Description
On May 3, 1975 a local farmer discovered the remains of an unidentified woman floating in the Nation River a short distance from the Highway 417 bridge south of the Town of Casselman, about 40 miles east of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ontario Provincial Police found blood on the bridge and speculate she was thrown into the river from the eastbound lanes of Highway 417 of the bridge. The deceased had been strangled with a flat plastic covered television cable. Her hands and ankles had been bound with men’s neckties, and her face had been wrapped with a tea towel. Officials described the woman as Caucasian, aged 25-50 years old, 5’2″ to 5’8″ in height, approximately 100 lbs., average build, and having brown hair that was dyed a reddish blond. Evidence indicated she had been in the river since the late summer of 1974
NamUs ID: None
Date Body Found: May 3, 1975
Race: White / Caucasian, Other
Gender: Female
Estimated Age: 25-50
Estimated PMI: 6-9 months
Location: Casselman, ON
Agency of Jurisdiction
Ontario Provincial Police
Janice Mulcock, Detective Constable
613-591-2296
[email protected]
Links to More Information
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/239ufon.html
https://www.services.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/missing-disparus/case-dossier.jsf?case=2005001199&id=0
https://www.quintenews.com/2017/08/01/opp-re-open-40-year-old-murder-case-nation-river-lady/153812/
Status: Identified
Casselman, Ontario – The DNA Doe Project, working with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), has identified Lalla Jewell Parchman (Langford), previously known as Nation River Lady. Ms Parchman’s remains were found on May 3, 1975 floating in the Nation River south of the town of Casselman in Ontario, Canada. Attempts by local and provincial authorities to identify her over the years were unsuccessful, and the case went cold.
Lalla Jewell Parchman Langford
In early 2019, OPP contacted the DNA Doe Project for help on the case. A DNA profile was developed and uploaded to the genetic genealogy databases at GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA in 2020. By researching matches from these sites and conducting an extensive search of available records, DDP’s team of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists targeted Langford as a likely candidate within a few weeks.
“We were incredibly lucky with a couple of elements in this case: we had a couple matches that are fairly closely related to our Nation River Lady and once we got close, we uncovered newspaper articles specifically mentioning Jewell Langford’s disappearance. She was practically there waiting for us to find her,” said Team Leader C. Lauritsen. “The heartbreaking part is that Jewell’s mother clearly searched for her for years and unfortunately died not knowing what happened to her daughter.”
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case:Detective Inspector Daniel Nadeau, Detective Constable (Ret.) Janice Mulcock, and the Ontario Provincial Police; Dr. Kathy Gruspier, Forensic Anthropologist with the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service; HudsonAlpha Discovery for sequencing; Dr. Gregory Magoon, contracting through Full Genomes Corporation for bioinformatics work; GEDmatch and FTDNA for providing their databases; and the DNA Doe Project’s team of talented investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/nation-river-lade-cold-case-1.6895262
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/06/americas/nation-river-lady-missing-woman-identified-canada/index.html
Image Credit: Duncan Way, OPP Forensic Artist
Last Updated: July 6, 2023
