Though investigators suspected she was a victim of prolific serial killer, Samuel Little, they didn’t know her name for over 40 years.
In December 1977, hunters discovered skeletonized human remains near a highway undergoing construction in Mississippi. Investigators determined that the remains belonged to an African American woman, small in stature. She had a distinctive front gold tooth and may have been wearing a wig. Investigators estimate that the woman might have died 3-4 months prior to discovery. Over the years several facial reconstructions and computer composites were created in an effort to help identify her. With no viable leads to her identity, she became known as “Escatawpa Jane Doe”.
In 2018, convicted serial killer Samuel Little confessed to numerous murders across the Southeast, including the murder of Escatawpa Jane Doe, whom he did not know by name. Investigators confirmed Samuel Little was in Jackson County in 1977, during the approximate time frame of the woman’s death. Samuel Little died in prison in 2020.
With all leads exhausted, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with the Mississippi State Crime Lab, contracted Othram to see if advanced DNA testing could help produce leads to Escatawpa Jane Doe’s true name.
Genealogical research led to a 93 year-old woman who was originally from Leflore County, Mississippi who stated her cousin, Clara Birdlong, had gone missing in the 1970’s. A distant cousin in Texas confirmed that Clara, who had gone by the name “Nuttin” was a small woman who had a gold front tooth and often wore a wig.
Investigators later learned Samuel Little was arrested in Pascagoula in August of 1977. Although he is now deceased, Samuel Little is considered a prime suspect in the death of Clara Birdlong. Anyone who may remember Clara Birdlong is asked to contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office at (228) 769-3063 or Mississippi Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898.
For years, victims were listed on cold case files in law enforcement evidence boxes. While never forgotten, limitations in forensic science prevented their cases from being closed. Families waited decades for answers and justice while their killers remained unidentified. Enter advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy: The Missing Piece.
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