California is the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi River. Originally built as a 9-hole course, its first 30 years included sand greens and dry fairways. The course began near the former Marine Barracks and proceeded south to Lake Rodgers (built in 1876 and named after Rear Admiral Rodgers), then returned to the start.
#2] San Francisco Chronicle July 31st 1969 "Dear Editor This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo."
#3] Enlisted Men's Club on Mare Island at the Naval Inshore Operations Training Center.
Was the killer a serviceman with golfing ties, who knew this quiet retreat near Blue Rock Springs golf course was the ideal dumping ground for a body, just a short distance from the road.
Hoffman said it is his belief the skeleton found Tuesday by an Oakland chiropractor and his 8-year-old son flying kites on the Azevedo Ranch, had lain in the field undetected since last July 12. He indicated the location of the skeleton in high weeds 40 feet east of the nearest roadway would have made it virtually impossible for someone to see the remains, unless a passerby stumbled by accident on that site. Hoffman said the skeleton now is being examined by an anthropologist at the University of California at Davis in the hope of determining the cause of the death. Meanwhile, he said the police investigation into the girls' disappearance is continuing.
Here is a map showing 901 Georgia Street and St Johns Mine Road.
Images along Saint Johns Mine created by Samuel Dapore-Scwartz.
Additional information:
#1] Established in 1892, Mare Island Golf Club in Vallejo, California is the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi River. Originally built as a 9-hole course, its first 30 years included sand greens and dry fairways. The course began near the former Marine Barracks and proceeded south to Lake Rodgers (built in 1876 and named after Rear Admiral Rodgers), then returned to the start.
#2] San Francisco Chronicle July 31st 1969 "Dear Editor This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo."
#3] Enlisted Men's Club on Mare Island at the Naval Inshore Operations Training Center.
Was the killer a serviceman with golfing ties, who knew this quiet retreat near Blue Rock Springs golf course was the ideal dumping ground for a body, just a short distance from the road.
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