Remains found in Pennsylvania woods in1973 identified as 14-year-old girl

1973. HERE IN LEBAN COUNTY. UP UNTIL OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR. WELCOME TO THE SECOND HALF HOUR OF WGAL NEWS EIGHT AT NOON. A BREAK IN A 51 YEAR OLD COLD CASE IN LEBANON COUNTY. AND WE’RE GOING TO TAKE YOU LIVE TO A NEWS CONFERENCE THAT’S BEING HELD ABOUT THE CENTER OF THIS MYSTERY. TAKE A COUPLE QUESTIONS, OPEN IT UP TO THE FLOOR. BUT PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS AN ACTIVE AND ONGOING INVESTIGATION. SO SOME DETAILS MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO BE DIVULGED AT THIS TIME. THE INVESTIGATION BEGAN ON OCTOBER 10TH, 1973, WHEN TWO LEBANON COUNTY GAME WARDENS DISCOVERED THE DECEASED BODY OF A YOUNG FEMALE IN A WOODED AREA OFF OF MOONSHINE ROAD NEAR RIDGE AND TOMSTOWN ROAD, UNION TOWNSHIP, LEBANON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. THE YOUNG FEMALE’S REMAINS, WHICH WERE DECOMPOSED, WERE CONCEALED UNDER A PLASTIC TARP AND VARIOUS BRUSH. THE DECEASED WAS DESCRIBED AS A WHITE FEMALE, LONG BROWN AND OR BLOND IN COLOR, HAIR APPROXIMATELY FIVE FOOT 3 TO 5 FOOT SIX. IN HEIGHT, AND A THIN TO AVERAGE BUILD. THE MANNER OF HER DEATH WAS RULED UNDETERMINED. OVER THE YEARS, INVESTIGATORS ATTEMPTED TO IDENTIFY THIS YOUNG FEMALE THROUGH VARIOUS EFFORTS. SOME OF THESE EFFORTS INCLUDED DEVELOPING TWO BUSTS OF WHAT THE YOUNG FEMALE COULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE. ONE BUST WAS COMPLETED THROUGH FORENSIC ANALYSIS, AND THE OTHER BUST WAS A THREE DIMENSIONAL REPRESENTATION. WITH THE HELP OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN. IN MAY OF 2016, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN. THE YOUNG FEMALE WAS EXHUMED FROM MOUNT LEBANON CEMETERY HERE IN LEBANON COUNTY IN HOPES OF LOCATING SOME OTHER FORM OF EVIDENCE THAT WOULD HELP DETERMINE HER IDENTITY. DOCTOR RICK SNOW, A FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST WITH THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN, ASSISTED WITH CAREFULLY REMOVING THE REMAINS OF THE YOUNG FEMALE FROM THE COFFIN. THE REMAINS WERE THEN TRANSPORTED TO LEHIGH VALLEY HOSPITAL, WHERE THEY WERE FURTHER EXAMINED WITH THE ASSISTANCE FROM ESTRELLA LABS AND THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE BUREAU OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION. A POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION WAS MADE IN OCTOBER OF 2024 AS A RESULT OF THEIR EFFORTS, THIS YOUNG FEMALE WILL NO LONGER BE KNOWN AS JANE DOE. SHE WILL BE KNOWN BY HER GIVEN NAME, RUTH ELIZABETH BRENNAMAN. RUTH BRENNAMAN WAS A 14 YEAR OLD FEMALE FROM YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 47 MILES FROM WHERE SHE WAS FOUND. RUTH WAS LAST SEEN IN THE BEGINNING OF THE 1973 SCHOOL YEAR, AFTER SHE LEFT FOR SCHOOL, AND NEVER RETURNED HOME. RUTH BRENNAMAN WAS A YOUNG FEMALE, JUST SHY OF HER 15TH BIRTHDAY, AND KNOWN FOR HER LONG BLOND HAIR. WE CONTINUED TO INVESTIGATE THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING RUTH BRENNAMAN’S DISCOVERY. WE ASK ANYONE WHO KNEW OR WHO HAS INFORMATION ABOUT RUTH BRENNAMAN TO CONTACT THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE. JONESTOWN STATION. AT (717) 865-5067. INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE SUBMITTED THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE TIPS TELEPHONE NUMBER ONE. (800) 472-8477 OR VIA EMAIL. PSP TIPS EMAIL AT GMAIL.COM. THESE TIPS CAN BE ANONYMOUS IF SO DESIRED. NOW THE FAMILY OF RUTH BRENNAMAN HAS PREPARED A STATEMENT. THEY ASK THAT WE READ IT FOR THEM. SO THIS IS WHAT THEY SAID. THE FAMILY WISHES TO EXTEND OUR GRATITUDE TO TROOPER KECK AND THE OTHERS ON THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE TEAM WHO WORKED DILIGENTLY TO IDENTIFY RUTHIE. THEIR WORK HAS PROVIDED US WITH SOME CLOSURE ON QUESTIONS THAT HAVE LINGERED FOR THE PAST 51 YEARS. NOW, NOW, AT THIS TIME, WE WILL OPEN UP TO SOME QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. HOWEVER, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THIS IS AN ONGOING AND ACTIVE INVESTIGATION. SO SOME DETAILS MAY BE NOT BE ABLE TO GIVEN AT THIS TIME. YES, MA’AM. WHAT WAS THE KEY TO MAKING THE CONNECTION? GENEALOGY. AND THAT WAS GATHERED AS A RESULT OF THE EXHUMATION? YES, MA’AM. ARE THERE ANY PERSONS OF INTEREST FOR THIS? THIS DEATH OF THIS CHILD? ONGOING. SO I DON’T WANT TO DIVULGE TOO MUCH INFORMATION. SO WHAT DO YOU KNOW IF IT’S A HOMICIDE OR ANYTHING? WE KNOW THAT THAT’S STILL PENDING THROUGH THE CORONER’S OFFICE. YES, MA’AM. CAN YOU SAY AT THIS POINT THAT THE DEATH WAS SUSPICIOUS? IT WAS AN EQUIVOCAL DEATH, MEANING THERE WAS SOME LEVEL OF SUSPICION TO IT, GIVEN THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, SHE WAS FOUND UNDERNEATH A TARP AND SOME BRUSH. SO, YEAH. CAN YOU GIVE US SOME IDEA OF IF THIS, LIKE WHAT? WHAT LENGTH YOU TOOK TO CONNECT WITH THE FAMILY MEMBERS? TO MAKE THIS MATCH. GENEALOGY IS A VERY COMPLICATED PROCESS, RIGHT? SURE. DID THE BUST LEAD TO SOME OF THOSE EARLIER ATTEMPTS THAT. ASSISTANCE IN THAT REGARD? SURE. I’LL DEFER TO THE LEAD INVESTIGATOR WHO HAS BEEN WORKING ON THIS CASE HERE TO BETTER ANSWER YOUR QUESTION A LITTLE BIT. GOOD AFTERNOON. TROOPER IAN KECK. TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. IT WAS A COMBINATION OF THINGS. BASICALLY. BUT IT WAS GOOD OLD, YOU KNOW, GENEALOGY RESEARCH GOING OUT, INTERVIEWING FAMILY, LOOKING THROUGH OLD ARTICLES, PUBLIC RECORDS OF ARTICLES IN THE NEWSPAPER, AS WELL AS COURT DOCUMENTS. YES, I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS. ONE IS HER FAMILY REFERRED TO HER AS RUTHIE. BECAUSE IN A STATEMENT HE SAID RUTHIE. YES. I MEAN, THEY OFTEN CALLED IT RUTH OR RUTHIE. OFTENTIMES SPEAKING WITH FAMILY, THEY WOULD REFER TO HER AS RUTHIE. YES. AND WAS SHE KNOWN TO BE MISSING? WAS WERE POLICE AWARE THAT THIS 14 YEAR OLD HAD DISAPPEARED AND WAS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR IN 1973, PART OF THE INVESTIGATION IS THAT’S WHAT WE’RE LOOKING INTO. WE’RE STILL TRYING TO YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE’RE TALKING 51 YEARS LATER. WE’RE STILL TRYING TO LOOK THROUGH RECORDS AND DETERMINE THAT. ARE YOU ABLE TO TELL US WHERE IN YOUR COUNTY SHE WAS FROM, OR IS IT NEW YORK CITY? IN YORK COUNTY? AS YOU SAID, SHE WAS LAST SEEN LEAVING SCHOOL ONE DAY. I’M SORRY. YEAH. AS SHE. THAT’S THAT’S CORRECT. SHE WAS KNOWN. SHE SHE LEFT THE, YOU KNOW, THE HOME TO TO ATTEND SCHOOL. AND