ROANE COUNTY – The Roane County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative have successfully identified a woman whose remains were found in Roane County in 1987. The body was discovered near a garbage dumpster on Highway 58 in Kingston, and forensic anthropologists determined that the remains belonged to a white female aged between 35 and 50. After her death, the victim had been burned and abandoned beside the dumpster. Despite efforts to identify her in 1987, investigators were unsuccessful and she was classified as a Jane Doe.
In 2009, the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center submitted a sample of the remains to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which developed a DNA profile and entered it into the Combined DNA Index System and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. However, no progress was made in identifying the woman.
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Last month, as part of the Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative, the Roane County Sheriff’s Office and TBI agents submitted a sample of the remains to Othram Inc., a private lab in Texas, for forensic genetic genealogical (FGG) DNA testing. Scientists at Othram provided information about possible relatives connected to the woman, and a familial DNA standard was obtained from one of those family members. Comparing this DNA standard to the DNA of the unidentified woman, scientists confirmed that the remains belonged to Betty Lou Wisley, originally from Clinton, Missouri. It was determined that Wisley was living in or near the Knox County area at the time of her death.
Now, investigators are seeking the public’s help in piecing together the events leading up to Betty Lou Wisley’s death. Anyone with information about individuals she may have been with before her death is urged to contact the Roane County Sheriff’s Office or email tips to awolff@roanesheriff.org.
The successful identification of Betty Lou Wisley demonstrates the importance of advancements in DNA technology and forensic genealogy in solving cold cases. The collaboration between law enforcement agencies and private labs has proven to be crucial in bringing closure to families and justice to victims. The Roane County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will continue their efforts to solve other unidentified cases and provide answers to families who have been waiting for decades.
