A Young Woman’s Skeletal Remains Were Found In A Nearly 100 Year Old Building That Was Demolished, But Her Cause Of Death And Identity Are A Mystery
In 1992, the Rust Craft Greeting Card Company building located in Joliet, Illinois, endured a raging fire that ultimately led to its demolition.
The three-story-tall building had stood tall for nearly one hundred years before the blaze and was often visited by the local homeless community.
Following the fire, the entire property was demolished and had to be excavated in 1995.
All of the removed debris was then relocated to Rockdale, Illinois, where a chilling discovery would be made two years later.
Amongst the stone and brick building remnants, officials also discovered skeletal fragments.
Since the fragments were only partial, pathologists could not determine the victim’s cause of death or complete identity.
Nonetheless, they determined that the victim was a female between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four who passed away after 1986.
Pathologists also believe she stood between five feet and five foot ten inches tall and may have hailed from the Northern Rockies.
With this information, investigators did pursue numerous leads over the years in an effort to identify the woman.
DedMityay – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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Sadly, though, a full facial image could never be developed, and the victim’s case eventually went cold.
As of 2022, though, the Will County Coroner’s Office has partnered with Othram to finally give this victim justice.
Othram is the first and only private laboratory with the ability to “vertically integrate a DNA test and human ID solution that can identify victims, find missing persons, and reveal perpetrators of crimes.”
The collaboration hopes to use advanced forensic DNA testing in order to identify the woman or a close family member.
And while the Will County Coroner’s office has already contributed funding to the cause, the victim’s case is still in dire need of donations due to the high cost of DNA testing.
In turn, a DNASolves crowdfund has been launched to finally identify the victim and close her case after twenty-five years.
The fundraiser has a goal of five thousand dollars to cover the remaining expenses, and so far, it has only received just over nine hundred dollars in donations.
To raise awareness about this cold case or help contribute to the victim’s identification, visit the crowdfund link here.
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