(WFXR) – After nearly three decades with no answers, ongoing genealogy work from the DNA Doe Project has revealed that an unidentified woman found dead in Arizona may be linked to Southside Virginia.
In 1992, a young woman was found dead on state-owned land in Apache Junction, Arizona. The Apache Junction Police Department believe she was between 16 and 18 and had Hispanic and African American ancestry.
Authorities determined that his body remained in the desert for five to ten weeks.
After teaming up with the DNA Doe Project in hopes of identifying this woman, experts believe she may have ties to Halifax County or Pittsylvania County.
“His connection to these Virginia counties is through his African American side,” said Cairenn Binder, genetic investigative genealogist at the DNA Doe Project. “… She certainly has DNA cousins in those counties, which has helped us identify some possible common ancestors on her African American side.”
DNA Doe Project investigators say those in Halifax County or Pittsylvania County may have the missing piece of information to identify it.
The group is asking people living in those counties to upload their information to the DNA Doe Project database to help find close matches with the woman and find her family.
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