Aerial view of the wreck from the 1971 Salem, Illinois derailment. Credit: NTSB
Two people whose remains had gone unidentified since the 1971 Tonti train wreck have now been identified as 35-year-old Katherine Marcelin and her 3-year-old daughter Gladys “Gigi” Adams.
The 1971 Salem, Illinois derailment occurred on June 10, 1971, when Amtrak’s City of New Orleans passenger train derailed. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the derailment was caused by a false flange on a flat wheel caused by a seized axle bearing. With 211 passengers on board, the crash killed 11 and injured 163. Six of the eleven fatalities occurred when passengers were ejected through large side windows. Every victim was identified in the aftermath—except one.
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—University of Missouri journalism student Henry Morton—proposed that investigative genetic genealogy be utilized to identify the final victim. Specifically, he asked the local authorities to bring the case to the DNA Doe Project.
The City of Salem approved an exhumation of the remains. Funds were provided by both the city and DNA Doe Project donors to cover the costs of the exhumation and the lab work.
On June 12, 2025, the unidentified remains were exhumed so DNA samples could be collected for forensic analysis. In a surprising development, forensic anthropologists present at the disinterment realized 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.
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 3-year-old daughter who died alongside her in the crash.
The family has authorized the public release of the names Katherine Marcelin and Gladys “Gigi” Adams. However, they continue to request privacy, and no additional identifying information about the victims or their surviving relatives will be released at this time.
Although their bodies were not recovered at the time, Katherine and Gigi were known victims of the crash and were counted in the death toll. Now, the death toll is known to be one less. Additionally, advocates for the “unknown victim” no longer need to worry about a family out there searching for a missing relative, all while the remains of Katherine and Gladys can finally be returned to their loved ones.
The family has expressed its appreciation for the work of everyone involved and plans to visit Salem to meet privately with several of the project’s partners.
“When Henry first approached the City with this idea, we saw an opportunity to pursue answers to a question that had remained unresolved for more than five decades,” said City of Salem Mayor Nic Farley. “We could not have known where the work would lead, but Henry’s initiative and the commitment of every partner made this result possible. The Salem community has cared for their remains since 1971, and we are grateful that Katherine and Gladys have finally had their names restored.”
This project demonstrates what can be accomplished when individual initiative, community cooperation and modern forensic science come together. What began with a college student asking whether a 55-year-old mystery could still be solved grew into a partnership involving local government, the county coroner, community businesses, forensic anthropologists and forensic genealogy experts.
Republished from the City of Salem and DNA Doe Project