Police in Oregon City, Oregon, recovered the partial remains of “Oak Grove Jane Doe” nearly 80 years after the unidentified woman was killed.
The remains of the unidentified woman were found at Mountain View Cemetery on Monday, September 22, according to a news release from the Oregon State Police. The discovery was made nearly eight decades after the partial remains of the unidentified woman were discovered on April 12, 1946, in a burlap sack in the Willamette River in Clackamas County, according to the Oregon State Police.
More of the woman’s remains were found near Williamette Falls and the McLoughlin Bridge later in 1946. Meanwhile, police said clothing was discovered that was believed to belong to her in the Clackamas River.
According to the release, the woman is Oregon’s oldest unidentified person.
Penn Badgley Shares Hysterical, Unhinged Unboxing Video of His New Book
While her identity was never confirmed, examiners determined the remains belonged to a woman between 30 and 50 years older. It was believed she suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and was dismembered after her death, according to police.
Detectives also suspected her remains were put in several burlap sacks and discarded in the river, which would explain why the remains were found in different places.
The case made national headlines, though police said that critical evidence, such as the remains, went missing from law enforcement custody in the 1950s. Due to the lack of evidence, authorities were unable to continue the investigation and identify the woman.
In 2008, the case was reviewed again by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. However, authorities couldn’t make much progress without the body, per the release.
The Oregon State Police took to Facebook on September 22 to say they “exhumed” the woman’s “degraded” remains.
Kate Middleton Makes A Fashion Statement Princess Diana Would Adore
“Now, with advanced forensic testing and analysis, the State Medical Examiner’s Office hopes to finally give her a name and in the hope of bringing resolution to this decades-old case,” the statement read. “Today’s exhumation was a collaborative effort among the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner’s Office, Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and Mountain View Cemetery.”
Meanwhile, forensic anthropologist Hailey Collord-Stalder said she was hopeful they would be able to identify the woman. “For decades, this case was presumed impossible to resolve, and now, after nearly 80 years, we are hopeful we can restore this victim’s name and return her identity to history,” she said in a statement to police, shared in the news release.
