Estelle

• Estelle after the accident
• Composite of Estelle prior to the accident

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Real Name: Unknown (at time of first broadcast)
Nicknames: Estelle Doe
Location: Houston, Texas
Date: April 28, 1992

Bio

Occupation: Unrevealed
Date of Birth: Unknown, Estelle is speculated to be between 18 to 25
Height: 5'6
Weight: 130 lbs.
Marital Status: Single
Characteristics: She is well-tanned, has shoulder-length sandy brown hair and blue eyes; her ears had been pierced.

Case

Details: On April 28, 1992, an unidentified woman was found unconscious and bleeding along Interstate 10 in Houston, Texas after being hit by a car. The only possessions she had on her were a tube of lipstick and a comb. She was transported by air ambulance to Hermann Hospital. She carried no identification, so the hospital staff gave her the name "Estelle". She was treated for a broken jaw, broken leg, and severe head injuries. These injuries left her unable to communicate with hospital staff.
Lisa Fuglaar, public relations employee at the hospital, noted that since Estelle arrived at the hospital, she has improved dramatically. She is able to track Lisa with her eyes, and appears to listen to her as she reads her "get well" cards from Houston residents. In June of 1992, Estelle became a ward of the Harris County Department of Social Services.
Suspects: A unidentified man allegedly witnessed the hit-and-run accident that caused the injuries to Estelle. He called police and gave a description of the car, along with its male driver and female passenger.
Extra Notes: This case originally ran as a part of a special alert in the September 16, 1992 episode, along with Paducah Plane Jumper.

Nancy Sue McDonald, age 20

Results: Solved. As a result of the broadcast, Estelle was identified as thirty-two-year-old Nancy Sue McDonald of Easton, Maryland. Fingerprints and photographs confirmed her identity. A jailer recognized her as a past inmate at the Talbot County Detention Center in Easton. Further investigation indicated the woman had been arrested for hitchhiking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, four days before she was found in Houston. After she was released, she apparently hitched a ride to Texas.
Her stepmother was contacted soon after she was identified. She told police that Nancy had left home at sixteen and had only infrequent contact with her family since then. Her brother and other relatives later traveled to Houston to be with her. Her caretakers believed that she was aware of her surroundings, as she nodded when asked about her real name and hometown. She spent the remainder of her years in a nursing home in Houston, Texas. Sadly, she passed away at age forty-nine on October 11, 2009. She was never able to communicate.
Links:

• Five months of anonymity over for woman in Houston
• Woman identified as Maryland resident
• 'Jane Doe' from Maryland
• Texas 'mystery woman' said to be from Easton
• Houston 'mystery woman' was 'wanderer'
• Obituary for Nancy McDonald
• SitcomsOnline Discussion of Estelle

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