Mercury1
03-24-2006, 01:51 PM
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1332dfca.html
LA MESA – A body found near Descanso in 1996 was listed as a Jane Doe by the county Medical Examiner's Office for 10 years until it was identified last month as that of Holly Krewson, who was reported missing by her family in 1995.
Holly Krewson's body was found 10 years ago, but wasn't identified until last month
Krewson, the daughter of a La Mesa print-shop owner, was 23 when she vanished. Unaware that her remains had been found, Krewson's family for years distributed tens of thousands of fliers on her birthday, listened to advice from psychics, made personal appeals on national television shows and followed leads on their own.
But a break in the case came didn't come until last month, when La Mesa police came up with information that would link Krewson to the Jane Doe. Dental records were used to confirm the identity.
Although the cause of Krewson's death remains unknown, the case now is considered an active homicide investigation. The unidentified remains were buried at county expense in 1996.
A family member confirmed the circumstances surrounding the discovery.
“They found Holly,” said Bruce Fenton, her uncle, who lives in Boston. “I can't say it's a shock. We pretty much thought she was dead all these years.”
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Fenton, however, said there was frustration and “many questions remaining” over the fact that his niece's body was listed as a Jane Doe by the coroner's office all the years her family was looking for her.
“We want to know what happened and how she died,” Fenton said.
Other members of the Krewson family refused to comment at the request of La Mesa police.
Authorities are trying to find out how the body remained unidentified in a system designed to match missing people with found bodies, usually through dental charts and other reports filed with the state Department of Justice Missing Unidentified Persons Unit.
The Sheriff's Department investigated the discovery of the skeletal remains, found off state Route 79. The case now has been transferred to the La Mesa Police Department.
Sheriff's homicide Lt. Dennis Burgos confirmed the transfer of the Krewson case to La Mesa police and referred all calls to the department. La Mesa police would not comment, saying the investigation is ongoing and that any information released to the public now could jeopardize the probe.
The case gained notoriety, especially in the La Mesa business district, where the Krewson family owns a print shop on University Avenue and where Holly was well-known. The shop, Printing by Gwen, still has a missing-person flier of Holly from 1995 posted on an outside window.
Holly had aspirations to be an actress. She was a child beauty queen, a model and dancer who was born into an entertainment family. Her grandmother was a professional singer and pianist. Her stepfather played with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. Holly was onstage at age 3.
When she was 11, Holly was molested by a family friend. Her parents later divorced, and Holly started going downhill, according to information provided to authorities from family members. She started using drugs, hanging around with a bad crowd and becoming what her brother called a “wild child.”
Holly rarely spent time at home, dropped out of high school and worked for a time at the Viejas Casino and various bars as a cocktail waitress.
She was 5 feet 3, weighed 110 pounds and had curly, shoulder-length blond hair and hazel eyes. She often wore shorts and halter tops and was fond of saying that if she married someone with the last name of Wood, she would be Holly Wood.
In 2002, she was the subject of a segment on the Montel Williams television show with a missing-people theme. On the program, a psychic said Holly could be found in Hollywood working as a dancer at an adult club.
The family went to Hollywood for a weekend and canvassed a number of nightclubs. Every time the family passed out a new batch of missing-person fliers, the calls of Holly sightings would come in.
Someone saw her in a wheelchair at the Embarcadero. Another caller said her body could be found buried in the backcountry.
That tip prompted the family to go to the supposed burial site and dig dozens of holes.
The file on the case at La Mesa Police Department headquarters grew to more than 3 inches thick. Veteran officers would comment that they had never had a case where the family was so involved.
During the years Holly was missing, La Mesa police and the Krewsons maintained a close relationship.
“When they would get leads, they'd call us and we'd check them out,” former La Mesa police Detective Mike McElroy said in an interview five years ago.
In a 2001 interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune, Holly's mother, Gwendolyn, had just returned from the annual trek she would make on Holly's birthday, Aug. 27 – packing her Ford Escort with thousands of fliers and driving north to Riverside and east to Yuma, Ariz., putting them on utility poles, apartment laundry-room walls, windshields of parked cars, anything not moving and some things that were.
“I will not stop trying to find my daughter until I'm dead,” she said then.
