A person found dead in an Illinois cornfield in 1991 has been identified as a Chicago-area woman more than a decade after authorities began re-examining the cold case.
An investigation relying on a posthumous DNA sample led to the identification of Paula Ann Lundgren last week. Now authorities hope they can piece together more details about her life and the circumstances of her death.
Over the decades, the case was investigated by three sheriffs and four coroners, according to the LaSalle County Coroner’s Office .
“All have worked tirelessly on this case for over three decades. As well as their many staff members. Hundreds of leads had been vetted out, flyers and communications were sent across the U.S. and Canada hoping to identify the unknown ‘Jane Doe,’ the office said.
Her body was exhumed in 2013 to obtain DNA and employ investigative methods not in use in the early 1990s. And in 2019, a professor at Illinois Valley Community College used investigative genetic genealogy to produce a list of the woman’s possible living relatives.