THAT WAS THE LAST CONTACT FAMILY HAD. THAT THAT DAY IN OCTOBER. WE’RE STILL THAT’S STILL INVESTIGATING AS FAR AS THE EXACT DAY. BUT IT WAS EARLY. EARLY THE FALL TIME OF THE BEGINNING OF THAT SCHOOL YEAR, 1973. TROOPER. THERE WAS ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO. THERE WAS A PRESS CONFERENCE. AND SOME NAMES WERE I THINK IT WAS SERGEANT TRADE AT THE TIME MENTIONED THAT THEY NARROWED IT DOWN TO POSSIBLE THREE MISSING RUNAWAY GIRLS FROM THE JONESTOWN HOME FOR WAYWARD GIRLS. THIS OBVIOUSLY WAS NOT ONE OF THEM. SO HOW SURPRISING WAS IT THAT RUTHIE CAME UP AS A MATCH? I, I MEAN, THROUGH THE GENEALOGY, YOU KNOW, THAT WE HAD AND THAT WE WERE FOLLOWING, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, ONCE YOU MAKE THAT CONTACT WITH THE FAMILY, YOU KNOW, IT’S KIND OF THAT MOMENT LIKE, YOU REALIZE WHO WHO YOU WERE, WHO THEY WERE LOOKING FOR, THE WHOLE TIME. SO, YOU KNOW, IT KIND OF BRINGS A SURPRISE TO THE FAMILY. YOU KNOW, IT’S 51 YEARS LATER AND THEY ALWAYS HAD THAT UNANSWERED QUESTION. AND FINALLY, YOU KNOW, WITH THE INVESTIGATION, WE WERE KIND OF ABLE TO GIVE THAT ANSWER TO THEM. DID SHE COME UP? I’M SORRY. DID DID HER NAME COME UP AS AS A POSSIBLE THAT THAT’S STILL WHAT WE’RE LOOKING INTO. THAT’S STILL PART OF THE INVESTIGATION. SO WHAT WAS TAKING THIS PERIOD OF TIME TO FINALLY DO THIS GENEALOGY MATCH? WAS IT BECAUSE OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT YOU GUYS WERE PENDING ON, OR BUDGET, OR WHAT WAS THE CHALLENGE? JUST OVERALL, JUST THE WHOLE RESEARCH OF IT. YOU KNOW, THERE’S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THE GENEALOGY ASPECT OF, OF OF A CASE. AND, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN USING, YOU KNOW, THE DNA AS WELL AS THE OLD, YOU KNOW, LOOKING INTO OLD RECORDS AND COURT RECORDS AND MATCHING IT UP. AND YOU KNOW, THERE WAS PLENTY OF FAMILY THAT WE WENT ALONG TO, TO INTERVIEW, TO KIND OF LEARN UNTIL WE GOT TO THE RIGHT, RIGHT ANSWERS. SO OVERALL, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO DO THIS WHOLE RESEARCH? I DON’T WANT TO GIVE THE WRONG TIME. OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW THAT I DON’T HAVE THE EXACT TIME FRAME ON THAT. BUT YOU KNOW IT WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS. IT DOES TAKE A PERIOD OF TIME TILL WE GET THE RIGHT ANSWER. WAS THE EXHUMATION DONE SO THAT YOU COULD OBTAIN DNA AND THEN BEGIN THIS GENETIC ANCESTRY? THAT WAS PART OF THE WHOLE. YES, THAT WAS PART OF THE WHOLE PROCESS. YOU KNOW, AT THAT TIME, GENEALOGY WAS MOST LIKELY IN THE INFANCY STAGE OF OF THAT. BUT IT WAS WITH THE ADVANCING ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS OUR HOPE TO KIND OF KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH LIEUTENANT, YOU KNOW, WITH HIS THOUGHTS AT THE TIME. THAT WAS THE WHOLE PURPOSE. AND WHAT IN TERMS OF RUTHIE’S FAMILY, WHO IS LEFT? IS SIBLINGS OR. AGAIN, I DON’T WANT TO GET TOO MUCH INTO THE FAMILY ASPECT OF IT, BUT SHE DOES STILL HAVE FAMILY THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, THAT WERE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH THIS AND PROVIDE US THE NECESSARY INFORMATION AND THAT WE NEEDED TO POSITIVELY IDENTIFY HER. SO TO CLARIFY, DID RUTH, DO YOU KNOW RUTH