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When someone passes away and their identity is unknown, they are often referred to as Jane Doe or John Doe. Sadly, identifying these individuals can be an arduous process that may take years. However, with advancements in forensic science, it has become possible to identify individuals who had been labeled as Jane or John Doe for many decades.
This list highlights 10 Jane and John Doe cases that remained unresolved for decades before being solved.
10. Woodlawn Jane Doe
On September 12, 1976, the body of a young girl was discovered along Dogwood Road, near Lorraine Park Cemetery in Woodlawn, Maryland. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted, and traces of chlorpromazine, a sedative used to treat mental illnesses, were found in her system. Despite efforts to identify her, she remained nameless for 45 years, known only as the Woodlawn Jane Doe.
In June 2006, testing revealed bodily fluids on an item of clothing, though it wasn’t sufficient for DNA analysis. In 2016, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a facial reconstruction of Woodlawn Jane Doe. In 2021, with assistance from Bode Technology, they conducted additional DNA testing. Ultimately, Woodlawn Jane Doe was identified as 16-year-old Margaret Fetterolf.
Fetterolf was reported missing by her family in 1975. At the time of her disappearance, the family resided in Alexandria, Virginia. Margaret’s murder case remains unsolved and continues to be an open homicide investigation.
9. Jane Doe No. 59
On November 16, 1969, the body of a young woman was discovered in vegetation near Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. She had multiple stab wounds, and authorities were unable to identify her. She became known as Jane Doe No. 59, remaining unidentified for 46 years.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs, entered the case into its database in 2003. NamUs is the national repository for all unidentified missing and deceased persons. In June 2015, a family friend was browsing the NamUs website when she saw a post-mortem photo of Jane Doe No. 59. Recognizing the resemblance, she contacted the family, and the victim was identified as 19-year-old Reet Silvia Jurvetson.
In 1996, Jurvetson relocated from Montreal to Los Angeles. She sent a postcard to her family, reassuring them that she was doing well and that there was no need to worry. After her last contact, Jurvetson did not reach out again. Her family believed she had started a new chapter in her life. They never suspected foul play and did not file a missing person report. Jurvetson's murder remains unsolved, and her case is still an open homicide investigation.
8. Chatham County John Doe
In March 1976, the body of a young man was found in the Cape Fear River near Moncure, North Carolina. His head and hands were missing, leading authorities to suspect that his remains may have been washed down from the Haw River or Deep River. Unable to identify him, he became known as Chatham County John Doe and remained unidentified for 46 years.
NamUs added the case to its database in 2008. In 2020, Detective Ricky Culberson from the sheriff’s office reached out to the NC Unidentified Project to collaborate. By 2021, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and the NC Unidentified Project joined forces with Othram Labs to create a genealogical profile for Chatham County John Doe.
Using the DNA profile, the sheriff’s office confirmed his identity as Jimmy Mack Brooks. Brooks, a 26-year-old unmarried Army veteran, was murdered. His case remains unsolved and continues to be an open homicide investigation.
7. Mountain Jane Doe
In June of 1969, the body of a young woman was found in the woods along a trail on Pine Mountain in Harlan, Kentucky. She had been left naked with several stab wounds, and despite efforts to identify her, authorities were unsuccessful. She was referred to as Mountain Jane Doe, remaining unidentified for 47 years.
The description of Mountain Jane Doe was added to the NamUs database in 2009. That same year, a woman recognized the description and believed it matched her missing mother. She contacted NamUs, which facilitated a connection with the Kentucky State Police.
In 2014, NamUs collaborated with the Harlan County coroner to exhume Mountain Jane Doe’s remains. The initial grave marker was incorrect, and the first exhumed body turned out to be that of a man. A year later, they exhumed the correct grave, and the remains were sent to the University of North Texas, a partner of NamUs.
In September 2016, Mountain Jane Doe was identified as Sonja Blair Adams, a 21-year-old woman. Her murder remains unsolved and is still an open homicide investigation.
6. Singer Island Jane Doe
In June 1974, the skeletal remains of a young girl were discovered bound to a tree with wire in a location once known as ‘Burnt Bridges’ in Palm Beach County. Authorities were unable to determine her cause of death or identify her. She was known as Singer Island Jane Doe for 48 years.
In April 2014, investigators exhumed her remains for DNA analysis. The DNA profile was entered into CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) in 2015. A facial reconstruction sketch of Singer Island Jane Doe was created by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in 2019.
In December 2021, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office sent her remains to Othram Labs. By March 2022, Othram Labs identified Singer Island Jane Doe as 15-year-old Suzanne Gale Poole, who had been reported missing by her family in December 1972.
Poole may have fallen victim to serial killer Gerard Schaefer, who was convicted in 1973 for the murders of two girls. Schaefer has been linked to the deaths of over a dozen others. He was fatally stabbed by another inmate in 1995 while serving time for killing two other girls.
