By Trend News Line 2024-05-08 20:25:20.
**Newly Identified Maury County Jane Doe Revealed as 19-Year-Old Annie Carolyn Jenkins**
In a remarkable breakthrough, the decades-long mystery surrounding the unidentified “Maury County Jane Doe” has finally been solved. After nearly five decades of anonymity, the remains found in 1975 have been identified as belonging to 19-year-old Annie Carolyn Jenkins from Memphis.
**Discovery of Remains**
The teenage girl’s remains were initially discovered on Valentine’s Day in 1975 by hunters on Joe Brown Road near I-65 in eastern Maury County. At the time, officials could only determine that she appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s and had signs of trauma.
**Decades of Unanswered Questions**
For over 48 years, her remains were stored at the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology in Knoxville. Despite multiple efforts to identify her, no clues to her identity were ever uncovered. In 2012, Lt. Jerry Williams initiated further forensic tests and interviews to try to solve the case, but to no avail.
**Breakthrough in Identification**
In 2019, the case was brought to the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying unidentified individuals through genetic genealogy. With the help of donors, four forensic labs worked tirelessly over three years to create a DNA profile from Jenkins’ severely degraded remains.
**Challenges and Successes in DNA Extraction**
Extracting enough DNA for a workable profile proved to be a challenging task. Kevin Lord, Director of Lab Logistics, highlighted the difficulty of the process, which required multiple samples over two years to build a complete profile. With the assistance of Astrea Forensics, a breakthrough was finally achieved in the summer of 2022.
**Family Connections and Closure**
Volunteer genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project were able to piece together one side of Jenkins’ family tree early on. After extensive research and 530 hours of genealogical work, they eventually narrowed down the search to a handful of close family members. Detective Keith Wrather made contact with a woman who turned out to be Jenkins’ sister, providing the final piece of the puzzle.
**Revelation of Annie Jenkins’ Fate**
The woman revealed that Jenkins had vanished in the fall of 1974 after leaving on a flight bound for Tennessee. Her family never heard from her again, and her disappearance was never officially reported. Through DNA matching, it was confirmed that Jenkins was indeed the missing sister.
**Closure and Continuing Investigation**
With the identification of Annie Jenkins, her remains will now be returned to her family. While many involved in the original case have since passed away, the Maury County Sheriff’s Office confirms an active homicide investigation surrounding her death. The resolution of this long-standing mystery brings closure to the family and marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to solve cold cases..
– Maury County Jane Doe identified Memphis TN teen missing since
– Maury County Jane Doe Memphis TN teen missing since 1974.