Massachusetts residents are being asked to help the Miami County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio solve a 35-year-old mystery, according to officials with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Jane Doe in pigtails.
“The pollen identified on the Jane Doe’s clothing was dominated by oak pollen with some spruce and hemlock pollen,” said Carol Schweitzer, senior forensic case specialist, Forensic Services Unit, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), in an email interview with the Westfield News on Friday afternoon.
Pollen was recently tested on clothing worn by Jane Doe who was found in a ditch in Ohio on April 24, 1981.
Schweitzer noted that all of these pollens are “commonly found” in forested areas in the northeast United States and along the Appalachian mountains.
“This covers a very broad region so we are trying to get this female’s image and story out to a wide audience hoping we can reach her family and friends that have been missing her for 35 years,” said Schweitzer. “We also have to realize that 35 years is a long time ago and people might have moved so again, we want to reach a wide audience in hopes of finding her friends and family.”
Dave Duchak, Chief Deputy with the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, released a media statement this week with specific details about the case. Both the Miami County Sheriff’s Office and the NCMEC are working collaboratively to help solve the mystery surrounding the young woman.
“An unidentified female homicide victim was found 35 years ago on April 24, 1981, in Miami County, Ohio,” said Duchak. “She was found in a ditch along Greenlee Road located west of Troy, Ohio.”
Duchak noted that Jane Doe had been deceased less than two days before she was found. She was estimated to be in her late teens to early twenties, approximately 5’6” and 125 pounds, and had long reddish-brown hair that was styled in two side braids and a part down the middle.
“The female appears Caucasian,” said Duchak. “She had a ruddy complexion with freckles on her face. The female had several scars; one beneath her chin, one on her left arm, two on her left wrist, right hand, right ankle, and right foot.”
Duchak said the female had also been treated by a dentist as her top right central incisor had a porcelain-metal crown.
“The female was found clothed wearing bell bottom blue jeans, a brown turtleneck sweater with an orange crisscross design on the front, and a handmade tan buckskin pull-over jacket with leather fringe around the seams with a deep purple lining,” said Duchak.
In February, Miami County Sheriff’s detectives working with the NCMEC provided forensic scientists with case information on Jane Doe, who then conducted a facial reconstruction with new technology and additional lab testing on the clothing. Detectives sent the clothing recovered from Jane Doe to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Southwest Regional Science Center in Houston, TX, to test pollen collected from the clothing. On April 24, the Sheriff’s office received lab results from the pollen testing on the clothing.
“Pollen analysis of the clothing recovered on the female suggest that she was from or spent a significant amount of time in the northeastern dry-oak forest region, which includes areas in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island,” said Duchak.
Duchak added that a “high level” of soot from vehicle traffic and/or industrial activity was also found on her clothing suggesting that she spent a “significant amount of time” in an urban area within the northeastern region or possibly from hitchhiking.
“Some pollen grains in excellent condition, from a more arid region in the western U.S. or northern Mexico, were found on the outer layers of her clothing, including her jeans and jacket,” said Duchak.
Duchak said this evidence suggests that the female traveled to an arid region in the western U.S. or northern Mexico shortly before she was killed.
Facial reconstruction images created by a forensic artist with the NCMEC are now being distributed nationwide and depict what the female may have looked like in life, according to Duchak.
“Additional testing will be performed in the near future in an attempt to narrow the region/location of the country the unidentified female may have been from,” said Duchak.
If anyone recognizes or has any information on Jane Doe, contact Detective Steve Hickey with the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, (937) 440-3965, ext. 6629, or the Miami County Communication Center at (937) 440-9911.
