Description
On October 1, 1985 a highway mowing crew discovered human skeletal remains in a brush-covered gully on the south side of I-20 east of the Highway 69 N exit in Smith County, Texas. Clothes wadded in a pile next to the body included a yellow pullover shirt with the logo “Top Rail Country Music Dallas TX”; white Dickies® shorts; red bikini panties; and canvas sandals. In the soil near the body were a gold butterfly earring and a gold Pulsar wristwatch. The Crime Forensics Laboratory in Dallas determined the remains to be that of a White/Caucasian female, possibly of Indian or Polynesian descent with reddish brown hair in a ponytail; age 20-25; 5’5” to 5’ 7” tall; weighing 110-125 lbs. No cause of death could be determined. It is estimated the woman had died 12-15 months prior to being found. The location of the remains suggested to the investigator the body was purposely hidden.
NamUs ID: UP4491
Date Body Found: October 1, 1985
Race: White/Caucasian
Gender: Female
Estimated Age: 20-25
Estimated PMI: 12-15 Months
Location: Smith County, Texas
Agency of Jurisdiction
Smith County Sheriff’s Department
David Turner, Civilian Investigator
903-590-2696
[email protected]
Link to More Information
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/4491/
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Smith_County_Jane_Doe_(1985)
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/77uftx.html
Status: Identified
Doe-Nate Fund Goal:
This case was funded by our generous donors. Funds donated paid for operational support of our volunteer team of investigative genetic genealogists. DNA Doe Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Sindy Gina Crow
After more than 39 years, the long-standing mystery surrounding the identity of Smith County Jane Doe 1985 has been resolved. The Texas Department of Public Safety, in collaboration with local law enforcement, forensic experts, and the DNA Doe Project, has successfully identified the former Jane Doe as Sindy Gina Crow.
In October 1985, a highway mowing crew made the grim discovery of human skeletal remains in a brush-covered gully on the south side of I-20 in Smith County, Texas. Without any identification, the case quickly went cold, and would remain so until 2021 when investigators with the Smith County Sheriff’s Department brought the case to the DNA Doe Project to try investigative genetic genealogy to learn her identity.
A forensic assessment conducted by investigators with the Crime Forensics Laboratory in Dallas concluded that the remains belonged to a White/Caucasian young woman, between 20-25 years old with reddish-brown hair tied in a ponytail. They estimated she was 5’5″-5’7″ tall and 110-125 lbs. Investigators felt her remains had been purposely concealed, and had been in the location where she was found for 12-15 months.
The DNA Doe Project, a national nonprofit organization, worked with specialty labs to produce a DNA profile that was uploaded to the databases at GEDmatch Pro and FTDNA – two consumer websites that allow law enforcement cases. Then, a team of 15 volunteer investigative genetic genealogists came together on a weekend in October 2023 to analyze the DNA matches to Jane Doe and build her family tree. In a matter of hours, they had found the branch of Sindy Crow, and were unable to find any proof of life for her after 1985.
Investigative genetic genealogy work is often stalled when the unknown person’s ancestry includes recent immigration, or they are a person of color. Access to records and underrepresentation of these populations in the databases make these cases especially difficult to research. With a father born in Italy and a Hispanic mother, this case should have been nearly impossible. One great match made the difference.
“We had one great match that pointed us in the right direction,” said team leader Rhonda Kevorkian. “All other matches were distant relatives. Without that great match, this would have taken much longer.”
“We happened to be working together in person for this case and, as the night wore on, it felt like we couldn’t take a break until we were confident she was our candidate,” said team member Emily Bill, who had traveled from California to
DDP Volunteers resolved this case in a matter of hours at an in-person retreat in 2023.
Texas to work on this case. “Ultimately, we returned to the same conclusion again and again, and we all went to bed that night knowing Sindy was our Smith County Jane Doe.”
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; Astrea Forensics for extraction of DNA from hair and bone, whole-genome sequencing, and financial support; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FTDNA for providing their databases; our generous donors who joined our mission and contributed to this case; and DDP’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
Last Updated: April 17, 2024
