In the winter of 1987, a 72-year-old woman named Dorothy Glanton left her home on the 4700 block of South Prairie Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. She informed a family member that she was heading to a local drug store. At the time of her departure, she was wearing a blue hat and a tan jacket. That brief trip to the store would be the last time she was ever seen by her loved ones. The exact date of her disappearance is not definitively known, adding another layer of sorrow to the unfolding events.
Her family reported her missing that same day and in the months that followed, took out newspaper ads pleading for any information regarding her whereabouts. One such ad, published in August 1988, carried the heartbreaking message that her mother was ill and desperately needed her to come home.
Unbeknownst to her grieving family, a tragic discovery had been made months earlier. On April 8, 1988, the body of an unidentified woman was found floating in Lake Michigan, near the shoreline of New Buffalo, Michigan. At the time, forensic capabilities were limited, and initial assessments of the remains were tragically inaccurate. Investigators believed the deceased was a white woman, likely between the ages of 43 and 53. This misidentification sent the investigation in the wrong direction for decades. The cause of death was considered to be drowning, though it could not be determined if it was accidental, intentional, or the result of foul play. For 37 years, this unidentified woman was known only as 'New Buffalo Jane Doe.'
The mystery of Dorothy Glanton's disappearance and the identity of the 'New Buffalo Jane Doe' would remain separate and unsolved cases for nearly four decades. A breakthrough finally came in 2023 when the Michigan State Police reopened the case and partnered with the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit organization specializing in investigative genetic genealogy. Dorothy's body was exhumed from its grave at Crystal Springs Cemetery in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in November 2021 to obtain DNA samples. Through the tireless work of genealogical researchers, a family tree was constructed using the DNA from the unidentified remains. This advanced forensic work ultimately revealed the truth: the 'New Buffalo Jane Doe' was, in fact, Dorothy Glanton. The analysis also corrected the initial erroneous findings, confirming that she was an African American woman in her early 70s at the time of her passing. This long-awaited identification finally brought a measure of closure to a family that had spent decades wondering about the fate of their loved one. The case serves as a poignant example of how advances in technology and the dedication of investigators can bring answers to even the coldest of cases, although the specific circumstances of how Dorothy ended up in Lake Michigan remain unknown.Last Seen: Dec 9, 1987
