DISCOVERY:
On the morning of September 30, 1968, a highway department worker was picking up debris near I-55 and Blodgett Road in an unincorporated area of Will County, Illinois when he discovered the nude body of an unidentified female.
AUTOPSY:
An autopsy was performed upon the body being brought to the coroner’s office, where it was discovered she’d died two days prior as a result of a homicide. The cause of death was strangulation.
DETAILS:
Jane Doe is described as a female between 20 to 30 years of age. According to reports, she was likely white, with either Native American, Hispanic or Filipino ancestry. She stood at 5’5″ and weighed approximately 135 pounds. She had brown eyes. Her black hair is said to have been straight and collar length, with greying at the root and various shades of brown and red throughout, indicating it had possibly been dyed. Her left ear was darker in colour than the rest of her body, and both ears had been pierced. Her left pinky finger was noticeably crooked, and she had type-O blood.
There were many notes made regarding her teeth. According to the coroner, she had three untreated cavities, one tooth that was broken, two that were chipped, two with gold caps and one that was porcelain filled.
Her body showed indications of possible prior toxoplasmosis, which is a typically asymptomatic parasitic disease that is usually contracted from cats or by eating uncooked meat.
According to investigators, she had not died at the location where she was found, meaning whoever killed her had moved her to the wooded area post-mortem, in an attempt to conceal her body.
It’s believed she could have come from anywhere in the United States.
RULE OUTS:
1) Alice Marie Reeves, who went missing from Mamou, Louisiana on May 25, 1967.
2) Amelia Jo Zelko, who went missing from Joliet, Illinois on September 25, 1957.
3) Anita Kay Drake, who went missing from Louisville, Ohio on October 15, 1963. She’d run away to Texas, where she changed her name to Lynda Smith, and passed away of cancer in 1994.
4) Ann Miller, who went missing from Indiana Dunes State Park, Indiana on July 2, 1966.
5) Anna Bertha Kenneway, who went missing from Manchester, Connecticut on June 4, 1954.
6) Anna Frances Leatherwood, who went missing from Sevierville, Tennessee on May 20, 1966.
7) Audrey Jean Good Backeberg, who went missing from Reedsburg, Wisconsin on July 7, 1962.
8) Avis Beatrice Harris Mooney, who went missing from Mabank, Texas on September 1, 1961.
9) Barbara Jean Martin, who went missing from Portland, Oregon on December 7, 1958.
10) Bernice Selby, who went missing from Everett, Washington on October 12, 1962.
11) Bertha Beatrice Smith, who went missing from Phoenix, Arizona in 1944.
12) Bessie Lindner, who went missing from West Brentwood, New York in either February or March 1968.
13) Bette Marie Horvat, who went missing from Chicago, Illinois on June 1, 1960.
14) Betty Marie Roberts, who went missing from Baltimore, Maryland on November 3, 1959.
15) Beverly Sharpman, who went missing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1947.
16) Bonnie Elzora Brashers, who went missing from Freedom, California on September 16, 1963.
17) Brenda Jo Howell, who went missing from Los Angeles County, California on August 6, 1956.
18) Carol Ann Batterman, who went missing from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 31, 1958.
19) Celina F. Lung, who went missing from Everett, Washington on October 24, 1964.
20) Constance “Connie” Christine Smith, who went missing from Salisbury, Connecticut on July 16, 1952.
21) Darcy Dawson Brown, who went missing from Lakewood, Ohio on January 21, 1964.
22) Darlene Polizzi, who went missing from Lodi, New Jersey on April 24, 1967.
23) Deborah Lee Spickler, who went missing from Vernon, Connecticut on July 24, 1968.
24) Diane Marie Webb, who went missing from Phoenix, Arizona on January 9, 1960.
25) Dixie Lee Arensen, who went missing from Los Angeles, California on August 25, 1968.
26) Donnis Marie Redman, who went missing from Las Vegas, Nevada on March 1, 1958.
27) Doris Catherine Scandalis, who went missing from Carmichael, California on November 7, 1960.
28) Dorothy Forstein, who went missing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 14, 1949.
29) Edna Anne Kaminski, who went missing from Maspeth, New York on August 1, 1944.
30) Elaine Joyce Fauver, who went missing from Denver, Colorado on July 24, 1967.
31) Elizabeth Lea Franks, who went missing from Toledo, Ohio on April 14, 1965.
32) Ellen L. McCullum Drake, who went missing from Portland, Oregon in 1967.
33) Emily Roberta Richards, who went missing from Inglewood, California in 1963.
34) Evelyn Grace Hartley, who went missing from La Crosse, Wisconsin on October 24, 1953.
35) Evelyn Throsby Scott, who went missing from Los Angeles, California on May 16, 1955.
36) Floradean Walker, who went missing from Hext, Texas in 1951.
37) Frances Blanche Groves, who went missing from Palm Springs, California in 1955.
