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Tammy Lowe

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This individual was recently confirmed to have been identified. Some details may change as more information is released publicly.

Tammy Dale Lowe (May 27, 1969 - c. June 1987) was a young woman from Detroit, Michigan found deceased in Ohio in 1987. She was identified by Othram in March 2025, through funding provided by the Porchlight Project, after a possible relative was located in Michigan in January 2025. She was living in several addresses in Detroit and Taylor at the time of her disappearance.

Case[]

Disappearance[]

Lowe was last seen in the first week of June 1987 by her younger sister in Detroit, Michigan. Lowe's sister stated that she and Lowe were at a local drug dealer's house and she managed to escape, but Lowe was still there and forcibly being administered drugs by at least one person. Despite the suspicious circumstances of her disappearance and being reported missing twice by her grandmother, the police never formally recorded Lowe as a missing person. At the time, Lowe's sister lived with their grandmother and younger brother in Taylor, Michigan, where Lowe herself would sometimes reside.

Discovery[]

A passing motorist driving his wife to work discovered Lowe's burning body at 5:56 AM in an alley near Detroit Avenue and Collingwood Boulevard in Toledo, Ohio, on June 16, 1987. The site was also near Interstate 75. Firefighters and police responded at 6:10 in the morning. They had to use fire extinguishing powder and water to put out the fire. She was wrapped in a pink-colored cloth, a tan tweed carpet, and a pool cover. Her head was covered with a plastic bag, but according to the autopsy there was no signs of asphyxiation. The body had been left near a defunct auto shop, concealed within the plant growth, and then ignited after an accelerant was used. As a result, it was impossible to visually identify the young female, who was estimated to be in her mid-teens to early 20s.

The autopsy determined that she died of a cocaine overdose. No other evidence of violence was observed on the remains aside from being set on fire. Prior to Lowe's identification, authorities believed that those responsible for disposing of the body likely did so out of fear after she died, days before she was found. However, due to the context of her last known sighting, it is possible that the cocaine was forcibly administered to Lowe and her body was disposed to destroy evidence. It is unknown whether the overdose was accidental or if she was intentionally overdosed.

The manner of death is considered as having fallen between an accident and a homicide by detectives and therefore undetermined. They and her family have an idea of who dumped her body, but the person has been deceased for decades and there is no way to prove it. Her family believes her overdose occurred in Detroit, then her body was dumped and set on fire in Toledo.

Characteristics[]

  • 6–7 inch fine, light brown/dark blond or strawberry blond hair.
  • Native American ancestry was noted as a possibility. This later turned out to not be the case.
  • Slender build.
  • Bright pink polish on toenails and fingernails.
  • Minimal or poor dental care based on presence of decay.
  • Almost perfect alignment of front teeth.
  • The lower first molars and upper right first molar were extracted in late childhood.
  • Third molars not present.
  • No observable fillings or restorations.

Clothing and accessories[]

  • Five white round pearl earrings in each ear.
  • Jordache jeans on the body.
  • Pink-colored cloth, possibly a blanket, which was wrapped around the body.

Gallery[]

Sources[]

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