MADE IT TO SCHOOL THAT DAY OR THE LAST TIME SHE WAS SEEN OR HEARD FROM WHEN SHE LEFT? AND DID SHE WALK TO SCHOOL, OR DID SHE RIDE A BUS? AGAIN, THAT AS FAR AS HOW SHE GOT TO AND FROM SCHOOL, IS SOMETHING THAT WE’RE STILL LOOKING INTO. AND AS FAR AS WHETHER SHE MADE IT TO SCHOOL OR NOT, AGAIN, THAT’S SOMETHING WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE LOOKING INTO. HOPEFULLY WITH TODAY, YOU KNOW THIS, YOU KNOW PEOPLE WILL STEP FORWARD AND KIND OF CONTINUE TO PROVIDE US INFORMATION. ANY ANY FRIENDS OF RUTHIE OR ASSOCIATES. JUST TO KIND OF CALL IN AND, YOU KNOW, TELL US ABOUT RUTHIE SO WE CAN LEARN MORE. AND YOU GUYS AREN’T RELEASING WHAT DISTRICT OR YOU KNOW. SO IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE SHE’S WE NOW KNOW WHO SHE IS, BUT YOU’RE STILL SEEKING POSSIBLE JUSTICE FOR RUTHIE. ABSOLUTELY. JUST BECAUSE WE IDENTIFIED HER TODAY, THAT DOESN’T END OUR INVESTIGATION. THIS IS STILL AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION. IS STILL ACTIVE. FLUENT. WE’RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST AND PUT OUR BEST FOOT FORWARD HERE TO, YOU KNOW, COME TO A CONCLUSION. CAN YOU AT THIS POINT REVEAL OR IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING THAT IS CONNECTED TO ANYTHING ELSE OR THIS IS JUST BY ITSELF ON ITS OWN CASE AT THIS POINT. YOU KNOW, WE’RE INVESTIGATING IT AS ITS OWN. YOU KNOW, WE WILL. IT’S PART OF THE INVESTIGATION. WE WILL DETERMINE AS WE GO ON. TROOPER, CAN YOU JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT A 51 YEAR OLD COLD CASE? HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE IT AMONG ALL OF THE ACTIVE CASES THAT ARE BEING INVESTIGATED? HOW DO YOU REVISIT IT ON A REGULAR BASIS? HOW DO YOU DO THAT? WITH STATE POLICE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WITH OUR CASES, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP THEM ACTIVE. WE WE’RE ALWAYS REVIEWING THEM. WE’RE ALWAYS UPDATING THE REPORTS, REACHING OUT TO WHOEVER WE NEED TO REACH OUT. WE’RE REVIEWING EVIDENCE, SEEING IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, RESUBMIT ANY EVIDENCE TO THE LAB BECAUSE OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, THAT ANY WAY TO KIND OF GIVE US A LEAD ON ANY OF OUR CASES. SHE HAD A QUESTION. I’M SORRY. THAT’S OKAY. SO OBVIOUSLY, THERE’S STILL A LOT OF CHALLENGES WITH THIS CASE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING THE VICTIM’S IDENTITY? HOW BIG OF A STEP THAT IS IN THE INVESTIGATION? IT’S A HUGE PART OF THIS INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS ANY INVESTIGATION. YOU KNOW, PART OF A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS WE NEED TO KNOW YOU KNOW, THE VICTIM. VICTIMOLOGY. WE HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT THE VICTIM. AND, YOU KNOW, THEIR EVERYDAY LIFE AND YOU KNOW WHO THEY ASSOCIATED WITH AND THEIR DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES. AND THAT WAS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WITH THE JANE OR JOHN DOE CASE. THAT’S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT SLOWS US UP IS BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW WHO THE VICTIM IS OR VICTIM ARE, AND THEREFORE WE CAN’T PROCEED TO FURTHER, YOU KNOW,

