Body found in Ohio 35 years ago could have Central Texas ties

TROY, Ohio -- (KXAN) -- Investigators in Miami County, Ohio are reaching out to the public in helping identify a “Jane Doe” from 1981.

The woman, believed to be in her late teens or early 20s at the time of her death, was found dead April 24, 1981 along Greenlee Road — west of Troy, according to a press release from the Miami County Sheriff's Office. She was believed to have been dead for two days before her body was found.

Recent forensic tests by the MCSO revealed the woman, who they believe led a transient life during the last year of her life, may have spent several months in Central Texas or Southern Oklahoma during that time. Investigators were able to conclude that through stable isotopes in the woman's hair. The isotopes also suggested she traveled out of the region into a cooler climate a few times, but not long enough for investigators to predict exact locations.

Pollen testing was conducted on the clothing she was wearing. The MCSO says the following details of those results:

• She was from or spent a significant amount of time in the northeastern dry-oak forest region, which includes areas in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

• A high level of soot from vehicle traffic and/or industrial activity was also found on her clothing suggesting that she spent a significant amount of time in an urban area within the Northeastern region or possibly from hitchhiking.

• Some pollen grains in excellent condition, from a more arid region in the western U.S. or northern Mexico, were found on the outer layers of her clothing, including her jeans and jacket. This suggests that the female traveled to an arid region in the western U.S. or northern Mexico shortly before she was killed.

The sheriff's office says about the victim:

• She was approximately 5'6''ft in height and 125lbs in weight.
• She had long reddish-brown hair that was styled in two side braids and a part down the middle.
• The female appears Caucasian.
• She had a ruddy complexion with freckles on her face.
• The female had several scars; one beneath her chin, one on her left arm, two on her left wrist, right hand, right ankle, and right foot.
• The female had also been treated by a dentist in life as her top right central incisor had a porcelain-metal crown.
• The female was found clothed wearing bell bottom blue jeans, a brown turtleneck sweater with an orange crisscross design on the front, and a handmade tan buckskin pull-over jacket with leather fringe around the seams with a deep purple lining.

In February, the sheriff's office, in conjunction with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, provided forensic scientists with case information on Jane Doe, according to the release. The organization was able to create a facial reconstruction profile with new-age technology.

The images are a facial reconstruction created by an N.C.M.E.C. forensic artist and depicts what the female may have looked like in life. Additional testing will done in the near future in an attempt to narrow the region/location of the country the unidentified female may have been from.

If anyone recognizes or has any information in regards to Jane Doe's identity, they are asked to call Detective Steve Hickey with the Miami County Sheriff's Office at (937) 440-3965 ext. 6629 or the Miami County Communication Center at (937) 440-9911.