Nationwide — More than five decades after her body was pulled from the Mississippi River, authorities have identified a teenage homicide victim who had long been known only as “Jane Clinton Doe.” DNA testing confirmed she was Cheryl Lynn Edwards, a 15-year-old girl from Waukegan, Illinois, who disappeared in 1975.
According to ABC 7 Chicago, fishermen discovered Cheryl’s remains in the Mississippi River near Clinton County, Iowa, on April 11, 1975. Investigators determined she had been shot in the head, and an autopsy revealed she was about 10 weeks pregnant when she was killed. Authorities believed she had died earlier that year.
Despite years of investigation, Cheryl’s identity remained a mystery. Known only as Jane Clinton Doe, she was estimated to be between 12 and 23 years old, leaving investigators with few clues about who she was or where she came from.
The case saw new progress when the Iowa Department of Public Safety partnered with the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization that uses genetic genealogy to identify unidentified victims. With support from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, investigators turned to modern DNA analysis in hopes of finally putting a name to the victim.
A major breakthrough came in October 2025 when 16 volunteer genealogists from three countries gathered in Texas to work on the case. Within hours, the team traced family connections to Louisiana and later followed leads that pointed to relatives living near the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
As researchers dug deeper, they identified a Navy veteran who had been living in Waukegan during the 1970s. Records showed he had a daughter, Cheryl Edwards, who was born in San Diego in 1959. The team noticed that Cheryl appeared to vanish from public records during the mid-1970s, making her a strong candidate for the unidentified victim.
Investigators presented their findings to authorities, who contacted one of Cheryl’s relatives. The family member confirmed that Cheryl had disappeared decades earlier. Additional DNA testing later verified that Cheryl and Jane Clinton Doe were the same person.
The identification closes a case that remained unsolved for more than 50 years and gives Cheryl her name back after decades of uncertainty. Authorities credited the DNA Doe Project, law enforcement agencies, forensic experts, and volunteer genealogists whose efforts helped solve the long-running mystery.