Still Searching: Susquehanna Valley unidentified person cases

Still Searching: South-Central Pa. unidentified person cases Advertisement Updated: 6:43 PM EST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Sarah Metts Reporter Still Searching: South-Central Pa. unidentified person cases Updated: 6:43 PM EST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Sarah Metts Reporter SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY, Pa. — Ten people remain unidentified in coroner cases across a 10-county central Pennsylvania coverage area, according to a survey of county coroners’ offices. Five are known as John Doe and five as Jane Doe, placeholder names used when a person’s identity is unknown or not shared. Statewide, Pennsylvania has 370 unidentified persons cases , according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs. Advertisement The 10 local cases are in Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties. Dauphin County has three active cases, according to its coroner’s office. One involves a jaw and another a hand. The third is a John Doe case dating to 1986; the remains were exhumed in 2024. Lancaster County has six active unidentified remains cases: two Jane Does and four John Does. The oldest is a John Doe case from 1975, the county coroner said. York County has one case, known as Jane Doe Fairview. The search for Jane Doe Fairview’s identity Skeletal remains were found in woods along Pleasant View Road in Fairview Township on Dec. 9, 2024. Fairview Township police believe the bones had been there much longer. York County Coroner Tania Zech said Mercyhurst University assisted with the collection of the remains. Bones were the only accessible source of DNA in the case, and scientists worked to extract it to help establish characteristics of the unidentified person. Zech said investigators receive reports with information such as an estimated age range and ethnicity. They then enter what they have learned into NamUs, where the information becomes available to the public. “As other individuals are missing loved ones, they can go there and do comparisons,” Zech said. A difficult process Identifying remains can take time, particularly when investigators have few clues about who a person was or where they came from. “When you find someone out in a field, someone in an industrial area and it’s just skeletal remains, there’s no pocketbook, there’s no wallet, there’s nothing,” Zech said. “It’s not easy. It’s not quick. It does take time.” Investigators may use fingerprints, DNA, tattoos, scars or medical records to help identify someone, she said. In one case, her office compared radiology images of implanted medical devices. For some unidentified people, the wait lasts years. Active Cases York County Jane Doe 2024: Skeletal remains found on December 9th, 2024, in the 300 block of Pleasant View Road in Fairview Township. Mercyhurst Forensic Anthropology Lab conducted the recovery and analysis of the remains. NamUs lists her physical description as someone with blonde or strawberry hair and between the ages of 30 and 60. Investigators found her wearing two jackets, a Nike T-shirt, two bras, two pairs of pants, and knee-high socks. Near the body they found, Nike sneakers and black eyeglass frames. Dauphin County John Doe 1986: Found on April 28th, 1986, along the Susquehanna River, in Reed Township. NamUs says the remains were in a state of decomposition/putrefaction. John Doe was found wearing a red/blue flannel with a white shirt and tan cardigan-style sweater. NamUs states he was wearing a khaki military-style jacket vest with brown webbed belt, and brown boots. It says he also had a plastic gold crucifix around his neck. The Dauphin County coroner says John Doe was exhumed in 2024 to attempt identification. Jane Doe 2020: Found on February 13th, 2020, under brush along Front Street in Susquehanna Township. The Dauphin County coroner says just a lower jawbone was found. Near the mandible was a darker-colored scarf. NamUs has Jane Doe's estimated age range as 19-49 years old. Jane Doe 2025: Found on August 17th, 2025, at the UPS warehouse in Lower Swatara Township. NamUs says just the Jane Doe's hand was inside an unmarked box at the distribution center. The coroner's office says all 3 cases have been processed for DNA, and genealogy studies are currently being conducted. Lancaster County John Doe 1975: Found by a fisherman on a riverbank of the Susquehanna River on November 19th, 1975. NamUs says the John Doe was located approximately 3 miles north of Safe Harbor in Manor Township. The only physical descriptions given are race and ethnicity, which are listed as black/African American. Clothing found with the remains includes a jacket, shirt and undershirt, pants, undershorts, stockings and boots. John Doe 1986: A 'badly' decomposed body was found by a boater on March 18, 1986, on Weise Island in the Susquehanna River. NamUs lists a physical description as an African American adult male, around 6'1" and 190 lbs. John Doe was wearing blue jeans, underwear, a belt, green socks, and New Balance sneakers. His estimated age range is 20-40 years old. John Doe 1999: Body found on August 1, 1999, along Route 441 after a crash. The coroner says John Doe was hit by a vehicle while trying to cross the road, suffering traumatic injuries. NamUs says he was previously seen in Columbia, Marietta and W. Hempfield Township prior to accident. They believe he was around 5'4", 130 lbs and 60-75 years old. Jane Doe 2003: An infant born just days before being found in a burn bin at an Amish School in Strasburg, on December 31, 2003. Investigators say Amish students discovered the infant, whose throat had been cut. NamUs lists blue eyes as her only physical description. She is often referred to as "Baby Allison." Jane Doe 2025: A human skull was recovered along the Cocalico Creek in West Earl Township, on June 12th, 2025. She is believed to be a white female between 40 and 65 years old. NamUs says no mandible (lower jawbone) was recovered with the skull. During the search of the creek, another skull was found. John Doe 2025: A skull found on June 20th, 2025, during a search along Cocalico Creek. The John Doe is believed to be between the ages of 35 and 60. Four days after this skull was found, NamUs opened up a case. The Lancaster County coroner says five of these cases are in the process of genetic genealogy. Still Searching: 24 years after Victor Melendez was murdered Still Searching: What happened to Shane Allen Workman? 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