Jane Doe - New Lenox Illinois - 1981

Sometime in the fall of 1980 or early in 1981 - a young woman was taken nude from an auto traveling on the east-bound side of Interstate 80 in a rural area of Will County, Illinois and tossed over the side of the road. Her body lay undiscovered, except by the animals that carried off pieces as food or nesting material, until Spring.

On a cold, overcast Easter Sunday in 1981 a man searching for cans came across her remains. By the time the police arrived to check on the man's gruesome discovery, a cold chilly rain was falling.

Lt. William Ferguson of the Will County Coroner's office, along with the Illinois State Police did a remarkable job of trying to identify the young woman. Forensic reconstruction of unidentifed persons was in its infancy when Lt. Ferguson decided to send the victim's skull to Colorado to Dr Michael Charney at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins. Dr. Charney's reconstruction of what the victim may have looked like is pictured above.

The photo of the reconstruction was sent to other law enforcement agencies, to local papers and a wire service. A few leads came in - some from as far as Pennsylvania, but none matched. The young woman was buried, the last mention of her in the media came in July 1981 - 3 months after she was found...and then she was forgotten.

But was she really? Wasn't there someone still looking for her? Her parents, perhaps? A sibling, a neighbor, a friend? Was she from Illinois or did someone passing through find the rural, lightly traveled interstate the perfect place to dispose of her body?

What is known about Jane Doe is that she was probably 25 to 30 years old, roughly 5'5" to 5'7" tall, and 100 to 125 pounds. She probably had long hair - either blonde or light brown. At some point her nose may have been fractured. She had dental work performed. She was someone's child.

'Little Boy Blue...DuPage Johnny Doe' RIP

DuPage Johnny Doe - Rest in Peace

DuPage Johnny Doe

Dupage Johnny Doe

Dupage Johnny Doe
Vital Statistics
Estimated age: 3 - 5 years old
Approximate Height and Weight: 3' 2 1/2"; 25-30 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: East Asian/American Indian derived from Hispanic or Tribal Indian heritage. He is not African-American. The NCMEC lists his race as "Hispanic or White/Hispanic". He had black hair.
Clothing: He was wearing a navy blue collarless shirt with three buttons (size 2T) and navy blue pants with a nylon cotton blend shell with a white liner (size 4T). The brand name of his clothing, Faded Glory, is sold exclusively by Wal-Mart.
DNA: Available
Case History The victim was located in a blue canvas laundry bag with a white drawstring top in the area of Rt. 59 & I-88 DuPage County, near Naperville, Illinois on October 8, 2005.

Johnny Doe Tribute

Producer: "Help Me Find Them" in association with The Doe Network

He is "Dupage Johnny Doe"...for now. Somewhere he has a mother and father - siblings, perhaps. Maybe grandparents or aunts and uncles, cousins. Somewhere a neighbor passed him on the street, a clerk in a store smiled at him or a stranger patted his head. He would have been learning to speak - spanish perhaps or english. He probably had a favorite toy or a favorite blanket -but none accompanied him.

He was dressed in blue Faded Glory pants and a matching shirt and placed in a blue canvas laundry bag and abandoned on the side of a road..2 years ago. He was found on October 8th, 2005. Since then investigators with the Dupage County Sheriff's Office have worked tirelessly to identify him.

As a parent, I cannot fathom how this little boy could have been discarded but it's not my place to judge how or why it happened. Someone needs to do the right thing now. This little boy didn't live in a vacuum - someone came in contact with him. Extended family, family friends, neighbors, a store clerk, a nurse...someone has to realize that he is no longer where he should be. Someone needs to make the call - as heart wrenching, as painful as it might be - it's the right thing to do.

Now, he will be buried, surrounded by some of the people that have tried so hard to give him back his given name.

Funeral services will be held Monday, October 15, 2007 at 2:00 PM at Assumption
Cemetary, 1 S 610 Winfield Road, Wheaton Illinois.

One of my fellow Doe Network members has put her incredible spiritual presence into the video you see here - her tribute to this child - and it is my fervent hope that someone will find the strength and the courage within it and themselves to finally make the call that gives this little boy back his identity.

He is someone's child.