51-Year-old cold case: Remains found in Pennsylvania woods in 1973 identified as 14-year-old girl

Updated: 4:52 PM EST Nov 21, 2024

Pennsylvania State Police said remains found 51 years ago in a wooded area of Lebanon County have been identified as 14-year-old Ruth Brenneman, of York County, who disappeared after going to school one day. Two game wardens found her body under a tarp and brush on Oct. 10, 1973. The area where the decomposed body was found — near Fort Indiantown Gap — is about 47 miles from where she lived. Lebanon and York counties are located outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.”Ruth was last seen in the beginning of the 1973 school year after she left for school and never returned home. Ruth Brenneman was a young female just shy of her 15th birthday and known for her long blonde hair. We continue to investigate the circumstances around Ruth Brenneman’s discovery,” Sgt. John Lacey said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.Police did not say how she died or whether her death was a homicide.Investigators said the key to identifying Brenneman was genealogy technology that was gathered using her DNA. Brenneman’s family prepared a statement, which Lacey read at the news conference:”The family wishes to extend our gratitude to Trooper Keck and the others on the Pennsylvania State Police team, who worked diligently to identify Ruthie. Their work has provided us with some closure on questions that have lingered for the past 51 years.”Police are asking anyone who knew her or has information about her to contact the Pennsylvania State Police Jonestown station at 717-865-5067. You can also call the PSP tip line at 1-800-472-8477. The tips can be anonymous.Decades-long investigationOver the years, investigators tried various methods to identify the person they then referred to as “Jane Doe.”In 2015, police released a bust that was recreated based on her remains. But no family members or friends came forward. In 2016, investigators exhumed “Jane Doe’s” body.”We already have a DNA profile. So one of the ideas is they’re going to do an isotope test,” Pennsylvania State Police Trooper David Beohm told sister station WGAL at the time.Investigators hoped that the isotope test might tell them where she lived.”Anything at this point is more than what we have,” Beohm said. “We’ll do whatever we can to find out who this person is.”

LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. —

Pennsylvania State Police said remains found 51 years ago in a wooded area of Lebanon County have been identified as 14-year-old Ruth Brenneman, of York County, who disappeared after going to school one day.

Two game wardens found her body under a tarp and brush on Oct. 10, 1973. The area where the decomposed body was found — near Fort Indiantown Gap — is about 47 miles from where she lived. Lebanon and York counties are located outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“Ruth was last seen in the beginning of the 1973 school year after she left for school and never returned home. Ruth Brenneman was a young female just shy of her 15^th birthday and known for her long blonde hair. We continue to investigate the circumstances around Ruth Brenneman’s discovery,” Sgt. John Lacey said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

Police did not say how she died or whether her death was a homicide.

Investigators said the key to identifying Brenneman was genealogy technology that was gathered using her DNA.

Brenneman’s family prepared a statement, which Lacey read at the news conference:

“The family wishes to extend our gratitude to Trooper Keck and the others on the Pennsylvania State Police team, who worked diligently to identify Ruthie. Their work has provided us with some closure on questions that have lingered for the past 51 years.”

Police are asking anyone who knew her or has information about her to contact the Pennsylvania State Police Jonestown station at 717-865-5067. You can also call the PSP tip line at 1-800-472-8477. The tips can be anonymous.

Decades-long investigation

Over the years, investigators tried various methods to identify the person they then referred to as “Jane Doe.”

In 2015, police released a bust that was recreated based on her remains. But no family members or friends came forward.

In 2016, investigators exhumed “Jane Doe’s” body.

“We already have a DNA profile. So one of the ideas is they’re going to do an isotope test,” Pennsylvania State Police Trooper David Beohm told sister station WGAL at the time.

Investigators hoped that the isotope test might tell them where she lived.

“Anything at this point is more than what we have,” Beohm said. “We’ll do whatever we can to find out who this person is.”