Cold Case Closed: 1988 'New Buffalo Jane Doe' Identified as Dorothy Glanton of Chicago
Michigan authorities and volunteer genealogists have identified the woman whose remains washed ashore near New Buffalo on Lake Michigan in April 1988. Long referred to as the "New Buffalo Jane Doe," the victim has been named as Dorothy Glanton, 71, of Chicago, Illinois.
Glanton was reported missing after leaving her Chicago home on December 9, 1987; her remains were recovered on April 8, 1988. Decades of investigative efforts at the time were unable to produce a positive identification.
In 2023 the Michigan State Police submitted the case to the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. Volunteers generated a DNA profile, uploaded it to two genetic genealogy databases, and then built an extensive family tree that led to Dorothy Glanton.
"Unfortunately, these kinds of mistakes were relatively common in the era prior to DNA analysis and the widespread use of forensic anthropology," the DNA Doe Project said, noting that the original 1988 assessment — that the Jane Doe was a white woman in her 40s or 50s — was incorrect. The genealogy work showed she was a Black woman in her 70s.
The team said tracing ancestry for Black families is especially challenging when records must be followed back to the era of enslavement, and that the erroneous age estimate initially sent researchers down the wrong branch of the family tree. "At first, we thought we were looking for a daughter of Dorothy, based on the expected age of the deceased," said team leader Lisa Needler.
Volunteers eventually located Glanton’s family history. She was born and raised in Alabama and moved to Chicago with her family in the 1920s as part of the Great Migration.
A poignant clue found during the search was a newspaper advertisement placed in August 1988 by a relative on behalf of Glanton's elderly mother. The ad read, "Your mother is ill, lonely & afraid" and "she needs you desperately." "Unfortunately, Dorothy’s body had already been found a few months beforehand," co-team leader Robin Espensen said.
The Michigan State Police credited several partners for their assistance: Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (exhumation and sample collection); Astrea Forensics, HudsonAlpha Discovery, and Kevin Lord (DNA processing and analysis); and the New Buffalo Police Department, Illinois State Police, and the Chicago and Evanston police departments for investigative collaboration.
This identification highlights the growing impact of genetic genealogy and modern forensic methods in resolving cold cases and providing answers to families long left waiting for closure.
