Lebanon County, PA – A 51-year-old mystery has finally been solved — but new questions are emerging in the case of 14-year-old Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, whose remains were found on a military base in 1973.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Ruth was identified in October 2024 after decades of investigation and modern forensic advances. For years, she was known only as the “Lebanon County Jane Doe,” discovered by game wardens off Moonshine Road near Fort Indiantown Gap in Union Township.
Her remains were found under a tarp and brush, partially decomposed. Despite repeated investigative efforts and even a facial reconstruction, her identity remained a mystery until police exhumed her remains in 2016 for new DNA testing…