Investigators hoping advanced forensic testing would help lead them to the identity of the young woman found in a Raymond cornfield in 1999 continue to work her case despite the testing proving inconclusive.
Racine County Jane Doe was discovered by a man walking his dog in July 1999 in a cornfield in Raymond. She 
carried no ID and investigators determined she had suffered blunt force trauma to much of her body, was malnourished and her body showed signs of being sexually abused. Her left ear was battered, commonly referred to as cauliflower ear.
Since then, investigators with the Racine County Sheriff’s Department have been working every lead – cold and warm – they can follow, but all roads have so far led to dead ends. There was speculation that Jane Doe might be from Eastern Europe and was perhaps a victim of sex trafficking or that she arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport as an au pair and fell in with the wrong people.
Two years ago, Jane Doe was exhumed for isotope testing, a process by which bone tissue is removed from a body to try and determine where she was from or at least had been in the months leading up to her death.
In a nutshell, the makeup of the earth – gases, minerals, chemical compounds – varies greatly from region to region. The foods we eat – both animal and vegetable – can be a map to where we’ve been because the foods absorb the unique makeup of the earth where they are, so when we eat those foods, we’re also absorbing those gases, minerals and chemical compounds.
Certain isotopes can be found in teeth and bones even after death, so investigators were hoping that Jane Doe’s isotopes would give them a key to eventually lead to her identity, but the tests were inconclusive. Still, Racine County Sheriff’s Investigator Tracy Hintz, lead detective on Jane’s case, continues to follow leads and believes that as science continues to evolve, answers about Jane’s identity and her killer(s) will become clear.
“People often submit tips through Facebook and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and we appreciate each and every one,” Hintz told Racine County Eye. “This case is two-pronged; we need to identify this girl, and we need to capture those responsible for her death. I’m confident both of those will happen.”
Anyone with any information about Jane Doe’s identification or information about those responsible for her murder can contact Hintz at 262.636.3190 or Tracy.Hintz@goRacine.org. You may also reach her on Facebook at Jane Doe Racine County, Wisconsin.
Anonymous tips about Jane Doe or her killer(s) can also be left with Crime Stoppers at1-888-636-9330, via the web: http://racine.crimestoppersweb.com, or by texting RACS with your message to 274637(CRIMES).
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