A Jane Doe, nicknamed "Buckskin Girl," later identified as Marcia Lenore Sossoman King.
April 10, 2018 -- Troy, OH
Today we announce that Marcia L King of Arkansas has been identified as the Miami County Jane Doe who became known as the Buckskin Girl. She was twenty-one years of age at the time of her death. The DNA confirmation was made on Monday, April 9, 2018 by the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. The Miami County Coroner, Dr William Ginn, will issue the death certificate.
The scientific assistance that finally led to the victim's identification was conducted by the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization recently created to apply genetic genealogy tools to the identification of unknown persons. The victim's DNA was obtained from a blood sample that had been in storage since 1981; it was processed using advanced DNA techniques, and uploaded to a public genealogy database. The DNA Doe Project was founded in 2017 by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Margaret Press. The Miami County Jane Doe case was accepted as one of the first cases for the project. The DNA Doe Project relies on genetic genealogy tools similar to those used by genealogists for analyzing DNA results normally provided by direct-to-consumer testing companies.
The victim was found within 36-50 hours of her death off of Ohio State Route 55, near Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio after police responded to a call stating that a woman's body had been found along a road. A passerby had first noticed the victim's poncho and soon after discovered the victim's body.
The body had been placed face-down and the victim had suffered trauma to the head, strangulation and her shoes were absent from the scene.
Authorities believed that she had been killed elsewhere and left on the road after her death. Because of the absence of footwear, some believe she may have been murdered by an abusive significant other. A retired investigator stated that the victim was not likely from the area where she was found.
The young woman's reddish-brown hair was braided into pigtails on both sides of her head. Blue rubber bands had been used to hold the braids in place. Her eyes were a light brown and she had many freckles across her face. Her nose was described to be "very pointed". Her personal hygiene was described to be well maintained, and all of her teeth, including the wisdom teeth, were in good condition and had no evidence of fillings or other dental work, except for a porcelain crown on her upper-right incisor. The victim had a ruddy complexion, indicating she spent a lot of time outdoors. She was between 5'4" and 5'6" and weighed 125-130 pounds. Several scars were also found on the body, including a vertical scar under the chin, on one wrist, the arms and the ankle.
She wore Wrangler jeans, a patterned brown and orange turtleneck pullover sweater, a white bra, as well as a deerskin poncho that appeared to have been handmade with purple lining.
July 16, 2016
Miami County investigators have eliminated nearly all ties that an unidentified woman may have had to Ohio.
Jane Doe was found on April 24, 1981, strangled to death, but also suffered blunt force trauma to her head and also had a lacerated liver. She is believed to be in her late teens or early 20s at the time of her death, was found along Greenlee Road — west of Troy.
Jane Doe, also commonly referred to as "the buckskin girl," is believed to have had some sort of tie to the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area, said detective Steve Hickey with the Miami County Sheriff's Office.
Hickey believes Jane Doe had practically no ties to Ohio, other than being found here deceased. She was believed to have been dead for two days before her body was found.
Jane Doe is believed to have been a traveler, or a wanderer, but spent roughly four months in the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area in the year preceding her death, according to Stable Isotope analysis.
Duchak said. "Somewhere there is a family who does not know what happened to a loved one and we would like to get her identified to bring closure to the family and help put us on the path of finding her killer."
2017
Miami County Sheriff's Office Troy, Ohio sought out advanced forensic testing to provide clues as to where the female came from. Results revealed that the female was not from nor spent any significant time in Ohio where she was found. Chemical isotope analysis of her hair suggests she had a transient lifestyle the year before she died and spent a significant portion of that year in central #Texas or southern #Oklahoma. Pollen testing performed on the clothing worn by the Jane Doe suggested that she may have been from the Northeastern United States before traveling out west.
April 10, 2018 -- Troy, OH
Today we announce that Marcia L King of Arkansas has been identified as the Miami County Jane Doe who became known as the Buckskin Girl. She was twenty-one years of age at the time of her death. The DNA confirmation was made on Monday, April 9, 2018 by the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. The Miami County Coroner, Dr William Ginn, will issue the death certificate.
The scientific assistance that finally led to the victim's identification was conducted by the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization recently created to apply genetic genealogy tools to the identification of unknown persons. The victim's DNA was obtained from a blood sample that had been in storage since 1981; it was processed using advanced DNA techniques, and uploaded to a public genealogy database. The DNA Doe Project was founded in 2017 by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Margaret Press. The Miami County Jane Doe case was accepted as one of the first cases for the project. The DNA Doe Project relies on genetic genealogy tools similar to those used by genealogists for analyzing DNA results normally provided by direct-to-consumer testing companies.
The victim was found within 36-50 hours of her death off of Ohio State Route 55, near Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio after police responded to a call stating that a woman's body had been found along a road. A passerby had first noticed the victim's poncho and soon after discovered the victim's body.
The body had been placed face-down and the victim had suffered trauma to the head, strangulation and her shoes were absent from the scene.
