Dismembered remains exhumed in Oregon’s oldest unidentified person cold case

CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. (TCN) — Investigators are working to identify a victim whose remains were found nearly 80 years ago.

According to a news release from the Oregon State Police, the partial remains of a woman were discovered in a burlap sack in the Willamette River in April 1946. Authorities located additional remains in July and October near Willamette Falls, the McLoughlin Bridge, and near the original site.

Investigators determined the victim was likely a middle-aged woman, and her cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. She had reportedly been dismembered following her death before her remains were placed in multiple burlap sacks and dumped in the river.

According to police, the victim’s remains went missing from law enforcement custody in the 1950s, and her identity remained unknown. She became known as only “Oak Grove Jane Doe.” 

Authorities recently determined that the victim’s remains were likely at Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City. In a Sept. 22 news release, investigators said they exhumed the victim’s partial remains and will perform advanced forensic testing and analysis in the hope of positively identifying her.

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