Do you know this woman?

Submitted photoUPDATED SKETCH: This is the latest forensic sketch of an unidentified female murder victim found at I-65 and Ind. 47 in 1992.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System has released an updated rendering of a murder victim found 26 years ago. Boone County officials hope the sketch for “Jane Doe,” as she has been named, will help jog someone’s memory as to the identity of the woman. The updated drawing from a forensic artist is based on DNA characteristics and bone data recovered.

The victim was found May 3, 1992, apparently dumped in the weeds off the Interstate 65 northbound on ramp from Indiana 47.

“She was dumped like a piece of trash,” Boone County Sheriff’s Det. Mike Beard told the web-based show "True Crime Daily" in 2015. “She’s lying face down in a side ditch and unclothed.”

Officials say the woman, determined to be between the ages of 17 to 24, was wearing a yellow tank top and had several tattoos. She had “MOM” tattooed on her upper right arm and “LOVE” tattooed on her right breast. The victim had reddish-brown hair, cut very short. Investigators aren’t even sure what she died from. There are no gunshot or stab wounds. Speculation is centered on strangulation.

NamUs is a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified and unclaimed person cases administered by the National Institute of Justice and the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The resources are free to law enforcement. NamUs suggested an updated forensic drawing of her face based on bone structure.

After an initial investigation, the woman was buried in an unmarked grave outside the jail. She has been exhumed twice for further tests. In 2015, the University of Indianapolis tested isotopes from the bones. The tests revealed that Jane Doe was possibly born in New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York or Pennsylvania. In the weeks before her death, she was in southwest Indiana.

“This case has haunted this office for over two decades,” Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen said in a press release from the department. “We desperately want to solve this horrible crime. We will continue to do everything in our power to bring resolve to this case, we owe it to Jane Doe and her family. We will never forget Jane Doe.”

Officials are asking if anyone has any information on the identity of the woman or details surrounding the crime from 1992 to contact the Boone County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division by calling 765-482-1412 ext. 8 or by emailing to TIPS@co.boone.in.us.

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