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WIF820316; Milwaukee Co.
Topic Started: Dec 9 2015, 11:30 PM (133 Views)
tatertot
Advanced Member
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http://www.jsonline.com/news/investigators...-284101131.html

Investigators trying to solve mystery of woman found in 1982
Michael Simley, a forensic investigator with the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office, has created a website with information about unidentified bodies.
By Ashley Luthern of the Journal Sentinel
Nov. 27, 2014

Authorities are still trying to learn the identity of Jane Doe 1982, whose body was found in the Milwaukee River more than 32 years ago. They have produced a new reconstructive photo to show what the woman might have looked like.

Thirty-two years ago, an off-duty Wauwatosa firefighter checked his boat docked along the Milwaukee River on a Tuesday morning.

That's when he saw a woman's body wedged between two metal barrels attached to a floating pier in the river.

Since that day — March 16, 1982 — the woman has remained unidentified.

Investigators at the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office hope a new reconstructive photo will change that.

"She's a young person," forensic investigator Michael Simley said. "She has to be missed by someone."

Jane Doe 1982, case number 1982-0533, is estimated to be 15 to 25 years old, although Simley said she could be as old as 35. She was in the river for as long as three months.

She stood about 5-feet-4-inches tall and weighed 137 pounds. Her black hair had a reddish tint, according to investigative files. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning; no signs of trauma were found.

Despite news coverage at the time, no one came forward to identify her.

"Sometimes someone is reported missing and sometimes they're not," Simley said. "Sometimes there are family issues or someone's transient or a runaway, and they die here."

At the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office, none of the dozen or so investigators is dedicated solely to identifying unnamed bodies. The office loads available data into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database. NamUs (pronounced "Name Us"), as it's known, was launched in July 2007 as a national resource center for missing persons and unidentified persons, where anyone can search the database using characteristics, such as sex, race, dental information or other distinct body features.

The Milwaukee medical examiner's office handles about 5,000 cases a year. Investigators like Simley and Jenni Penn review dormant cases in their spare time. Last year, Penn's efforts led to the identification of Oliveros Perdomo, a 53-year-old Honduran immigrant who died in 2001 after he wandered into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on Milwaukee's south side.

Meanwhile, a website created by Simley three years ago features photos and information about nine unidentified bodies. Several of the cases use photos that were touched up to remove evidence of decomposition.

Fairly accurate images

Jane Doe 1982 is among those who are featured online, but her image is a recent digital reconstruction created by artists at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The nonprofit center offers the service for free if the person's age is believed to be 25 or younger.

Simley mailed five Polaroid photos of Jane Doe to the center's headquarters in Alexandria, Va., where the forensic imaging unit is based.

"The artist can scan (the photos) to start out and do overlays or superimpose details to reconstruct an image that way, or they just start from scratch and start building and painting," said Steve Loftin, the unit supervisor.

The unit's four artists — all of whom have degrees in fine arts or graphics — take into account information from the medical examiner's report. For example, if there was swelling or other trauma to the skin, they re-create a person's likeness using computer software, said Loftin, who used to work as a police sketch artist.

"They are subjective in regards to each individual artist's interpretation," he said.

Jane Doe suffered little trauma, although her appearance was distorted from being in the river.

"With the final image, we don't expect it to be 100% accurate," Loftin said. "But again, if it's just swelling like Jane Doe, we expect the image to be fairly accurate."

Jane Doe's other identifying features include a 41/2-inch vertical surgical scar from her bellybutton to her pubic area and extensive dental work, including several fillings and two teeth pulled earlier in her life.

The medical examiner's office also has her DNA and fingerprints on file, which can be used to confirm her identity as tips come in from the community.

"I love trying to make the ID," Simley said. "It's challenging and very rewarding because you are finding the family and getting closure."

Anyone with information about Jane Doe is asked to contact the medical examiner's office at (414) 223-1200.

On the web

For more information about local cases of unidentified individuals, go to county.milwaukee.gov/medicalexaminer and click on "Unidentified People in Milwaukee County."

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