The body of an unidentified young woman (Darlene Ann Gorgone) was found by persons on the beach on the Oceanside of Long Key on April 26, 1977. The young woman's body was unclothed and was inside of a zippered wardrobe bag. Fishing weights had been placed in the bag as well, presumably to weigh it down.. The bag was found in the water, just a few hundred feet off shore.
There was no crime scene or physical evidence identified with the exception of the bag she was found floating off shore in, and the fishing weights that had been added to the bag. The autopsy indicated the cause of death was unknown. There were no signs of trauma or foul play and the toxicology results did not indicate the presence of drugs or alcohol in her system. The report indicates that she was too decomposed for a sexual assault kit to be completed.
A nation-wide BOLO was sent out in an attempt to identify the young woman. Her father( who was a police officer in Massachusetts) came to the Keys on April 27th with his daughter's dental records, and her body was positively identified as Darlene Ann Gorgone, who was just 15 years old at the time of her death. She had previously been reported as a runaway from Stoneham, Massachusetts on April 13, 1977 by her mother. She and a 16 year old friend were reportedly seen hitchhiking the evening of April 12, 1977; this is presumably when she left Stoneham.
The victim's traveling companion was found in Central Florida and was interviewed. She said they split up in Fort Lauderdale. Her friend said she last saw Gorgone alive in Ft. Lauderdale where she had met up with a 17 year old male. The male was later identified and was cleared by a polygraph exam of any wrong doing.
Detectives received numerous reports that the girls had been seen in the Keys, but Gorgone's friend denied ever coming to the Keys and insisted that they went their separate ways in Broward County.
The body of an unidentified young woman (Darlene Ann Gorgone) was found by persons on the beach on the Oceanside of Long Key on April 26, 1977. The young woman's body was unclothed and was inside of a zippered wardrobe bag. Fishing weights had been placed in the bag as well, presumably to weigh it down.. The bag was found in the water, just a few hundred feet off shore.
There was no crime scene or physical evidence identified with the exception of the bag she was found floating off shore in, and the fishing weights that had been added to the bag. The autopsy indicated the cause of death was unknown. There were no signs of trauma or foul play and the toxicology results did not indicate the presence of drugs or alcohol in her system. The report indicates that she was too decomposed for a sexual assault kit to be completed.
A nation-wide BOLO was sent out in an attempt to identify the young woman. Her father( who was a police officer in Massachusetts) came to the Keys on April 27th with his daughter's dental records, and her body was positively identified as Darlene Ann Gorgone, who was just 15 years old at the time of her death. She had previously been reported as a runaway from Stoneham, Massachusetts on April 13, 1977 by her mother. She and a 16 year old friend were reportedly seen hitchhiking the evening of April 12, 1977; this is presumably when she left Stoneham.
The victim's traveling companion was found in Central Florida and was interviewed. She said they split up in Fort Lauderdale. Her friend said she last saw Gorgone alive in Ft. Lauderdale where she had met up with a 17 year old male. The male was later identified and was cleared by a polygraph exam of any wrong doing.
Detectives received numerous reports that the girls had been seen in the Keys, but Gorgone's friend denied ever coming to the Keys and insisted that they went their separate ways in Broward County.
Inscription
A budding rose. Crushed before the bloom. Beauty's light that beams beyond the spheres. Ever-sweet, smiling in illness and gloom. You left us darling, in a world of tears.
Gravesite Details
Homicide victim (unsolved)
