NamUs Case #UP9183 | Found April 27, 2006 | Muskogee County, Oklahoma
By Cara Cowan Watts, Cherokee411.com
She was buried beneath a large oak tree in New Hope Cemetery near Hulbert — a historic Cherokee Indian burial ground in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, where grave inscriptions are written in the Cherokee language. She has no name on her headstone. The face carved into her grave marker is a forensic reconstruction, because no family came to claim her, and because the strangers who arranged her burial wanted someone, someday, to recognize her.
She is known only as the Webbers Falls Jane Doe. Nearly two decades after her discovery, she remains unidentified — and the woman and her unborn child may have been Indigenous.
Found in a Ditch, April 27, 2006
A passing motorist found her on the morning of April 27, 2006, lying in a roadside ditch along a gravel county road approximately half a mile west of Ross Road, two miles south of Interstate 40 near Webbers Falls in Muskogee County. She was barefoot, clutching a blood-soaked towel across her lower abdomen. A second bloody towel lay on the ground beside her.
Investigators determined she was already deceased when she was placed in the ditch — estimated to have occurred around midnight. The Oklahoma medical examiner determined the cause of death was massive blood loss. She had been in the first trimester of pregnancy. There were no signs of sexual assault or struggle.
Fingerprint records confirmed she had no known criminal history in the United States. Despite fingerprints, dental records, and DNA being entered into national databases, no match has ever been made. Thirteen women have been ruled out as possible matches.
Cherokee Nation and UKB Jurisdiction
The recovery location — a gravel road in southeastern Muskogee County, two miles south of I-40 near Webbers Falls — falls within Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians jurisdiction. Choctaw Nation territory lies nearby to the south. The area carries deep Cherokee history: Webbers Falls itself was founded by Walter Webber, a Cherokee chief who established a trading post there in 1828, and the town has been described in the Cherokee Phoenix as still embodying Cherokee values, with the Cherokee language printed on its signs.
NamUs case #UP9183 lists “Found on Tribal Land: No.” Based on mapping of the recovery coordinates, that designation appears to be incorrect. Cherokee411.com is flagging this discrepancy for review by the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Physical Description
The woman was estimated to be between 25 and 40 years old. She stood approximately 5 feet 3 to 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed between 135 and 150 pounds. She had brown eyes and brown hair with a reddish tint, cut to collar length — approximately 4 to 6 inches.
The medical examiner assessed her racial or ethnic background as American Indian, Hispanic, or Asian. She had two distinctive scars: one below her navel and one on her right shin showing suture marks. She had a dental bridge replacing an upper front tooth. Both ears had been pierced twice, though no earrings were recovered.
She was found wearing a white long-sleeved turtleneck top over a black sports bra, dark blue running pants with double white stripes on the outside of the legs, yellow capris/pedal pushers, panties, and two white socks. No shoes were found at the scene. She was also wearing two leather bracelets and a cloth and elastic bracelet.
The Investigation
The Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office led the initial investigation. Then-Investigator Tim Brown — later identified as chief of police in Webbers Falls as of 2008 — speculated at the time that the woman may have been an undocumented immigrant traveling through the region along the I-40 corridor. That theory was never confirmed, and her identity remains unknown.
In 2008, then-Sheriff Charles Pearson sought to list the case with the Doe Network, an international volunteer organization that works to identify unidentified persons and match missing persons cases. The case was entered into NamUs as #UP9183, with a medical examiner case number of 0610564.
Laid to Rest on Cherokee Land
Because no family came forward, community members arranged her burial in New Hope Cemetery near Hulbert — a historic Cherokee Indian cemetery in Cherokee County first used as a burial ground around 1860. Many of its graves bear inscriptions in the Cherokee syllabary.
Her headstone bears a forensic facial reconstruction — described in a 2008 Muskogee Phoenix report as an image of her face from when she was first discovered. The gesture reflects the determination of those who cared for her in death to ensure she would be recognized and, one day, named.
A Call to Four Nations
Because she was found within Cherokee Nation and UKB jurisdiction, and given the medical examiner’s assessment that she was likely of American Indian, Hispanic, or Asian descent, Cherokee411.com is including this woman and her unborn child in the Cherokee411 Missing and Murdered Cherokee Persons database as a person of potential Indigenous identity. Her tribal citizenship — whether Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Choctaw Nation, or another tribal nation — is unknown.
Cherokee411.com is calling on the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Police, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to review this case and determine whether jurisdictional claims apply. We are also calling on citizens of all four nations — and any tribal nation — to review the physical description and facial reconstruction and come forward with any information.
Someone knew this woman. Someone may still be wondering what happened to her and to her unborn child. Nearly 20 years is too long to go unnamed.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office at (918) 687-0202, or to submit a tip through NamUs at namus.gov, case #UP9183.
CHEROKEE411 MMIP DATABASE ENTRY
Missing and Murdered Cherokee Persons — Unidentified Decedent Record
Name: UNKNOWN (“Webbers Falls Jane Doe”)
Status: Unidentified Deceased
Date Found: April 27, 2006
Location Found: Gravel road, approx. half mile west of Ross Road, two miles south of I-40, near Webbers Falls, southeastern Muskogee County, Oklahoma.
Tribal Jurisdiction: Cherokee Nation / United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (Choctaw Nation territory nearby to the south).
NamUs Record Note: NamUs #UP9183 lists “Found on Tribal Land: No” — this designation appears to be incorrect based on mapping of the recovery location and is flagged for correction.
Potential Tribal Identity: Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, or other tribal nation — UNKNOWN
Sex: Female
Estimated Age: 25–40 years
Height: Approx. 5’3″–5’4″
Weight: Approx. 135–150 lbs.
Hair: Brown with reddish tint, collar length (4–6 inches)
Eyes: Brown
Race/Ethnicity (ME Assessment): American Indian, Hispanic, or Asian
Distinguishing Features: Scar below navel; scar on right shin with suture marks; dental bridge on upper front tooth; both ears pierced twice.
Clothing/Accessories: White long-sleeve turtleneck, black sports bra, dark blue running pants (double white stripes on legs), yellow capris, panties, two white socks (no shoes); two leather bracelets, one cloth and elastic bracelet.
Cause of Death: Massive blood loss; first trimester of pregnancy; no signs of assault or struggle; deceased before being placed in ditch.
Buried: New Hope Cemetery, near Hulbert, Cherokee County, Oklahoma (historic Cherokee Indian cemetery, est. c. 1860)
NamUs Case #: UP9183
ME Case #: 0610564
Also Listed In: Doe Network, Oklahoma Cold Cases
Investigating Agency: Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, (918) 687-0202
