Perry County Jane Doe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Perry County Jane Doe
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Latest rendering of Perry County Jane Doe
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| Born | 1941–1963 (aged 15–38) (approximate) |
| Status | Unidentified for 46 years and 5 days |
| Died | 1978–1979 |
| Body discovered | June 20, 1979 Watts Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Known for | Unidentified decedent |
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) (minimum) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) (maximum) |
Perry County Jane Doe, also called "Girl with the Turquoise Jewelry", is an unidentified woman. Her body was found on June 20, 1979. This happened in Watts Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, near the Juniata River.
No one knows how she died, but police thought it was suspicious. Her name is still a mystery, even after many efforts to find out who she was. She is the only person in Perry County whose identity remains unknown after death.
Who Was She?
A stonemason found her remains next to a river. This was near a highway in Perry County, Pennsylvania. Her body was mostly bones, meaning she had died many months before. Experts think she passed away as early as the autumn of 1978.
Investigators believe she was between 15 and 30 years old when she died. However, she might have been as old as 38. She was a white person with straight or possibly curly hair. Her hair was shoulder-length and light blond or brown.
She stood between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall. Her weight was likely between 105 and 125 pounds.
Her Health and History
This young woman had received dental care during her life. One of her back teeth had been removed about four or five years before she died. She also had fillings in her teeth. One of her molar teeth had not yet fully grown in. Her teeth did not look crowded. Even though she had dental work, it is not known if she ever wore braces.
Before she died, she had broken a rib. This injury had healed completely. Just before her death, she might have traveled back to Pennsylvania. She may have spent several months in the southwestern United States. Scientists studied her bones recently. They found clues that she lived for a long time in the Midwest. This could also have been in Southern Canada, near the Great Lakes, when she was a teenager.
What She Was Wearing
Perry County Jane Doe wore several pieces of jewelry. She had two sterling silver rings with turquoise stones. One of these rings also had pieces of onyx. These items are thought to have come from the Southwest. They might have been made by Navajo or Zuni Native American artists.
She also wore a chain bracelet on her right arm. She had a turquoise necklace and matching earrings. This jewelry made police think she had connections to places like Arizona or New Mexico.
She was dressed in a tan jacket and white boots with silver buckles. She also wore green and white socks and blue pants. The pants were made of knitted wool with red threads. Under her jacket, she had two tops. These were a white shirt and a blue tank top.
The Investigation Continues
The young woman was buried soon after she was found. But in 2008, her case was reopened. Her body was then dug up. Her DNA and dental records were collected. These are now stored in national databases.
Because of how her body was found, police could not get fingerprints. They also could not confirm how she died. An early look at her teeth suggested three teeth were pulled, but this was later found to be wrong. Even with her information in databases, no one has matched her to any missing persons.
About sixty possible identities for her have been checked and ruled out. Her face has been reconstructed twice by experts. A sketch was drawn in 2009 by Barbara Martin-Bailey. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children made a 3D image in 2013. They did this by adding digital layers of muscles and skin to a CT scan of her skull. A newer image was released in 2018.
