Police identify Pennsylvania body decades later, questions remain unanswered

LEBANON PROVINCE, Pa. (WHP) — Lebanon County authorities have identified a 14-year-old girl found dead under a tarp in Union Township decades ago.

Authorities released the woman’s name at a press conference held at 12:30 p.m. at the Lebanon County Emergency Services Department:

Detectives confirmed that two county Game Wardens found Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman of York County in a wooded area off Moonshine Road in 1973.

His body was decomposed.

State Police said they worked closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to identify Brenneman, helping them develop one of two busts to create a likeness for Brenneman.

Brenneman was later exhumed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May 2016, and his remains were sent to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he was examined.

He will not be identified until October 2024, troopers confirmed.

Brenneman was last seen at the beginning of the 1973 school year and was just shy of his 15th birthday.

Many questions were asked at Thursday’s press conference about the circumstances of Brenneman’s death, but many of those questions remained unanswered as State Police said their investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The medical examiner will determine whether Brenneman’s death was a homicide, but authorities say there is some suspicion surrounding his death because of the way his body was left.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Pennsylvania State Police Jonestown at 717-865-5067.