Arroyo Grande Jane Doe

Arroyo Grande Jane Doe, also known as Jane Arroyo Grande Doe, is the name given to an unidentified American murder victim, discovered on October 5, 1980 in Henderson, Nevada. Her identity has never been successfully established. Discovery: At approximately 9:20 PM, October 5, 1980, an unclothed white female between 13 and 25 years old (most likely younger than 19) was found with blunt force trauma to the back of her head (believed to be from a hammer), signs of injury to the face and stab wounds on her head and back. She was found near Arroyo Grande Boulevard, close to state highway 146, where interstate 215 is now. She had been placed in a "posed" position and was face-down. The body was discovered by two men driving on a dirt road, one of whom was an off-duty police officer. Examiners determined that the blade of the weapon, believed to be an ice pick, that was used to stab the victim was around three inches long. The body appeared to have been washed and fragments of a shower curtain were nearby. Her hair was naturally brown, red, or strawberry blond and was shoulder-length. She stood around five feet two inches tall and weighed between 103 and 110 pounds. She had wisdom teeth as well as a gap visible between two teeth on her upper right set. She wore earrings and painted her nails silver. The victim had dental fillings in some of her teeth, showing that she had seen a dentist. Her eyes were a hazel-blue (some sources state green) and a presumably amateur tattoo of an "S" was on the inside of her upper right arm. This tattoo appeared to have been "inked" not long before she died. She likely died a day before she was discovered. The victim had a suture procedure on one of her teeth, which led investigators to believe she was not impoverished. The officer who discovered her body, who was off-duty, donated money for the victim's burial, regularly visits the site with his wife, and donates flowers in her memory. Investigation: Investigators made extensive efforts to get the body of the young woman identified. The victim's fingerprints and dental records were taken but could not be matched to anyone. Eventually, the victim's DNA profile was developed by the University of North Texas and was entered into national databases, which failed to turn up her identity. Television shows broadcast the case in hopes to generate leads, none of which led to her identification or apprehension of her killer or killers. Forensic facial reconstructions were created to provide a likeness of the Jane Doe, which were hoped to generate recognition for those that may have known her. In 2003, her body was exhumed when authorities followed clues to a missing girl from California, who was eventually ruled out by DNA. To date, 11 missing people have been excluded as potential identities for the victim. The body was exhumed in 2002 and 2009 as well. The former coroner for Clark County when the victim's body was found now works with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. He explained that "someone was missing their little girl", and asserted his beliefs that there were individuals that would know who the victim was, citing that he hoped the reconstructions created of the victim would trigger recognition. He explained that the victim's case was one of the reasons that the local department developed a "cold case unit" for its unsolved cases. The officer who found the body described similar feelings about the case. In June 2015, "Arroyo Grande" Jane Doe's case was officially reopened by investigators. On October 5, 2015, the 35th anniversary of her discovery, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released two new reconstructions, one frontal view of the face and the other as the profile. The new image replaced a version that the organization had created.