No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!
University to Partner with Moxxy Forensic Investigations for Internships (Forensic – 11/05/2025)
Texas A&M University-Texarkana has announced that its criminal justice program has been accepted as an approved internship partner with Moxxy Forensic Investigations (Moxxy). Texas-based Moxxy is a victim-centered organization that provides exceptional Investigative Genetic Genealogy services to investigating agencies. They work with determination and integrity to help agencies bring closure to the countless cases of unidentified human remains and unsolved violent crimes.
As an approved internship provider, A&M-Texarkana criminal justice students may apply for Moxxy’s semester-long internship program. The internship offers students a unique opportunity to work alongside professionals in the field, contributing to meaningful cases and projects that support human identification and violent crime investigations. Interns will develop valuable skills in investigative genetic genealogy, research, case review, and outreach while building connections with experts and investigative agencies, giving TAMUT students a chance to be part of innovative, purpose-driven work that makes a real difference.
Governor Breaks Ground on Regional Crime Lab, Law Enforcement Facility (Forensic – 11/05/2025)
Governor Tim Walz and state Department of Public Safety officials broke ground Monday on a new regional law enforcement facility and forensic laboratory in Mankato. The facility will expand access to investigative, laboratory, and training services for law enforcement agencies throughout southern Minnesota. The facility will save local departments time and resources while improving response times in critical investigations.
“Funding this facility was a top priority last legislative session, and I’m proud of this investment to keep Minnesota one of the safest states in the nation,” said Walz. “By giving law enforcement the tools and technology they need, we’re strengthening our communities’ public safety responses today and ensuring Minnesota remains a safe state for generations to come.”
“From crime scene response to forensic analysis to technology-driven investigations, our Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension professionals are dedicated to public service, to criminal justice and to the communities and people of Minnesota,” said Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson. “This new regional office is a direct reflection of their commitment to excellence and the trust the people of Minnesota place in them.”
“This new facility will enable us to strengthen our services to southern Minnesota, but the entire state will benefit,” said BCA Superintendent Drew Evans. “Adding a third BCA laboratory will reduce the caseload for all of our labs, allowing us to process evidence faster and help agencies solve crimes faster.”
Skagit County Sheriff’s Office and King County Medical Examiner Team with Othram to Identify a 1989 John Doe (DNASolves – 11/05/2025)
In February 1989, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found on Chuckanut Drive near Bow, Washington. Bow is a rural community between Seattle and the Canadian Border in Skagit County, Washington. The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined the remains belonged to a man who was wearing a gray-blue-red plaid long sleeve shirt, Levi’s blue jeans, a leather belt with a small silver buckle, and socks with red rings when he died. Near the man’s body, investigators found a gray-blue jacket and an unknown brand of tennis shoes that were likely white with blue stripes. They also found a gold-colored Benrus watch. Investigators determined the man was likely White, about 5’9″ tall and was likely 20 to 50 years-old. Foul play was ruled out in his death.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and became known as “Bow Doe.” Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP13903 in May 2015.
Recently, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office and the King County Medical Examiner collaborated to submit forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, whose family has been notified. The man’s name will not be released.
DNA Confirms Identity of Likely First Fox Hollow Farm Victim (Forensic – 11/05/2025)
Alleged serial killer Herb Baumeister is suspected of murdering over a dozen men in the early-to-mid 1990s in central Indiana. In fact, in June 1996, police found the remains of 11 men on Baumeister’s property—as well as an additional 10,000 bones and bone fragments.
Now, DNA has confirmed the identity of one of those victims, likely the first one buried on Baumeister’s property at Fox Hollow Farm.
Advanced DNA analysis done at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification has confirmed the identity of Roger Goodlet. This DNA confirmation supports an identification initially made in 1996 through dental records.
The police were first tipped off to Baumeister’s murder spree in 1994 by Tony Harris, a friend of Goodlet’s. Harris told the police a gay bar patron calling himself “Brian Smart” hd likely killed Goodlet. Harris’ suspicion was based on his own encounter with “Smart,” who had attempted to kill him with a pool hose after they met at a gay bar. Harris eventually saw this man again in August 1995, following his car and noting his license plate number.
