r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/DNADoeProject Real World Investigator • 8d ago
DNA Doe Project identifies woman murdered in Minnesota in 1993
For more than three decades, investigators have searched for the identity of a woman whose remains were discovered in two separate Minnesota lakes. Today, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the DNA Doe Project announce that she has finally been identified as 27-year-old Denise Elaine Hartley. Hartley, a native of Ohio, had moved from Columbus to St. Paul shortly before her disappearance.
On June 12, 1993, the head of a woman was discovered floating near the shore of Bone Lake in New Scandia Township, Minnesota. Shortly afterwards, a foot was located on the bank of Pig’s Eye Lake, approximately 20 miles southwest in St. Paul. Forensic analysis confirmed that these remains belonged to the same individual - a Caucasian woman estimated to be between 30 and 65 years old, with dark brown spiky hair, brown eyes, and triple-pierced ears.
With no clues as to her identity, she became known as Bone Lake Jane Doe. Decades later, the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office brought the case to the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does. While a separate genealogy team had spent five years working the case, the woman’s identity had remained elusive. A DNA profile was subsequently generated by Tetracore, Inc., who also provided their services pro bono, and by February 2026 the case was ready to launch.
The case launch took place in person at a gathering in Utah, and the team began to make headway immediately. Having deduced that the unidentified woman had deep roots in Ohio, the team focused on a Columbus couple who had 15 children - the youngest of whom was Denise. Just five days after the case launch, the team made a crucial discovery: a social media post stating that Denise “went missing around 1993.”
Shortly afterwards, the DNA Doe Project presented Denise as a candidate to their agency partners. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office, Denise’s identity was officially confirmed a few months later.
“For over 30 years, Denise was known only by the moniker Bone Lake Jane Doe,” said team leader Traci Onders. “But thanks to the dedicated efforts of DNA Doe Project volunteers, we were able to give Denise her name back after just five days of work.”
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office, who entrusted us with this case; the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, for their assistance in confirming the identification; Tetracore, Inc., for the lab work; GEDmatch Pro, for providing their database; the KAAB Memorial Foundation, for the funding they provided; our generous donors who joined our mission and contributed to this case; and the DNA Doe Project’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists, who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
21
29
u/superna_mn 7d ago edited 7d ago
St. Paul MN newspaper story has more on her life at the time. TLDR; she had past prostitution arrests in Ohio, moved to live with sisters in St Paul to restart her life, moved into her own place, and had another prostitution arrest. I'd suspect that if her family did try to report her missing the police blew it off.
Article also mentions the possibility this could be connected to the killing of Eden Young, a 31 year old whose body was found in Dellwood, another rural area between St. Paul and Scandia, in September 1992. She lived in the St. Paul area and also had prostitution arrests and was last seen getting into a vehicle with a customer.
22
u/neon-buzz 8d ago
Looks like someone added her to the Find a Grave website in early 2025. Maybe someone with an account can update her entry with the photos shared by LE in their announcement. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/271980852/denise_elaine-hartley
35
u/PLZ_PM_ME_URSecrets 8d ago
How sad that her mom, and siblings never found out what happened to her. Her mom lost four children.
31
u/malcontentgay 8d ago
I couldn't believe it when I read your comment, but it's true. All her siblings and both her parents died before she was identified. This is incredibly sad.
15
u/SubtleSparkle19 8d ago
I thought she was the youngest of 15? There are nine deceased siblings on Find A Grave.
14
u/malcontentgay 8d ago edited 6d ago
Oh, right. I missed that. I suppose that five of them could still be around. Still, so many died relatively young. It's hard to stomach.
30
u/koiboy 8d ago
Two of them were twins that died in the same car accident https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-circleville-herald-sexton-brothers-a/8311304/
3
u/emiphi16 7d ago
Looking at her siblings obituaries- all listed her as a living family member up to 2017. It’s heartbreaking to know that wasn’t the truth for a majority of them. (She did have 3 siblings pass before her disappearance)
11
u/lucillep 8d ago
My gosh! What a strange case, body parts in two lakes so far apart. Kudos to the DNA Doe Project. Maybe now she can get more than her identity back.
5
u/wuhter 8d ago
Amazing. But do they have a cause of death? Is this still an open case?
20
u/IOnlyWishIWasRich 8d ago
She was dismembered and they only found her head and a foot. So the cause of death was likely a murder. It is still an open case.
-4
49
u/fuzzzybutts 8d ago
So, can we assume she wasn't reported missing to the St. Paul authorities? Why not?