Wisc. Woman Vanished in 1982 After Leaving Her 1-Year-Old with Relatives. Her Remains Were Just Identified

Connie Lorraine Christensen, 20, has been identified as the woman whose remains were found by hunters in rural Indiana more than four decades ago

Human remains found in rural Indiana in 1982 have been identified as belonging to a woman who vanished earlier that year.

According to a statement shared last week by the DNA Doe Project, officials with the Wayne County Coroner's Office have positively identified the skeletal remains as those of Connie Lorraine Christensen, a 20-year-old woman from Madison, Wisc.

Christensen was last seen in Nashville, Tenn., in April 1982, authorities said, according to the Associated Press. At the time, she was believed to have been three to four months pregnant and had left her 1-year-old daughter with relatives. When she didn’t return home as planned, her family reported her missing.

Eight months later, on Dec. 26, 1982, hunters found the woman’s skeletal remains in the fork of a tree while hiking along Martindale Creek near Jacksonburg, Ind., a rural area located about 60 miles east of Indianapolis, according to the DNA Doe Project.

She was wearing high-heeled wooden soled clogs, a blue, long-sleeved button up blouse, gray slacks, long blue or gray knit socks, and a blue nylon jacket, the organization said. She also wore a gold ring with an opal and two diamonds.

When the remains were discovered, authorities suspected foul play but no cause of death had been determined, the organization said. Investigators also believed the unidentified woman had been dead for up to eight months. The homicide case eventually went cold.

According to the Associated Press, a breakthrough came when the Wayne County Coroner’s Office partnered with the DNA Doe Project to help identify the woman’s remains.

The DNA retrieved from the remains, which were kept at the University of Indianapolis' forensic anthropology department, led to two matches of Christensen's relatives using genetic genealogy, the AP reports, adding that authorities now believe she died of a gunshot wound. A suspect has not been identified in the case.

“We were fortunate enough to find two relatively close DNA relative matches in GEDmatch that led us to Connie’s family,” said team leader Lori Flowers with the DNA Doe Project in a statement. “Taking a DNA test and uploading to GEDmatch is the best way for families of missing persons to help organizations like ours make these identifications.”

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The DNA Doe Project is a nonprofit organization that said its volunteer investigators have resolved more than 100 cases of unidentified remains using genetic genealogy.

Missy Koski, another member of the DNA Doe Project, thanked the organization’s efforts in returning “Connie Christensen’s name after all this time.”

“Our hearts go out to Connie’s family, and we were honored to bring them the answers they have sought for so long,” she said.

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