The police were then able to identify “Brian Smart” as Herb Baumeister. When police asked to search his house as a suspect in the disappearance of Goodlet, Baumeister and his wife refused. However, by June 1996, an increasingly frightened Julie Baumeister filed for divorce and consented to a property search while Baumeister was out of town.
In addition to 10,000 bones and bone fragments, police found the remains of 11 men, although they said they believed at least 25 people were buried on the sprawling 18-acre farm.
James D. Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97 (New York Times – 11/07/2025)
James D. Watson, who entered the pantheon of science at age 25 when he joined in the discovery of the structure of DNA, one of the most momentous breakthroughs in the history of science, died on Thursday in East Northport, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 97.
His death, in a hospice, was confirmed on Friday by his son Duncan, who said Dr. Watson was transferred to the hospice from a hospital this week after being treated there for an infection.
Dr. Watson’s role in decoding DNA, the genetic blueprint for life, would have been enough to establish him as one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. But he cemented that fame by leading the ambitious Human Genome Project and writing perhaps the most celebrated memoir in science.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify a 1984 John Doe (DNASolves – 11/07/2025)
In May 1984, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found on Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, California. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. Investigators located a human mandible (jaw bone) with intact teeth. It was determined that the skeletal remains belonged to an adult man, between the ages of 19 and 99 years old. In 2006, a traditional STR DNA profile was developed for comparison to missing persons and entered into CODIS, but no matches were returned.
Despite a lengthy investigation, the man could not be identified and he became known as Ventura County John Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP15150.
In an effort to solve the decades-long mystery, in early 2025, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas where advanced DNA testing has helped to identify numerous individuals in California and beyond. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and used its proprietary Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® (FGGS®) to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. Developed by Othram in Texas, more forensic genetic genealogy cases have been solved with Othram FGGS® than any other method.
This FGGS® profile was returned to law enforcement for a forensic genetic genealogy search, which yielded new information about the unknown man. A follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to a known case of a man who was killed at sea in 1978. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified remains. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Donald Scott Reich, born December 16, 1944. Reich drowned in a boating accident in January 1978 and his body, which was missing a mandible, was recovered after being found along the rocks of a jetty about a month later.
At the time he went missing, 33-year-old Reich was a professional organist who had recently married and moved to Ventura County. He worked at the Wagon Wheel Junction complex in Oxnard, which was an entertainment complex that included a roller rink and restaurant. Reich owned a 23-foot boat that was in need of repair, and he met a mechanic at work who offered to help fix it after work. They two men were last seen at the harbor around 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday night. Investigators believe they took the boat out to test the engine and either ran out of gas or had an engine malfunction. They were reported missing that night and the Ventura County Sheriff’s office and Coast Guard launched an air and sea search through the night that included a Sheriff’s helicopter.
The next day, the wreckage of the boat was found strewn across Mandalay Beach, with pieces of the boat found over more than a mile of coastline. Investigators believe the boat lost power, drifted and got caught in the surf and was ripped apart by the sea and shore. The body of the mechanic, 20-year-old Mike Gay, was found by a helicopter floating about four miles offshore. Most of Reich’s remains were found about a month later. His mandible was found on Silver Strand Beach six years later.
Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in a 1987 Homicide (DNASolves – 11/07/2025)
In March 1987, Ricky Herriage’s body was found beneath a bridge on County Road 1500 southeast of Dallas, Texas in rural Henderson County. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. Deputies collected and stored Herriage’s clothing from the scene along with other evidence. Despite an extensive investigation, the person responsible for killing Herriage could not be identified and the case went cold.
In 2019, Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse re-opened the investigation into Ricky Herriage’s murder, which led to evidence being re-examined. Using clothing that was collected at the scene, a traditional STR DNA profile was developed and entered into CODIS, but there was no match to a known individual.
