The Skeleton Key Chronicles

12 hours ago

A forensic rendering released earlier this year may hold the key to finally helping identify a Jane Doe found in Arizona more than three decades ago. The unidentified woman’s remains were discovered near Interstate 40 in Mohave County back in November 1989, but despite decades of investigation, nobody has ever been able to figure out who she was. The woman was believed to be between 25 and 30 years old, when she was found near the Hualapai Mountains, her fingers and toe nails were manicured with red nail polish. A handmade floral blouse and a pair of earrings connected to the case were later recovered nearby.

The forensic rendering was created by well-known forensic artist Carl Koppelman, whose reconstructions have helped bring renewed attention to numerous unidentified person cases over the years.

One of the standout details in the case for genealogists is that the woman was 96% Ashkenazi ancestry, which authorities said has made tracing relatives through DNA far more difficult than expected. In an effort to speed up identication, investigators recently teamed up with the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center at Ramapo College in New Jersey, hoping advances in forensic genealogy may finally lead to the woman’s identity.

Over the years, testing has continued in hopes of identifying her. Investigators entered her DNA into CODIS and also tested her belongings for foreign DNA, but neither produced matches. More recently, authorities turned to forensic genetic genealogy in hopes that newer technology could finally help uncover her identity. Additionally, Rabbi Mendel Super–believed to be the only rabbi in Mohave County– has spent years trying to help identify the woman, hoping advances in genealogy and renewed public attention may eventually lead to her name.

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

1 day ago

A Michigan man says he left home to run a quick errand and came back to find his 55-year-old sister gone without a trace. Jennifer McCormick disappeared from her home in Alamo Township, Michigan on May 13th while her brother and caregiver, Mike McCormick, was away from the house for about 90 minutes. When he returned, he said he searched the home, checked outside around the property, and eventually called police after realizing she was nowhere around.

Jennifer has Down syndrome, and though she is considered mostly independent, she's still heavily reliant on family members especially in terms of leaving home. According to investigators, she was known to occasionally go for walks, though family members said she would normally let someone know before leaving. Sheriff Richard Fuller also said Jennifer is not believed to have been carrying a cellphone or cash when she disappeared.

At one point, deputies believed nearby surveillance footage may have captured Jennifer, but investigators later determined the person seen was not her. Search teams have since used drones, tracking dogs, volunteers, and repeated searches around the property and nearby area while investigators continue trying to piece together where Jennifer may have gone.

Jennifer’s brother later told local media he is concerned she may have gotten into a car with someone, though investigators said there has been no indication of foul play so far.

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The Skeleton Key Chronicles

2 days ago

National Missing Children’s Day is coming up on May 25th, and one of the cases most closely tied to it is suddenly heading back into court again. Pedro Hernandez, the man convicted in the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz, is due back in court June 1st after a federal appeals court overturned his conviction earlier this year.

Etan vanished on May 25th, 1979 while walking to his school bus stop alone in Manhattan. In the years that followed, his photo became one of the first faces printed on milk cartons during the nationwide effort to bring attention to missing children cases. The date he disappeared would later become National Missing Children’s Day.

Although Hernandez confessed in 2012, more than 30 years after Etan vanished, his first trial ended with a hung jury before he was convicted during a second trial in 2017. An appeals court later ruled jurors were improperly instructed during deliberations, and prosecutors have already said they plan to retry the case. Now nearly half a century later, the case will be heard again. They say the wheels of justice move slowly, but 47 years is a long time for a family still searching for some sense of justice.

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