Authorities believed that she had been killed elsewhere and left on the road after her death. Because of the absence of footwear, some believe she may have been murdered by an abusive significant other. A retired investigator stated that the victim was not likely from the area where she was found.
The young woman's reddish-brown hair was braided into pigtails on both sides of her head. Blue rubber bands had been used to hold the braids in place. Her eyes were a light brown and she had many freckles across her face. Her nose was described to be "very pointed". Her personal hygiene was described to be well maintained, and all of her teeth, including the wisdom teeth, were in good condition and had no evidence of fillings or other dental work, except for a porcelain crown on her upper-right incisor. The victim had a ruddy complexion, indicating she spent a lot of time outdoors. She was between 5'4" and 5'6" and weighed 125-130 pounds. Several scars were also found on the body, including a vertical scar under the chin, on one wrist, the arms and the ankle.
She wore Wrangler jeans, a patterned brown and orange turtleneck pullover sweater, a white bra, as well as a deerskin poncho that appeared to have been handmade with purple lining.
July 16, 2016
Miami County investigators have eliminated nearly all ties that an unidentified woman may have had to Ohio.
Jane Doe was found on April 24, 1981, strangled to death, but also suffered blunt force trauma to her head and also had a lacerated liver. She is believed to be in her late teens or early 20s at the time of her death, was found along Greenlee Road — west of Troy.
Jane Doe, also commonly referred to as "the buckskin girl," is believed to have had some sort of tie to the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area, said detective Steve Hickey with the Miami County Sheriff's Office.
Hickey believes Jane Doe had practically no ties to Ohio, other than being found here deceased. She was believed to have been dead for two days before her body was found.
Jane Doe is believed to have been a traveler, or a wanderer, but spent roughly four months in the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area in the year preceding her death, according to Stable Isotope analysis.
Duchak said. "Somewhere there is a family who does not know what happened to a loved one and we would like to get her identified to bring closure to the family and help put us on the path of finding her killer."
2017
Miami County Sheriff's Office Troy, Ohio sought out advanced forensic testing to provide clues as to where the female came from. Results revealed that the female was not from nor spent any significant time in Ohio where she was found. Chemical isotope analysis of her hair suggests she had a transient lifestyle the year before she died and spent a significant portion of that year in central #Texas or southern #Oklahoma. Pollen testing performed on the clothing worn by the Jane Doe suggested that she may have been from the Northeastern United States before traveling out west.
A Jane Doe, nicknamed "Buckskin Girl," later identified as Marcia Lenore Sossoman King.
April 10, 2018 -- Troy, OH
Today we announce that Marcia L King of Arkansas has been identified as the Miami County Jane Doe who became known as the Buckskin Girl. She was twenty-one years of age at the time of her death. The DNA confirmation was made on Monday, April 9, 2018 by the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. The Miami County Coroner, Dr William Ginn, will issue the death certificate.
The scientific assistance that finally led to the victim's identification was conducted by the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization recently created to apply genetic genealogy tools to the identification of unknown persons. The victim's DNA was obtained from a blood sample that had been in storage since 1981; it was processed using advanced DNA techniques, and uploaded to a public genealogy database. The DNA Doe Project was founded in 2017 by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Margaret Press. The Miami County Jane Doe case was accepted as one of the first cases for the project. The DNA Doe Project relies on genetic genealogy tools similar to those used by genealogists for analyzing DNA results normally provided by direct-to-consumer testing companies.
The victim was found within 36-50 hours of her death off of Ohio State Route 55, near Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio after police responded to a call stating that a woman's body had been found along a road. A passerby had first noticed the victim's poncho and soon after discovered the victim's body.
The body had been placed face-down and the victim had suffered trauma to the head, strangulation and her shoes were absent from the scene.
Authorities believed that she had been killed elsewhere and left on the road after her death. Because of the absence of footwear, some believe she may have been murdered by an abusive significant other. A retired investigator stated that the victim was not likely from the area where she was found.
The young woman's reddish-brown hair was braided into pigtails on both sides of her head. Blue rubber bands had been used to hold the braids in place. Her eyes were a light brown and she had many freckles across her face. Her nose was described to be "very pointed". Her personal hygiene was described to be well maintained, and all of her teeth, including the wisdom teeth, were in good condition and had no evidence of fillings or other dental work, except for a porcelain crown on her upper-right incisor. The victim had a ruddy complexion, indicating she spent a lot of time outdoors. She was between 5'4" and 5'6" and weighed 125-130 pounds. Several scars were also found on the body, including a vertical scar under the chin, on one wrist, the arms and the ankle.
She wore Wrangler jeans, a patterned brown and orange turtleneck pullover sweater, a white bra, as well as a deerskin poncho that appeared to have been handmade with purple lining.
July 16, 2016
Miami County investigators have eliminated nearly all ties that an unidentified woman may have had to Ohio.