In 2022, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the suspect. Othram scientists successfully developed a comprehensive DNA profile for the suspect using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Othram’s forensic genetic genealogy team then worked to produce new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to the positive identification of the suspect, who is now known to be Dallas Reynolds Casanova, who died in New Orleans in 2008. He lived in Henderson County at the time of Ricky Herriage’s murder.
DNA Doe Project identifies body found in Lake Michigan in 1988 (DNA Doe Project – 11/12/2025)
After decades of anonymity, the DNA Doe Project has identified New Buffalo Jane Doe as 71-year-old Dorothy Glanton. Glanton left her home in Chicago, Illinois on 9 December 1987 and never returned. When her remains were recovered the following April in Lake Michigan, authorities were unable to identify her despite exhaustive efforts.
The breakthrough in this case came when the Michigan State Police brought it to the DNA Doe Project. In the summer of 2023, once a DNA profile had been generated and uploaded to two genetic genealogy databases, a team of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project came together at a retreat to work on building a family tree for the unidentified woman.
They soon came to learn that the initial assessments from 1988 were inaccurate. Originally, authorities believed that New Buffalo Jane Doe was a Caucasian woman in her 40s or 50s, but she turned out to be African American and in her 70s at the time of her death. Unfortunately, these kinds of mistakes were relatively common in the era prior to DNA analysis and the widespread use of forensic anthropology.
As with many African American cases, genealogy records became difficult to locate when researchers reached back into the period of enslavement. But the team eventually homed in on the right family and came across Dorothy, who had been born and raised in Alabama before she and her family moved to Chicago in the 1920s as part of the Great Migration.
Furthermore, the mistaken age estimate complicated research efforts. “At first, we thought we were looking for a daughter of Dorothy, based on the expected age of the deceased,” said team leader Lisa Needler. “When we narrowed our search directly to Dorothy, we were surprised to learn she would have been in her 70s at the time she was missing.”
While searching for proof of life for Dorothy, researchers found a heartbreaking clue – a newspaper advertisement placed in August 1988 by a relative on behalf of Dorothy’s elderly mother. “It said, “your mother is ill, lonely & afraid” and “she needs you desperately”,” said co-team leader Robin Espensen. “Unfortunately, Dorothy’s body had already been found a few months beforehand.”
‘Holy Grail’ Forensics Breakthrough Lifts Fingerprints From Bullet Cases (Science Alert – 11/08/2025)
Finding a fingerprint on the casing of a fired bullet was once a nearly impossible task. But scientists have at last achieved a breakthrough.
Researchers at Maynooth University in Ireland have now shown they can recover human fingerprints from super-heated bullet cases.
Even better, the prints appear at the “highest level of detail”, including pores and ridges.
The details could be sufficient to identify a shooter, although in experiments, the bullets weren’t actually shot from a gun; they were heated in a furnace.
Report Stresses Need for More Crime Labs as Demand Climbs (Forensic – 11/10/2025)
A report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) suggests Tennessee’s crime labs are at or near capacity and the state must consider expanding current facilities and building new ones if there’s any hope of addressing the current evidence backlog.
DNA from Hair Sample, Genealogy IDs 1968 Jane Doe (Forensic – 11/10/2025)
After 57 years, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office (NC) has identified the victim of a 1968 homicide—a breakthrough made possible through the dedication of partner agencies and advancements in forensic genealogy.
On April 28, 1968, deputies responded to a report from two individuals who discovered the body of a woman in a field near Lake Wheeler Road and Ten Ten Road in southern Wake County. The victim had been burned. A pathologist at the time described her as a white female, approximately 35 years old. Witnesses reported seeing a fire in the field on the night of April 27, 1968.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), conducted an extensive investigation. Despite those efforts in 1968 and the years that followed, the victim was never positively identified, and no arrests were made.
In 2004, investigators uncovered new information pointing to Robert Reagan, a local resident, as a potential suspect. After a full investigation and consultation with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office, evidence was sufficient to seek an arrest warrant for Reagan on the charge of murder. However, no arrest could be made, as Reagan had died in the 1990s.
