Skeletal remains found in 1985 recently identified as missing Indiana girl
08/31/2022 11:35 am PDT
CAMPBELL COUNTY, Tenn. (TCD) -- Skeletal remains discovered more than three decades ago have reportedly now been identified as those of a missing Indiana girl.
According to a news release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, on April 3, 1985, the remains were located near Big Wheel Gap. Forensic scientists reportedly concluded that the remains belonged to a girl between the ages of 10 and 15, but the identity could not be determined at the time.
The bureau said she was known as "Baby Girl."
Just over two decades later, in 2007, a DNA sample from her remains was reportedly transported to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, and the DNA was entered into the Combined DNA Index System and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System for further investigation to determine her identity.
About six years later, in 2013, the bureau said, "[A] TBI agent and intelligence analyst revisited the case and began searching for new leads regarding the girl’s identity."
Then, in early 2022, the girl’s remains were brought to a private laboratory that analyzes human DNA called Othram, according to the bureau. Scientists were reportedly able to connect the remains to a possible relative in Indiana, and the bureau intelligence analyst found family members and contacted them. The bureau said one of the family members confirmed that they had a family member go missing from Indiana in 1978.
Familial DNA was reportedly submitted to the TBI Crime Lab in Nashville, and this week, the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification was able to identify the remains as those of Tracy Walker.
According to the bureau, special agents are working on the case to determine what led up to Walker’s death and how she ended up in Tennessee.
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