On August 27, 2021, I uploaded a post about Boone County Jane Doe. Jane Doe was a young woman who was found murdered near Interstate 65 in Lebanon, Indiana in 1992. She remained unidentified for over 29 years, and has finally been identified as Margaret Sniegowski.
On May 3, 1992, Boone County Jane Doe was discovered by a farmer while he was tending to his crops. She was at the bottom of a hill near an entrance ramp on Interstate 65 in Lebanon, Indiana. The young woman’s body was only wearing a light green or yellow tank top and light green socks. Because of her state of decomposition, her cause of death could not be determined, but because of the circumstances in which she was disposed, detectives are sure that foul play was involved in Jane Doe’s death.
Upon further examinations, Boone County Jane Doe was determined to be a white female between the ages of 17-22, was between 5’3″-5’7″, and weighed about 130 pounds. She had short red or auburn hair, as well as several tattoos. These tattoos included the word “MOM” on her upper right arm, the word “LOVE” with a cross and two hearts on her right breast, a cross tattoo on her right hand between her thumb and index finger. Boone County Jane Doe is suspected to have died 3 to 5 days before she was discovered.
In 2018, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office released new facial reconstruction images of what Boone County Jane Doe looked like. These new advanced images may hopefully be what is needed for someone to finally recognize this young woman and give her name back to her. Isotope tests were also taken after her remains where exhumed for a second time, and it was determined that Jane Doe must have been from the southwestern U.S., the Midwest, or the Upper New England states. Hopefully with the new DNA technology available, Boone County Jane Doe’s identity will eventually be revealed.
After decades of the case going cold, there was finally a break in the case in 2021 thanks to genetic genealogy! In 2021, Boone County Jane Doe’s skeletal remains were sent to Othman, which is a company that specializes in DNA genealogy testing. With the DNA they obtained from the remains, Othram developed a DNA profile of the victim to help identify her. In January 2022, a DNA test confirmed the jane doe’s identification.
Boone County Jane Doe was identified as 17 year old Margaret Ann Sniegowski from Toledo, Ohio. She died just one month before her 18th birthday, and was the youngest of 8 siblings. Margaret’s siblings are grateful for her identification, but now they are focused on finding the person who hurt and took their sister from them. The investigation into Margaret’s death is continued to be treated as a homicide.
Resources-