For the next two decades, investigators concentrated their efforts on identifying the victim, pursuing every tip and conducting multiple rounds of DNA testing without success. In 2024, with the assistance of the SBI, a sample of the victim’s hair was submitted to Astrea Forensics in another attempt to obtain a DNA profile.
Remains Found in 1970 Identified as Missing Person (Forensic – 11/10/2025)
In 1968, a missing person report was taken for Anna Sylvia Just when all her belongings were located in the desert outside of Henderson. It was learned that there was already an active missing person report for Just out of Calgary, Canada.
During the investigation, several reports suggested she was an acquaintance of Thomas Hanley and had gone to him for money. It was alleged that Hanley had his associates drive Just out to the desert, where they murdered her. An extensive search of the area where her belongings were found was conducted, but Just was never located.
On June 7, 1970, kids playing in the desert located human remains buried in a shallow grave. The remains were unidentifiable. With the help of the Clark County Coroner’s Office, the cause of death was ruled a homicide due to a depressed fracture to the skull.
In October 2024, Calgary Cold Case Missing Person Detectives reached out to LVMPD after learning Just may have been in the Las Vegas area at some point in the late 1960s. LVMPD Cold Case Detectives were able to provide the name of the relative who collected Just’s personal belongings in 1968.
Calgary detectives were able to locate the individual, who was Just’s biological sister, and collected a DNA sample from her. Through genetic genealogy it was confirmed that the remains located in 1970 were those of Anna Sylvia Just.
University Team Works to Recover Missing WWII Pilots (Forensic – 11/10/2025)
In a field west of Paris, France, a group of 17, including graduate students, professors and alumni from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, meticulously worked to find those who went missing in World War II.
Bill Belcher, associate professor of anthropology, led the mission to France in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Having previously worked for the Department of Defense as a forensic anthropologist for 21 years, Belcher now trains future forensic anthropologists to continue this work. There are still an estimated 26,000 missing but recoverable from World War II.
“One of the things I try to instill in my students is that one of the worst things that can happen to an individual is their name and identity is taken away from them, whether it’s through genocide, mass murder or being missing in action,” Belcher said. “That’s one of our responsibilities, to give people back their names.”
These missions, done through a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Defense, are an impactful and important learning opportunity for students. Belcher arranges two or three per year, including a mission currently in Germany, and hopes to expand that number to six in the future.
Chico State to Break Ground on New Human Identification Laboratory (Chico State Today – 11/10/2025)
A long-awaited vision for a new Human Identification Laboratory (HIL) at Chico State is becoming a reality, with a formal groundbreaking celebration at 11 a.m., Friday, November 14 at West Second and Cedar streets, on the west side of campus.
The HIL is a unique and invaluable state resource. Its team of forensic anthropologists work to recover missing persons, analyze and identify their remains, present vital information to resolve criminal cases, and provide closure to families.
As the only full-time forensic anthropology laboratory in California—and the largest west of Texas—the HIL has conducted more than 638 investigations across 51 California counties over the last five years. The lab supports dozens of local, state, and federal partners, including the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), the U.S. Department of Defense, and the FBI.
The HIL team responds to natural and human-caused disasters, assists in criminal investigations, and provides specialized training to law enforcement agencies statewide. The lab operates with a core team of five forensic anthropologists and approximately 20 student interns each semester.
Prince George’s County Police Department and FBI Leverage Othram’s Forensic Sequencing Platform to Identify a 1998 Homicide Suspect (DNASolves – 11/10/2025)
Fifty-year-old Sheryl Crandell, a patient care coordinator at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, Maryland, was found unresponsive inside her fourth-floor office around 8:30pm on January 13, 1998, by a maintenance worker who had stopped by after hours. The Prince George’s County Police Department responded immediately and began collecting evidence and interviewing staff. An autopsy revealed that Crandell had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Despite an extensive investigation, including the recovery of a male DNA profile from the scene, no suspect was identified and the case eventually went cold.
