An unidentified person, also called an unidentified decedent, is a body whose identity cannot be determined by police or medical examiners. In some cases, it may take many years to find out who the person was, and in other cases, the person may never be identified. This can happen if there is not enough evidence or if the person did not have identification, such as a driver's license. If the body is badly damaged or broken down, experts may recreate the person's face to help identify them. In many English-speaking countries, unidentified people are often called "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" until their identities are discovered.
Causes
As of 2023, there were about 14,000 unidentified individuals (UIDs) in the United States. A body may remain unidentified if the person died in a location where they were not recorded, if the body is highly decomposed, or if the face is severely damaged. In the United States, teenagers who ran away from home may be removed from missing person lists when they turn 18, which can make it harder to match them with unidentified remains. A database managed by the Ontario Provincial Police recorded 371 unidentified deaths between 1964 and 2015.
Some UIDs die in states other than their home states. For example, the Sumter County Does, murdered in South Carolina, were believed to be Canadian but were later identified as coming from Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Barbara Hess Precht died in Ohio in 2006 but was not identified until 2014. She had lived as a transient in California with her husband for many years before returning to Ohio, where she died under unknown circumstances. In these cases, the bodies were found in a condition that allowed for fingerprint and dental record collection. However, it is unclear whether DNA was recovered from the Sumter County Does, as DNA testing would require exhuming their remains. Many undocumented immigrants who die in the United States after crossing the border from Mexico remain unidentified.
Some UIDs are discovered long after death and are severely decomposed, which can change their facial features and make identification through fingerprints difficult. Environmental conditions greatly affect decomposition. For example, bodies found in cold areas may show little decay even months after death, while those in warm areas may decompose quickly or become mummified. The "Persian Princess," who died in the 1990s, was falsely claimed to be over 2,000 years old in Pakistan as part of an archaeological forgery.
Putrefaction occurs when bacteria break down the body, creating gases that cause the body to swell and change color. In the case of the Rogers family, who were murdered in 1989 by Oba Chandler, their bodies were placed in water but surfaced later due to gases from decomposition. The bodies were already severely decomposed and unrecognizable when found, though dental records identified them a week later.
Skeletonization happens when a body decays to the point that only bones and some tissues remain, usually after a long time since death. In such cases, fingerprints and toeprints are often lost, unless they survived early decomposition. Fingerprints were widely used for identification before DNA testing became common. If partial remains are found, it can limit the information available. Forensic reconstruction may be used to help identify skeletonized UIDs if dental records and DNA databases do not provide answers.
Sometimes, people who try to hide a body damage it to make it unrecognizable. Mario Zunigarobles was found shortly after being killed but was completely unidentifiable. When Canadian model Lynn Breeden was murdered and set on fire in a dumpster, her body was so damaged that DNA and fingerprint analysis were not possible. She was later identified through dental records and DNA from a different location. Linda Agostini’s burned body was found near Albury, Australia, in 1934 and was identified ten years later using dental comparisons.
Identification process
Bodies are usually identified by comparing their unique DNA, fingerprints, and dental features. DNA is considered the most accurate method, but it was not widely used until the 1990s. DNA can be collected from hair follicles, blood, tissue, and other biological materials. Other physical information, such as illnesses, signs of surgery, broken bones, and details about height and weight, may also help identify a body. A medical examiner often helps with this process. Since 2018, scientists have used family DNA information to match the DNA of the deceased with that of relatives who shared their DNA on genealogy websites.
Many police departments and medical examiners have tried to identify the deceased by posting mortuary photographs of the faces of Unidentified Individuals (UIDs) online. Sometimes, these photos are retouched to hide wounds before being shared with the public. In cases where a body is cut into pieces, digital changes may be made to show the body as whole. However, this method is not always effective because the way a person dies can change the appearance of their face. For example, "Grateful Doe" was severely injured in a car crash in 1995, which made his face unrecognizable.
A Jane Doe found in a river in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had died months earlier but was preserved in the cold. Her photos were shared online, but her face was swollen and distorted from water and decomposition.
Death masks, which are molds of a person’s face, have also been used for identification. These masks are said to be more accurate because they show relaxed expressions. However, they often do not match the actual appearance of the UID when found, such as in the case of "L'Inconnue de la Seine," a French woman who died by suicide in the late 1800s. Death masks may still show signs of illness, like sunken eyes, which do not reflect how the person looked in life.
When a body is highly decomposed or died violently, reconstructions may be needed to help the public identify the person, especially if showing the body’s image is considered disrespectful. In some cases, even recognizable faces are reconstructed for the same reason. Reconstructions can be made using 3D models, 2D sketches, or digital images, similar to facial composites used in investigations. Sketches have been used in many cases. In the 1980s, forensic artist Karen T. Taylor developed a method to create detailed sketches by estimating the size and position of facial features on a skull. This method has been successful in some cases.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has created a method to estimate the faces of UIDs whose remains are too damaged for traditional sketches. A skull is scanned using a CT machine, and a special computer program, originally used for architecture, adds digital layers of tissue based on the UID’s age, sex, and race.
The following gallery shows different ways UIDs have been reconstructed:
In some cases, law enforcement made mistakes in identifying UIDs. For example, Colleen Orsborn was not recognized as the victim of a 1984 case because a medical examiner missed a broken bone in her leg. DNA testing in 2011 confirmed she was the victim. Similarly, in the case of Peggy Johnson-Schroeder, who was later identified as the Racine County Jane Doe, the decision to rule out a possible identity was criticized. Aundria Bowman, who disappeared in 1989, was not matched to a body found in 1999, even though she looked similar. Users on an online forum called Websleuths disagreed with this decision before the victim was identified. In the case of Lavender Doe, later identified as Dana Dodd, a mother of a missing girl disagreed with the exclusion of her daughter based on DNA, as the reconstruction of the victim looked similar to her daughter.