Gwendolyn Krewson died of an aneurysm in 2003.
LA MESA – A body found near Descanso in 1996 was listed as a Jane Doe by the county Medical Examiner's Office for 10 years until it was identified last month as that of Holly Krewson, who was reported missing by her family in 1995.
Holly Krewson's body was found 10 years ago, but wasn't identified until last month
Krewson, the daughter of a La Mesa print-shop owner, was 23 when she vanished. Unaware that her remains had been found, Krewson's family for years distributed tens of thousands of fliers on her birthday, listened to advice from psychics, made personal appeals on national television shows and followed leads on their own.
But a break in the case came didn't come until last month, when La Mesa police came up with information that would link Krewson to the Jane Doe. Dental records were used to confirm the identity.
Although the cause of Krewson's death remains unknown, the case now is considered an active homicide investigation. The unidentified remains were buried at county expense in 1996.
A family member confirmed the circumstances surrounding the discovery.
“They found Holly,” said Bruce Fenton, her uncle, who lives in Boston. “I can't say it's a shock. We pretty much thought she was dead all these years.”
Advertisement
Fenton, however, said there was frustration and “many questions remaining” over the fact that his niece's body was listed as a Jane Doe by the coroner's office all the years her family was looking for her.
“We want to know what happened and how she died,” Fenton said.
Other members of the Krewson family refused to comment at the request of La Mesa police.
Authorities are trying to find out how the body remained unidentified in a system designed to match missing people with found bodies, usually through dental charts and other reports filed with the state Department of Justice Missing Unidentified Persons Unit.
The Sheriff's Department investigated the discovery of the skeletal remains, found off state Route 79. The case now has been transferred to the La Mesa Police Department.
Sheriff's homicide Lt. Dennis Burgos confirmed the transfer of the Krewson case to La Mesa police and referred all calls to the department. La Mesa police would not comment, saying the investigation is ongoing and that any information released to the public now could jeopardize the probe.
The case gained notoriety, especially in the La Mesa business district, where the Krewson family owns a print shop on University Avenue and where Holly was well-known. The shop, Printing by Gwen, still has a missing-person flier of Holly from 1995 posted on an outside window.
Holly had aspirations to be an actress. She was a child beauty queen, a model and dancer who was born into an entertainment family. Her grandmother was a professional singer and pianist. Her stepfather played with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. Holly was onstage at age 3.
When she was 11, Holly was molested by a family friend. Her parents later divorced, and Holly started going downhill, according to information provided to authorities from family members. She started using drugs, hanging around with a bad crowd and becoming what her brother called a “wild child.”
Holly rarely spent time at home, dropped out of high school and worked for a time at the Viejas Casino and various bars as a cocktail waitress.
She was 5 feet 3, weighed 110 pounds and had curly, shoulder-length blond hair and hazel eyes. She often wore shorts and halter tops and was fond of saying that if she married someone with the last name of Wood, she would be Holly Wood.
In 2002, she was the subject of a segment on the Montel Williams television show with a missing-people theme. On the program, a psychic said Holly could be found in Hollywood working as a dancer at an adult club.
The family went to Hollywood for a weekend and canvassed a number of nightclubs. Every time the family passed out a new batch of missing-person fliers, the calls of Holly sightings would come in.
Someone saw her in a wheelchair at the Embarcadero. Another caller said her body could be found buried in the backcountry.
That tip prompted the family to go to the supposed burial site and dig dozens of holes.
The file on the case at La Mesa Police Department headquarters grew to more than 3 inches thick. Veteran officers would comment that they had never had a case where the family was so involved.
During the years Holly was missing, La Mesa police and the Krewsons maintained a close relationship.
“When they would get leads, they'd call us and we'd check them out,” former La Mesa police Detective Mike McElroy said in an interview five years ago.
In a 2001 interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune, Holly's mother, Gwendolyn, had just returned from the annual trek she would make on Holly's birthday, Aug. 27 – packing her Ford Escort with thousands of fliers and driving north to Riverside and east to Yuma, Ariz., putting them on utility poles, apartment laundry-room walls, windshields of parked cars, anything not moving and some things that were.
“I will not stop trying to find my daughter until I'm dead,” she said then.
Gwendolyn Krewson died of an aneurysm in 2003.