More than two decades later, detectives from the Prince George’s County Police Cold Case Unit revisited the evidence with the hope that advances in DNA technology could finally provide answers. The FBI’s Forensic Genetic Genealogy team assisted in generating new investigative leads. To rapidly validate a key familial link and expedite the genealogical investigation, investigators used Othram’s KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing, which allows secure, private, and rapid pairwise DNA comparisons between crime-scene evidence and potential relatives.
The testing confirmed a key genetic relationship that ultimately led investigators to identify the suspect as Baari Shabazz, formerly known as Edward Barry Watts, who lived less than a mile from the hospital at the time of the murder. Shabazz died in 2019 at the age of 69, preventing any criminal prosecution, but his identification finally provides long-awaited answers for Crandell’s family and the detectives who never gave up on the case.
Although investigators believe Shabazz may have entered the hospital intending to steal something, the motive for the assault and murder remains unclear.
Their Brother’s Disappearance Haunted a Family for 12 Years. This N.J. College Cracked the Case. (NJ.com – 11/12/2025)
It was the beginning of the end of a complex cold case that united a Central Jersey family — haunted by the disappearance of their relative more than a decade ago — and an out-of-state detective who’d just taken a very helpful course at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Unbeknownst to the McCarthy family, who had spent years searching for their troubled relative, Ken’s skeletal remains had been found in 2016, in a makeshift encampment behind a Walmart in Charlotte.
The bones remained unidentified and the case stalled out over the years, with local police knowing little more about the deceased than that he was a man of Irish descent.
Flash forward to earlier this year as Hefner, the detective assigned to the “Charlotte Walmart John Doe” case since 2019, was sitting in a college classroom, attending a course in investigative genetic genealogy at Ramapo.
Anoka County Sheriff’s Office and Blaine Police Department Team with Othram to Identify 1983 Rachel Marie Doe (DNASolves – 11/12/2025)
In January 1983, a newborn baby girl was found on the side of the road on Main Street in the City of Blaine, Minnesota. Blaine is a suburb to the north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Blaine Police Department and Anoka County Sheriff’s Office immediately began their investigation into the baby’s death. An autopsy was performed and the medical examiner was unable to confirm whether the full-term baby, whose placenta was still attached, had been born alive. The infant was buried at a local church cemetery in a community funeral, becoming known as “Rachel Marie Doe.” Despite an intensive investigation, the parents could not be identified and the case went cold.
Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP128125. In 2024, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office’s Cold Case Homicide Unit submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists determined that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the infant.
Othram scientists produced a usable DNA extract from the forensic evidence, enabling the development of a comprehensive DNA profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads, which included potential relatives of the parents. These leads were returned to law enforcement for a follow-up investigation.
This renewed investigation led officials to the likely parents of the infant who were both interviewed by law enforcement. “Many law enforcement professionals throughout these decades have worked to bring answers to this sad situation, and we are proud to give all who were affected by this story some closure,” said Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise. The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office declined to file charges because they were not able to definitively establish a manner of death.
Spokane Police Department and Washington State Patrol Crime Lab Team with Othram to Identify the Suspect in the 1997 Assault & Murder of Margaret M. Anselmo (DNASolves – 11/12/2025)
In January 1997, Margaret M. Anselmo was found dead from head injuries in an alley in the 700 block of East Pacific, in Spokane, Washington. Anselmo, who was born in 1951 and a Spokane native, was 45 years old at the time of her death. She left her apartment to cash a check one afternoon when she was sexually assaulted and killed by an unknown person. The Spokane Police Department responded to the scene and launched an investigation. It was determined that Margaret Anselmo died due to blunt force trauma, and her death was ruled a homicide.
A traditional STR DNA profile was developed from evidence collected at the crime scene. This profile was entered into the FBI’s CODIS database, but there was no match to a known person. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the person who killed Anselmo could not be identified and the case went cold.
In 2022, the Spokane Police Department and Washington State Patrol Crime Lab submitted forensic evidence to Othram’s forensic laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas, where scientists determined that advanced DNA testing could help identify the suspect. At Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown suspect. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used that profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement who worked to advance the case to identify Anselmo’s killer.
