DNA Doe Project helps to solve final mystery of the Tonti train wreck
Remains found after 1971 crash identified as mother and daughter from Chicago
Tonti, IL – Fifty-five years after an Amtrak passenger train crashed in Tonti, Illinois, the DNA Doe Project and their agency partners have solved the final mystery of the disaster. Remains found at the scene of the crash were long thought to belong to an additional, unidentified victim of the derailment. However, it has now been revealed that they belonged to 34-year-old Katherine Adams and 3-year-old Gladys Adams, a mother and daughter from Chicago who were known to have died in the disaster.
Katherine and Gladys Adams
On June 10, 1971, an Amtrak passenger train derailed near Tonti, Illinois. Amtrak had only begun operating the month beforehand, so this derailment became the first fatal incident in their history. Eleven people were thought to have been killed in the crash, with one of these victims remaining unidentified.
In the decades that followed, the local community took care of the unknown victim’s grave and became invested in finding answers. But it wasn’t until early 2025 that a local resident, Henry Morton, proposed that investigative genetic genealogy be utilized to identify this final victim. Specifically, he asked the local authorities to bring this case to the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit whose investigative genetic genealogists work to identify John and Jane Does.
The City of Salem, where the unidentified victim had been laid to rest, approved an exhumation of the remains. Funds were provided by both the city and the DNA Doe Project’s donors to cover the costs of the exhumation and the lab work, before the remains were exhumed in June 2025. However, in a surprising development, forensic anthropologists present at the disinterment realised that two sets of remains had been buried in the grave – one belonging to an adult woman and one belonging to a child.
Both sets of remains underwent testing and, by June 2026, DNA profiles had been generated for the two individuals. After these profiles were uploaded to the GEDmatch PRO database, the DNA Doe Project team reviewed the DNA results and made two important discoveries – the child victim was a girl and the adult victim was her mother.
Furthermore, the DNA Doe Project team had carried out some front-end research in advance of the DNA profiles being generated. This research involved building out the family trees of the known victims of the crash, in case any of the remains belonged to a previously identified victim.
Sure enough, within just a few hours, researchers found familial connections between the unknown mother and daughter and one of the families they’d already looked into. Further analysis led the team to conclude that the adult victim was Katherine Adams, a native of New Orleans who had settled in Chicago. The child victim was subsequently identified as Gladys Adams, Katherine’s three year old daughter who died alongside her in the crash.
The DNA Doe Project presented these findings to their agency partners, who then reached out to the surviving relatives of Katherine and Gladys. The identifications were soon confirmed, proving definitively that there was no unknown victim of the Tonti train wreck.
“To solve a case from 1971, we utilized both historical records and modern technology,” said team leader Gwen Knapp. “Thanks to the people of Salem, who never forgot about the victims of the crash, we were finally able to put a 55-year-old mystery to bed.”
While this news came as a shock to all involved, the death toll from the crash is thankfully now known to be one lower than previously thought. Additionally, advocates for the unknown victim no longer need to worry about a family out there searching for a missing relative, while the remains of Katherine and Gladys can finally be returned to their loved ones.
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the City of Salem and the Marion County Coroner’s Office, for entrusting us with this case; Henry Morton, for his advocacy for this case; the Crouse Funeral Home and the Merz Vault Company, for their assistance during the exhumation; Dr. Amy Michael of the University of New Hampshire and Dr. Jennifer Bengtson of Southeast Missouri State University, for their forensic anthropology work; Astrea Forensics, for the DNA extraction; Azenta Life Sciences, for the sequencing; GEDmatch Pro, for providing their database; 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 John and Jane Does home.
Description:
On June 10, 1971, an Amtrak train derailed near Tonti, Illinois – the first fatal accident after Amtrak took control of all passenger trains in the US the month before. Eleven people died in the crash, including one who remained unidentified. In 2025, a journalism student from the University of Missouri learned about the case, and made it his mission to identify this Doe. Upon exhumation, investigators confirmed that there were remains from at least two people interred together. This is the first Doe, believed to be a juvenile.
NamUs ID:
None
Date Body Found:
June 11, 1971
Race:
Unknown
Sex:
Unknown
Estimated Age:
Juvenile
Estimated PMI:
Hours
Agency of Jurisdiction:
City of Salem
Matt Wilzbach
618-548-6500
matt.wilzbach@danielswilzbach.com
More Information:
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/03/04/salem-college-student-makes-case-for-exhuming-body-of-unknown-victim-of-1971-tonti-train-wreck/
https://csanders429.wordpress.com/2022/02/05/tonti-site-of-amtraks-first-fatal-derailment/
Status:
Identified
Last Updated: August 19, 2026
