Oregon exhumes 1946 'Oak Grove Jane Doe' remains
Oregon State Police this week exhumed the remains of the 'Oak Grove Jane Doe' from Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City as part of a renewed homicide investigation into a woman found dead in April 1946 along the Willamette River. The agency said the degraded remains will undergo advanced forensic testing — including modern anthropological and identification techniques — after evidence went missing in the 1950s; officials hope the work will finally identify the victim and bring resolution to the state's oldest unidentified person case.
Crime
Science
📰 Sources (1)
Woman's remains exhumed in Oregon's oldest unidentified person case
New information:
- Remains originally recovered in April 1946 from sites along the Willamette River, Willamette Falls and near the McLoughlin Bridge; clothing later found in the Clackamas River.
- State police located a grave marked 'Unknown Woman 1946' and exhumed the degraded remains the week of Sept. 22, 2025 for advanced forensic analysis.
- Forensic examiners estimate the victim was a woman aged about 30–50 who suffered blunt‑force head trauma and was dismembered after death; crucial evidence went missing from law enforcement custody in the 1950s.
- Named agencies involved: Oregon State Police Human Identification Program, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, State Medical Examiner; forensic anthropologist Hailey Collord‑Stalder quoted in the announcement.