Body At Braceville Cemetery Exhumed By Coroner

The Grundy County Coroner's Office on Tuesday exhumed the unidentified body of a 1976 homicide victim. The young woman's body was found 42 years ago near Seneca. The body was removed from the Braceville-Gardner Cemetery in Braceville on Tuesday as part of a new step in the investigation.

“We have received a good amount of tips from the public since reopening the case," stated Deputy Coroner Brandon Johnson, who has helped with the reopened investigation. "Two particular tips were from loved ones missing their family member for forty-two to fifty-five years. DNA was compared to the tipsters’ DNA and unfortunately there was no match to our unidentified female. However, by them reaching out and contacting us, we have now encouraged both families to finally report their relatives as missing persons and submit DNA, which may help another case in the future."

Johnson said that authorities hope Tuesday's exhumation of Jane Doe will finally lead to answers as far as the unidentified murder victim's identity.

“We reached a corner with the initial DNA obtained from the victim’s sweater and felt that we stood a better chance of identifying this female by exhuming her and sending bones to (The University of North Texas Human Center for Identification) in Fort Worth, Texas," he said.

He said the Texas lab specializes in mitochondrial DNA and has worked with the Illinois State Police Crime Lab, NamUs (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System,) The DOE Network, The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children and various forensic artists, who helped create images of how the female may have appeared in 1976.

Johnson's office also created a Facebook page for the case, which has reached people nationwide, helping to get the word and sketch out in other states. The page could be found at www.facebook.com/grundycountycoldcase

Anyone with any information that may help lead to the identification of this female is asked to contact Deputy Coroner Brandon Johnson at 815-941-3359 or e-mail: bjohnson@grundyco.org

Images furnished via Grundy County Coroner's Office