Teen known as 'Walker County Jane Doe' ID'd

3 years ago 332

WALKER COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A young teen known arsenic the "Walker County Jane Doe" has yet been identified successful a acold lawsuit that has haunted a Texas municipality and pained a household for the past 41 years.

Investigators said the girl, who was 14 erstwhile she was recovered dead, has been identified arsenic Sherri Ann Jarvis of Stillwater, Minnesota.

Jarvis' bare assemblage was discovered successful Huntsville, Texas, much than 1,100 miles distant from her location connected Nov. 1, 1980, and present authorities are shedding airy connected however they learned her name.

ABC13 archetypal reported connected the acold lawsuit successful November 2015, erstwhile Det. Thomas Bean was assigned to the case.

ORIGINAL STORY FROM 2015: Detectives effort to place chartless miss recovered dormant 35 years ago

From Minnesota to Huntsville

According to the Walker County Sheriff's Office, Jarvis arrived successful Huntsville connected Friday, Oct. 31, 1980 aft moving away.

Witnesses reported seeing her successful 2 abstracted locations: a state presumption connected the southbound broadside of Huntsville and the Hitchin' Post Truck Stop.

On some occasions, she asked for directions to the Texas Department of Corrections Ellis Prison Farm.

She besides told radical that she was from the Rockport/Aransas Pass area.

The adjacent morning, connected Nov. 1, 1980, a motortruck operator discovered Jarvis' bare assemblage connected the broadside of I-45 adjacent FM 1696, conscionable northbound of the motortruck stop.

She had been raped and strangled.

Investigators would aboriginal observe that Jarvis was removed from her location successful Minnesota for habitual truancy. Her surviving household members accidental she was conscionable 13 years aged erstwhile the authorities removed her.

She ran distant from the bureau that had custody of her astatine the time. It was besides the bureau that reported her missing, but records person been purged truthful detectives person been incapable to interaction them.

Jarvis' household says that she did constitute them a missive soon aft her departure from home, explaining that she'd return.

How did DNA exertion assistance place Sherri Ann Jarvis?

The Walker County Sheriff's Office said that successful July 2020, investigators sent samples to a laboratory to statesman forensic DNA testing.

In March 2021, six radical were identified arsenic being nonstop relatives oregon aunts and uncles of Jarvis, inactive known past arsenic "Jane Doe."

Investigators utilized net resources to capable retired a household histrion and interviewed her household members.

That's however detectives discovered that Jarvis was removed from her location successful Minnesota.

Othram Inc. worked with officials to place Jarvis done the DNA testing.

The institution describes itself arsenic the "first laboratory purpose-built to use the powerfulness of genome sequencing to forensics."

"We tin instrumentality grounds that is precise old. DNA that was antecedently unsuitable oregon unusable successful different methods of accepted testing, and we tin propulsion familial information, markers and specified from this evidence, and usage that arsenic you've heard from the sheriff to physique retired long-distance relationships," said Othram's CEO David Mittelman.

Othram Inc., a Woodlands-based forensic DNA lab, provided much insight, explaining that the teen's assemblage was exhumed successful 1999, but attempts to deduce suitable DNA extract from skeletal remains astatine the clip were unsuccessful.

Othram says it was formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded insubstantial that was the cardinal to identifying Jarvis.

According to the company, scientists utilized proprietary Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to make a broad genealogical illustration from the tissue.

Once investigators connected with household members, they collected DNA swabs and confirmed the relationship.

A afloat breakdown of the DNA process utilized to place Jarvis tin beryllium work connected dnasolves.com.