Remains found 50 years ago in Pennsylvania were determined to belong to a missing young girl

CNN
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The remains of a York, Pennsylvania, teenager who disappeared in 1973 were identified through genealogy research and DNA analysis 50 years after she disappeared, authorities said.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, two game wardens discovered the decomposed remains under a plastic tarp and brush in a wooded area in Union Township on Oct. 10, 1973. Investigators at the time were unable to identify them but described Jane Doe as a white female with long brown or blonde hair. The manner of death was ruled undetermined.

More than half a century later, researchers using DNA analysis and interviews with living relatives determined that the remains belonged to Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, a 14-year-old York girl who had been missing since the beginning of the 1973 school year, according to police.

“Their work has provided us with some resolution to questions that have been lingering for the last 51 years,” Ruth’s family said in a statement read by police at a news conference Thursday.

The case went cold until 2016, when police exhumed the remains from a remote corner of a cemetery in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to obtain his DNA. This was after years of unsuccessful attempts to identify Ruth, including the development of two busts showing what the girl might have looked like.

The bodies were taken to a hospital in the region and examined. But police said last month that it wasn’t until years later (as genealogy technology advanced) that investigators identified the remains as Ruth’s.

Born on November 26, 1958, Ruth went to school and never returned home. Whether he actually goes to school and how much time he goes to school is still being investigated. Keck said his remains were found a few months later about 50 miles north of his hometown. There was no record of Ruth’s death, according to state police, and it was unclear whether she was reported missing.

As part of the genealogy research process, researchers interviewed family members, reviewed old news articles and reviewed court documents.

“Once you make contact with the family, it’s like you realize in that moment who they’ve been looking for this whole time,” Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Ian Keck said at Thursday’s news conference. “It kind of brings a surprise to the family. It’s been 51 years and they’ve always had this unanswered question, and finally through the investigation we were able to kind of give them that answer.”

This case is another example of how this happens researcher genetic genealogy A field that combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy to find biological connections between people is helping detectives solve unsolved cases and define Remains of unknown people It was found decades ago.

“Genealogy at that time was probably in its infancy,” Keck said. “But our hope to continue moving forward was with the advancement of technology.”

It is not yet known how the girl died. Pennsylvania State Police are continuing the investigation into Ruth’s death to determine her last known activities, authorities said.

While there is “some level of suspicion” surrounding her death, whether it was a homicide is still being examined by the medical examiner’s office, Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Josh Lacey said on Thursday. A. $5,000 reward Police said in a statement on Friday that information about the incident had been offered.

“There’s another part of this investigation and it’s not over yet, so we need to move on,” Keck said.