1981 Ohio Murder Victim Could Have Been From Tri-State: Officials

A teenage girl or young woman found dead in Ohio 35 years ago might have been from the tri-state area or had some connection to the region, new pollen tests done on her clothing have revealed.

Authorities have not identified the victim, a teenager or woman in her 20s, who was found in a ditch near Troy, Ohio on April 24, 1981.

Lab results on pollen found on her clothing came back on Sunday and suggest that she was from or spent a significant amount of time in the northeastern dry-oak forest region of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts or Rhode Island, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

A news release also said the tests showed a high level of soot from vehicle traffic or industrial activity found on her clothing suggests that she spent a significant amount of time in an urban area within the northeast or possibly from hitchhiking.

The victim had been deceased less than two days before she was found.

She was approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighed about 125 pounds. She had long reddish-brown hair that was styled in two side braids and a part down the middle.

She had a ruddy complexion with freckles on her face and had several scars. One was under her chin, one was on her left arm, two were on her left wrist, right hand, right ankle and right foot and she had a porcelain-metal crown in her top right central incisor.

She was wearing bell bottom blue jeans, a brown turtleneck sweater with an orange crisscross design on the front, and a handmade tan buckskin pull-over jacket with leather fringe around the seams with a deep purple lining.

If anyone recognizes the victim or has any information about her identity, call Detective Steve Hickey with the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, 937-440-3965 ext. 6629 or the Miami County Communication Center at 937-440-9911.

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