Jane Doe was found on April 24, 1981, strangled to death, but also suffered blunt force trauma to her head and also had a lacerated liver. She is believed to be in her late teens or early 20s at the time of her death, was found along Greenlee Road — west of Troy.
Jane Doe, also commonly referred to as "the buckskin girl," is believed to have had some sort of tie to the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area, said detective Steve Hickey with the Miami County Sheriff's Office.
Hickey believes Jane Doe had practically no ties to Ohio, other than being found here deceased. She was believed to have been dead for two days before her body was found.
Jane Doe is believed to have been a traveler, or a wanderer, but spent roughly four months in the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area in the year preceding her death, according to Stable Isotope analysis.
Duchak said. "Somewhere there is a family who does not know what happened to a loved one and we would like to get her identified to bring closure to the family and help put us on the path of finding her killer."
2017
Miami County Sheriff's Office Troy, Ohio sought out advanced forensic testing to provide clues as to where the female came from. Results revealed that the female was not from nor spent any significant time in Ohio where she was found. Chemical isotope analysis of her hair suggests she had a transient lifestyle the year before she died and spent a significant portion of that year in central #Texas or southern #Oklahoma. Pollen testing performed on the clothing worn by the Jane Doe suggested that she may have been from the Northeastern United States before traveling out west.
April 10, 2018 -- Troy, OH
Today we announce that Marcia L King of Arkansas has been identified as the Miami County Jane Doe who became known as the Buckskin Girl. She was twenty-one years of age at the time of her death. The DNA confirmation was made on Monday, April 9, 2018 by the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. The Miami County Coroner, Dr William Ginn, will issue the death certificate.
The scientific assistance that finally led to the victim's identification was conducted by the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization recently created to apply genetic genealogy tools to the identification of unknown persons. The victim's DNA was obtained from a blood sample that had been in storage since 1981; it was processed using advanced DNA techniques, and uploaded to a public genealogy database. The DNA Doe Project was founded in 2017 by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Margaret Press. The Miami County Jane Doe case was accepted as one of the first cases for the project. The DNA Doe Project relies on genetic genealogy tools similar to those used by genealogists for analyzing DNA results normally provided by direct-to-consumer testing companies.
The victim was found within 36-50 hours of her death off of Ohio State Route 55, near Greenlee Road in Newton Township, Troy, Ohio after police responded to a call stating that a woman's body had been found along a road. A passerby had first noticed the victim's poncho and soon after discovered the victim's body.
The body had been placed face-down and the victim had suffered trauma to the head, strangulation and her shoes were absent from the scene.
Authorities believed that she had been killed elsewhere and left on the road after her death. Because of the absence of footwear, some believe she may have been murdered by an abusive significant other. A retired investigator stated that the victim was not likely from the area where she was found.
The young woman's reddish-brown hair was braided into pigtails on both sides of her head. Blue rubber bands had been used to hold the braids in place. Her eyes were a light brown and she had many freckles across her face. Her nose was described to be "very pointed". Her personal hygiene was described to be well maintained, and all of her teeth, including the wisdom teeth, were in good condition and had no evidence of fillings or other dental work, except for a porcelain crown on her upper-right incisor. The victim had a ruddy complexion, indicating she spent a lot of time outdoors. She was between 5'4" and 5'6" and weighed 125-130 pounds. Several scars were also found on the body, including a vertical scar under the chin, on one wrist, the arms and the ankle.
She wore Wrangler jeans, a patterned brown and orange turtleneck pullover sweater, a white bra, as well as a deerskin poncho that appeared to have been handmade with purple lining.
July 16, 2016
Miami County investigators have eliminated nearly all ties that an unidentified woman may have had to Ohio.
Jane Doe was found on April 24, 1981, strangled to death, but also suffered blunt force trauma to her head and also had a lacerated liver. She is believed to be in her late teens or early 20s at the time of her death, was found along Greenlee Road — west of Troy.
Jane Doe, also commonly referred to as "the buckskin girl," is believed to have had some sort of tie to the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area, said detective Steve Hickey with the Miami County Sheriff's Office.
Hickey believes Jane Doe had practically no ties to Ohio, other than being found here deceased. She was believed to have been dead for two days before her body was found.
Jane Doe is believed to have been a traveler, or a wanderer, but spent roughly four months in the Fort Worth, Texas, and southern Oklahoma area in the year preceding her death, according to Stable Isotope analysis.
Duchak said. "Somewhere there is a family who does not know what happened to a loved one and we would like to get her identified to bring closure to the family and help put us on the path of finding her killer."
2017
Miami County Sheriff's Office Troy, Ohio sought out advanced forensic testing to provide clues as to where the female came from. Results revealed that the female was not from nor spent any significant time in Ohio where she was found. Chemical isotope analysis of her hair suggests she had a transient lifestyle the year before she died and spent a significant portion of that year in central #Texas or southern #Oklahoma. Pollen testing performed on the clothing worn by the Jane Doe suggested that she may have been from the Northeastern United States before traveling out west.