38) Frances L. Tuccitto, who went missing from Portland, Connecticut on June 1, 1953.
39) Georgia Nell Blevins, who went missing from Austin, Texas on July 4, 1962.
40) Grace Loretta Zoeller, who went missing from Phoenix, Arizona on August 1, 1960.
41) Ida Dean Richardson-Anderson, who went missing from Detroit, Michigan on September 18, 1958.
42) Ida Mae Lee, who went missing from Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona on November 1, 1956.
43) Ione Ruth Rehwinkle, who went missing from Rochester, Minnesota in 1952.
44) Jane Rowell Clement, who went missing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 7, 1963.
45) Jean Czarnecki, who went missing from Mercer, New Jersey on November 1, 1966.
46) Joan Ellen Hansen, who went missing from King County, Washington on August 10, 1962.
47) Joan Mary Bieter, who went missing from St. Paul, Minnesota on July 16, 1968.
48) Johanna de Haas, who went missing from New Castle, Delaware on February 8, 1966.
49) Juanita Ritchie, who went missing from Dwarf, Kentucky on November 1, 1966.
50) Judith Ann Ruggirello, who went missing from Southfield, Michigan on August 18, 1968.
51) Leila Lewis Bryan, who went missing from Carolina Beach, North Carolina on May 10, 1941.
52) Lillian E. Bottrill, who went missing from Syracuse, New York on August 20, 1968.
53) Lillian Eileen DeMaris, who went missing from Mason City, Iowa on August 14, 1952.
54) Linda Kay Britton, who went missing from Cambridge, Ohio on June 11, 1963.
55) Lora Skaggs, who went missing from Charleston, West Virginia in 1948.
56) Lorraine Judith Chance, who went missing from Santa Cruz, California on January 3, 1948.
57) Lynn Marjorie Bandringa, who went missing from Hesperia, California on May 29, 1967.
58) Mabel May Chambers, who went missing from Wilmington, Delaware in 1952.
59) Marion Alice Morton, who went missing from Georgetown, Delaware on December 30, 1937.
60) Margaret Peters, who went missing from Seattle, Washington on March 1, 1962.
61) Maria Theresa Ruthling, who went missing from Scottsdale, Arizona on September 23, 1965.
62) Martha Alice Mertz, who went missing from Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 22, 1961.
63) Mary Ann Ruth Switalski, who went missing from Chicago, Illinois on July 15, 1963.
64) Mary Jean McLaughlin, who went missing from Lake Odessa, Michigan on June 1, 1965.
65) Mary Kathryn Greene, who went missing from Dundalk, Maryland on December 10, 1966.
66) Mary Lou Boston, who went missing from Sacramento, California on September 1, 1968.
67) Mary Mabel Hudgins, who went missing from Santa Cruz, California on October 20, 1954.
68) Mary Shotwell Little, who went missing from Atlanta, Georgia on October 14, 1965.
69) Maxine Beatrice Green, who went missing from Pawhuska, Oklahoma on October 30, 1961.
70) Mildred Louise Johnson, who went missing from Couer D’Alene, Idaho in 1954.
71) Mildred Patricia Zentner, who went missing from Garden City, Michigan on August 28, 1964.
72) Nadine Timm, who went missing from Will, Illinois on November 16, 1965.
73) Nancy Anderson, who went missing from Palmer, Washington on December 14, 1958.
74) Nellie Margaret Tibbitts, who went missing from Watsonville, California on October 1, 1959.
75) Olga Mauger, who went missing from Dubois, Wyoming on September 17, 1934.
76) Pamela Ann Nater, who went missing from Altoona, Florida on October 2, 1966.
77) Patricia Blough, who went missing from Indiana Dunes State Park, Indiana on July 2, 1966.
78) Patrick Ayn Sturbaum, who went missing from Vacaville, California on August 2, 1960.
79) Peggy Wynell Byers-Baisden, who went missing from Highland City, Florida on April 2, 1965.
80) Phoebe Emiline Callahan, who went missing from Ruskin, Florida on June 2, 1960.
81) Phyllis Marie Corbin, who went missing from St. Louis, Missouri on November 1, 1963.
82) Sharon Louise Giusti, who went missing from Port Townsend, Washington on March 5, 1963.
83) Sandra Breed, who went missing from Chittenango, New York on May 22, 1964. She was located in 2018 – no further details were made available.
84) Thelma Jean Cobb, who went missing from Fort Branch, Indiana in 1946.
85) Verna Smith, who went missing from Marina, California on February 1, 1968.
86) Wanda Gail Loe, who went missing from Tahoe City, California on July 26, 1968.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jane Doe’s DNA, dentals and fingerprints are available for comparison.
Those with information regarding the identity of Jane Doe are asked to contact the Will County Sheriff’s Office at 815-727-8575 or the Will County Coroner at 815-727-8455.
Image Credit: Natalie Murry/Justice for Native Women
Stories of the Unsolved 