In June 1979, an unknown female was found on an embankment between the Juniata River and the eastbound lanes of Route 22/322 in Watts Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania. The woman’s remains were estimated to be a white female aged between 15 and 30 years old with light brown to blonde, medium length hair. Investigators estimated that the victim was 5’6” tall and weighed 125 pounds. The cause of death could not be determined. However, investigators categorized the case as a suspicious death because of the circumstances of the find.

The victim was found with multiple pieces of turquoise jewelry including a ring, necklace and a pair of earrings. 

She also had an onyx ring and a ring with turquoise and onyx with probable Southwest Native American connections and probably coming from the New Mexico/Arizona area. The victim was buried at the time of her discovery.

After more than 40 years, the investigation into the woman’s death was effectively stalled and the victim became known as “Perry County Jane Doe” and “Girl with the Turquoise Jewelry”.

In 2008, the victim’s remains were exhumed so that DNA could be extracted from her remains. In 2009, the details of the unknown person’s case were added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP5166. A forensic sketch was also created to depict what the victim may have looked like in life. In 2015, isotope testing by the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute provided further insight into the woman. The isotope testing showed that the victim had likely been in the Southwest United States in the months before her death and that her teeth suggested she likely grew up in the Great Lakes region, possibly in Southern Canada.

In 2023, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Perry County District Attorney’s Office contacted Othram with the hope that the advanced DNA testing would provide enough evidence to identify the “Girl with the Turquoise Jewelry”.

Othram scientists developed a DNA extract from the forensic evidence and used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a DNA profile of the unknown woman. Othram’s in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile to start a genealogical search to generate new leads in the investigation.

With the new evidence, a follow-up investigation was initiated. Investigators were led to potential relatives of the woman and the DNA profile of the Jane Doe was compared with the DNA profile of a potential relative. Othram’s KinSNP Rapid Relationship Testing confirmed the relation and helped the investigators identify the woman as Doris Joanne Girtz of Ravenna/Streetsboro, Ohio. Girtz would have been 23 years old when she disappeared.

A portion of the costs associated with this case were funded by law enforcement with the remaining funds being crowd-funded by the public through a DNASolves crowdfund.

The investigation into the circumstances of Girtz’s disappearance is ongoing and anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact the Pennsylvania State Police by calling 717-671-7500 and referencing case number H5-0149355.

The identification of Doris Girtz is the 11th case in the State of Pennsylvania where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology from Othram.