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Do you know her? Group tries to identify Jane Doe who was found dead in Arizona decades ago

By and
Updated  December 3, 2024 8:21am MST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 10 Phoenix

Group tries to solve 22-year-old Arizona mystery

A national DNA testing project is asking for people's help, as they attempt to solve a 22-year-old mystery involving a Jane Doe whose body was found in the East Valley.

The Brief

    • A group called the DNA Doe Project is trying to identify a Jane Doe in the Phoenix area.
    • The woman was found dead along University Drive in Tempe in 2002.

TEMPE, Ariz. - A national DNA testing project is asking for help, as they try to solve a 22-year-old mystery.

Per the DNA Doe Project website, a Jane Doe was found dead behind a business along University Drive in Tempe on April 27, 2002.

"She is believed to have been between 15 and 19 years old and possibly of Hispanic, Latino or Native American descent. The young woman was approximately 5’1" and weighed 125 lbs. She had long, straight, dark hair and brown eyes. Scars were visible on her left hand and left shoulder," read a portion of the website.

DNA Doe Project officials said the woman may have been hitchhiking in the area of 32nd Street and Greenway Road in Phoenix the day prior. 

"According to the driver, she spoke Spanish and may have recently been asked to leave her home due to drug use. She died as a result of a cocaine overdose," read a portion of the website.

Two decades later, the DNA Doe Project ran her sample in different genetic databases, but they don't have a match yet. They're asking anyone who thinks they might recognize her to submit DNA samples to help find her family.

The Source

  • Information for this article was gathered from the website of the DNA Doe Project.