Woman Who Married Into MA Crime Family Id'd After 40 Years: Reports

GLOUCESTER, MA — A Gloucester woman is finally on the path to finding closure 40 years after her mother was found dead by strangulation in a South Florida canal thanks to a DNA breakthrough, according to multiple reports.

With the help of forensic technology, DNA from bone fragments, and the identification of a potential family tree, investigators were able to match Lori Jane Kearsey—a Jane Doe who went missing at the age of 23 in 1984—with her daughter, Gloucester's Maehgan Smith, WSVN in Florida reported.

Kearsey was found floating face down in a canal in Davie, Florida on Feb.18, 1984, police told the outlet. Despite her physical description being released to the public, she went unidentified for decades, and the case went cold.

Smith says that all those years ago, when she was a child, her mother dropped her off one weekend and went to Florida — then never came back. At the time, Kearsey had already been divorced and been remarried into a "pretty infamous crime family in Boston," Smith told WSVN.

"I resigned myself to the fact that I thought I’d probably never know what happened to her," Smith added.

But on Tuesday, Smith was finally able to see her mother again.

"I think the feeling of even picking up her remains thinking ‘I probably haven’t touched any part of her in 41 years’ is a little surreal feeling," Smith told the outlet.

Neither Smith nor the police will release the identity of Kearsey's husband or his family name, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

Davie Police Sergeant Kevin Urbaez told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the department has identified people of interest in Kearsey's case who are still alive, but did not say whether they are in Massachusetts or Florida.

Police also told the outlet that the man Kearsey married is still alive, but would not say whether he is a suspect in her death.

Authorities are urging anyone with relevant information to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. You can always remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.