5. Coos County John Doe
In July 1971, the body of a teenage boy was found in the Englewood area near Snedden Creek in Coos Bay. Authorities could not determine his cause of death or identify him. For 50 years, he was known as Coos County John Doe.
In 2017, investigators exhumed the remains of Coos County John Doe for DNA analysis. The sample was sent to Parabon Nanolabs and added to the NamUs database. Parabon Nanolabs created a DNA profile in May 2021, and two months later, the profile was linked to a relative living in Idaho. Coos County authorities reached out to the family.
Family members provided DNA samples, which confirmed that Coos County John Doe was 15-year-old Winston Arthur Maxey III. Maxey had run away from Boise the same year he died, hoping to find a better life. He planned to hitchhike along the Oregon Coast to search for work. Maxey had fathered a child before he left home, though he never knew.
4. Jane Doe
On March 14, 1968, the body of a young woman was found in a farm field in Huntington Beach. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and her throat had been slashed. Authorities could not identify her at that time. For 52 years, she remained known only as Jane Doe.
In 2001, investigators tested evidence from the victim’s sexual assault kit to create a DNA profile of the suspect. Blood found on the victim’s clothing provided a partial DNA profile. This was entered into CODIS, and her fingerprints were submitted to both state and national databases, but no results emerged. In 2010, a cigarette butt found at the crime scene was analyzed, matching the DNA profile from the assault kit.
In 2019, investigators applied genetic genealogy to trace a potential family tree for the suspect, identifying him as Johnny Chrisco, who passed away in 2015 from cancer. In 2020, genetic genealogy was again used to identify Jane Doe as 26-year-old Anita Louise Piteau. It remains unclear how Chrisco and Piteau were connected.
3. Babes in the Wood
On January 15, 1953, a groundskeeper in Vancouver’s Stanley Park discovered the skeletal remains of two young children. Authorities estimated the children had been undiscovered for around five years. They had been bludgeoned to death and covered by a woman’s raincoat. Unable to identify the children, they were known as the Babes in the Wood for 70 years.
In 1996, DNA testing was conducted on the remains for the first time. While it didn’t provide any clear answers regarding their identities, it confirmed the boys were half-siblings with the same mother. The DNA also revealed that both children were boys, debunking the earlier belief that one might have been a girl.
In 2021, a fresh DNA sample was taken from each of the boys, and investigators reached out to Redgrave Research Forensic Services. In January 2022, genealogists at Redgrave began constructing a family tree. They connected the boys’ DNA with that of their great-niece, who had taken a DNA test and uploaded her profile to 23andMe.
After 70 years, the boys were identified as Derek and David D’Alton, also known as Bousquet, aged six and seven. They were never reported as missing. Authorities suspect the boys were killed by a close relative who passed away approximately 25 years ago. The identity of the suspect has not been disclosed to the public.
2. Little Miss Nobody
On July 31, 1960, the remains of a little girl were found partially buried in the Arizona desert. Authorities estimated she was around seven years old. Without being able to identify her, she remained known as Little Miss Nobody for 62 years.
In 2015, investigators exhumed Little Miss Nobody’s remains for DNA testing. Two years later, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office sent her remains to a lab in Texas for a facial reconstruction. The resulting image was shared with the public in 2018. However, when the sketch yielded no results, the sheriff’s office funded sending the DNA to Othram Labs in 2021. In 2022, using DNA from a family member, the lab confirmed that Little Miss Nobody was four-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos.
On July 21, 1960, Sharon Lee Gallegos was playing with two other children in an alley near her home in Alamogordo when she was abducted. A car, driven by a man and woman with two children, offered her candy and clothes if she got into the vehicle. When she refused, they forced her inside and sped off.
When the remains of a little girl were found, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, and Alamogordo Police Department were notified, suspecting the remains could be connected to the abduction of Gallegos. However, forensic methods were limited at the time, and Gallegos was ruled out as Little Miss Nobody. Her kidnapping and murder remain unsolved and are still under investigation.
1. Unknown Boy
On March 27, 1961, a man named James White picked up a teenage boy hitchhiking along Highway 25. The boy explained that his parents were divorcing, which led him to run away. Before White could learn more about him, his car crashed into a guardrail and plunged into the Cahaba River. White survived, but the boy drowned. Authorities never identified him, and he was known as the Unknown Boy for 60 years.
In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children sponsored the exhumation of the unidentified boy’s remains and sent them to the University of North Texas for DNA testing. Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, the president and founder of Identifinders International, became involved in the case in October 2020.
In October 2021, the mystery of the unknown boy was solved when he was identified as 15-year-old Daniel Paul 'Danny' Armantrout. Investigators located Danny’s cousin, living in Germany, and his 77-year-old brother in Florida to confirm the identity.
