Rural Indiana: Cold Case Victim Identified After 40 Years
Human remains found in rural Indiana in 1982 have finally been identified as those of Connie Lorraine Christensen, a Wisconsin woman who went missing over four decades ago. The remains were discovered near Jacksonburg, a small community about 60 miles east of Indianapolis, by hunters in December 1982. According to Lauren Ogden, chief deputy coroner of the Wayne County Coroner’s Office, Christensen had died from a gunshot wound, and her homicide case remains unsolved.
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Christensen, who was 20 years old at the time of her disappearance, hailed from Oregon, a community near Madison, Wisconsin. She was last seen in Nashville, Tennessee, in April 1982. At that point, she was believed to be three to four months pregnant. She had left her 1-year-old daughter with relatives while she traveled and was reported missing when she failed to return to Wisconsin as planned.
The remains were stored at the University of Indianapolis’ forensic anthropology department until the Wayne County Coroner’s Office partnered with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on identifying cold case victims. With the help of forensic genetic genealogy and DNA extracted from the remains by the Indiana State Police’s forensic laboratory, it was determined that the remains closely matched the DNA of two of Christensen’s relatives.
Interestingly, Christensen’s family had been working on constructing an accurate family tree using ancestry and genealogy platforms at the same time the identification efforts were underway. Several of her living relatives had uploaded their DNA to an ancestry website, which expedited the identification process.
Last Tuesday, Christensen’s now adult daughter visited the location where her mother’s remains were found. She left flowers and was also given a gold ring set with an opal and two diamonds that was discovered with her mother’s remains.
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Missy Koski, a member of the DNA Doe Project, expressed pride in the collaborative efforts that restored “Connie Christensen’s name after all this time.” The identification brings some closure to the family, although the mystery surrounding her death remains unsolved.
Note: This article has been written using simplified British English.
