The remains of a York, Pennsylvania, teenager who disappeared in 1973, have been identified using genealogy research and DNA analysis more than 50 years after she went missing.
Two game wardens on October 10, 1973 discovered decomposed remains beneath a plastic tarp and brush in a wooded area of Union Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police. At the time, investigators were unable to identify the remains but described the Jane Doe as a White female with long brown or blonde hair. Her cause of death was ruled undetermined, according to a report by CNN.
More than 50 years later, investigators identified the remains as Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, a 14-year-old from York who disappeared at the start of the 1973 school year. The identification was made using DNA analysis and interviews with living relatives, police said.
"Their work has provided us with some closure on questions that have lingered for the past 51 years," Ruth’s family said in a statement, CNN reported.
The case remained unsolved until 2016, when police exhumed the remains from a secluded corner of a cemetery in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to extract DNA. This followed years of unsuccessful efforts to identify Ruth, which included creating two busts depicting what she might have looked like.
The remains were examined at a local hospital after being exhumed, but it wasn’t until years later, with advancements in genealogy technology, that investigators were able to identify them last month as those of Ruth, police said.
Ruth, born on November 26, 1958, left for school one day and never returned home. It remains unclear whether she made it to school or how far she traveled before disappearing. A few months later, her remains were discovered about 50 miles north of her hometown. State police noted that no records exist declaring Ruth dead, and it is unclear if she was ever officially reported missing.