General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Remember all those posts on DU promoting genetic testing? [View all]CanonRay
(14,101 posts)In 1982, the 33-year-old unidentified woman was found shot to death near a Lake Tahoe hiking trail. She appeared to be dressed for a day at the lake, wearing a powder blue T-shirt, jeans, yellow sneakers and a bathing suit under her clothing.
She had no identification. No one was looking for her. So she became known as Sheeps Flat Jane Doe, named after the trail where she was found by a group of hikers. Her remains were buried in a nameless grave; the case went cold.
Almost 37 years later, with the help of DNA detectives, genealogy records and dogged detective work, the mystery was solved. The victim in the lonely grave is Mary Silvani, a Pontiac native who grew up in Detroit, attended Mackenzie High School, had two brothers and eventually moved to California.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/05/09/sheeps-flat-jane-doe-detroit-nevada/1141658001/?fbclid=IwAR1KLoqIk0mZXMxGnkvHVleNNTf2vQSoyc9x5fxbHLYyLCxPX-Hiesh2VAw
Until recently, this young lady was known only as "Sheep Flat Jane Doe". It took 37 years, modern DNA techniques, matches on GEDMatch, and a team of forensic genealogists to find out her name. There are literally thousands of these cases.