This investigation led law enforcement to relatives of a likely suspect. To rapidly validate a key familial link and expedite the genealogical investigation, investigators turned to Othram’s KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing, which allows secure, private, and rapid pairwise DNA comparisons between crime-scene evidence and potential relatives.
This investigation led to the positive identification of the suspect, who is now known to be Brian James Anderson, born April 29, 1976. Brian died by suicide on July 8, 2009 in Pend Oreille County, Washington, and is buried in Newton Cemetery in Newport, Washington. At the time of Anselmo’s murder, he was 20 years old. If he were still alive, the Spokane Police Department would seek to charge Anderson with first-degree murder and first-degree rape.
Latent Print Analysis Identifies Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee after 55 Years (Forensic – 11/12/2025)
On Feb. 19, 1971, the badly decomposed body of an unidentified white female was discovered floating in Shady Brook Creek at Lake Panasoffkee under the Interstate 75 overpass in Sumter County, Florida. The victim was found with a size 36 men’s leather belt wrapped around her neck. She appeared to be wrapped in carpet, and wearing plaid green pants, a matching green shirt, and a shawl with green and yellow print, along with a Baylor wristwatch, a yellow gold ring with clear stone on her left ring finger, and a small, thin yellow gold necklace. Investigators believed that she had been dumped off the overpass approximately one month earlier.
During the initial investigation, the victim was determined to be a white female, approximately 5’ 2” to 5’ 5” inches tall and weighing between 110 and 120 pounds with dark hair and brown eyes. Forensic examination of the remains determined that she was between the ages of 17 and 24 when she was killed, she had given birth to at least two children, she had previous dental work, to include a crown on her front tooth, and had undergone the Watson-Jones procedure on her right ankle.
During the course of the investigation, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office consulted with numerous agencies and laboratories—both public and private—to assist in identifying the victim through forensic analysis. However, the state of her remains were problematic in providing a viable profile. Multiple persons of interest were interviewed, and numerous missing person cases were compared and ultimately ruled out.
For nearly 55 years, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has continuously worked to generate and follow up on leads to identify the victim and her killer. The Sheriff’s Office has made multiple attempts to engage the public’s help by distributing fliers with the victim’s reconstructed image to law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and seeking help through social media platforms. Her case has received national media coverage and was also featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries in 1992.
In October 2025, Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee was finally identified through advanced latent print analysis as Maureen L. Minor Rowan, known by friends and family as “Cookie.” The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has identified a person of interest in this case, her estranged husband, Charles Emery Rowan, Sr., better known as “Emery,” but is seeking the public’s help in providing additional information to bring justice to Cookie and her family.
Owen County Coroner’s Office and Indiana State Police Laboratory Team with Othram to Identify a 2003 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 11/12/2025)
In October 2003, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in a wooded ravine off Franklin Road near Spencer in rural Owen County, Indiana. The discovery was made by a man who was preparing to build a home on the site which is about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis. Several law agencies responded began collecting evidence and investigating the case as a homicide. They determined the remains belonged to a woman who was likely 25 to 45 years old, stood about 5’5″ tall, and had a healed injury indicating she had a broken nose at some point in her life. She was found with a medallion that was about the size of a silver dollar, that included with the words “Corline S. Likes Steve P. Love” and an American flag in the center on the front. On the back of the medallion, there is a four leaf clover and the words “GOOD LUCK.” Investigators estimated the woman died at least a year prior to the discovery of her remains.
Despite an extensive investigation, the woman could not be identified. The case went cold and she became known as Owen County Jane Doe (2003). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP13479.
In 2023, the Owen County Coroner’s Office collaborated with the Indiana State Police Laboratory to submit forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists worked to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the woman. At Othram, scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence, which was used to build a comprehensive DNA profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team then used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the woman. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified woman. This investigation led to the positive identification of the woman, who is now known to be Deanna Marie Smith, born on August 29, 1962. She was born Deanna Moore and adopted at a young age, taking the the surname Smith.