The case of an unidentified girl illustrates forensic reconstruction techniques.

A young woman’s body was found nine years ago in Tempe, Arizona, and to this day no one has come forward to identify her. She was discovered on the morning of April 2, 2002. Who is she?

With approximately 40,000 to 60,000 unidentified remains and approximately 109,000 missing persons throughout the nation, it is difficult to answer this question.We now have many different resources that can be utilized to help solve missing persons cases. Forensic art is one of them.

Circumstances
This unidentified Jane Doe died of a drug overdose not long after hitching a ride near 32nd Street and Greenway Road in Phoenix. Her death was caused by cocaine intoxication, and it was ruled neither a homicide nor an accident. The driver of the vehicle who picked her up hitchhiking said that she spoke to him in Spanish. She told him that her mother had kicked her out of their home due to drugs. He dropped her off and the paramedics found her dead body lying on the ground the next day. Her DNA has been entered into the CODIS national database and a copy of her dental x-rays are presently on file.

The unidentified Jane Doe is of Latino, Native American, or biracial descent. She was approximately five feet tall, 125 pounds, with brown eyes, and straight dark hair that fell inches past her shoulders. She was found wearing a bright red halter top, blue jeans with distinctive hollow silver medallions on them, and blue underwear (an item that can be a great identifier). There was an elastic hair tie around her wrist, and she wore faded purple nail polish.

There was one black shoe left by her body. Her shoe was a size 6.5 with a 3-inch wedge heel. The detectives did not note the brand of shoe. If they had, it might have been possible to determine the manufacturer, what locations their shoes were sold, and possibly the location from which that shoe was purchased. This could have provided a clue to where our Jane Doe lived.

The medical examiner estimated her age to be approximately 15–19 years. Medical examiners typically consider a broad age range when estimating the age of any unidentified John or Jane Doe. This victim was estimated to have been approximately 17 years old at the time of her death.

Scars and moles are important identifiers on any unidentified This young woman had a scar on her left shoulder and another on the back of her left hand. The scar on her hand is in a distinct “L” shape.