Detectives in Minnesota have identified a Columbus woman who disappeared there in 1993 and whose remains were found in two separate counties in that state.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office announced on June 11 that they were finally able to trace the remains to Denise Hartley, 27, of Columbus’ South Side. Hartley disappeared in 1993, and her last known location was St. Paul, Minnesota, the sheriff’s office said.
On June 12, 1993, a severed human head was found near the shoreline of Bone Lake in Scandia in eastern Minnesota, which was formerly known as New Scandia Township. The next day, a human foot was found in Pig’s Eye Lake in St. Paul. Investigators were unable to identify the remains, the sheriff’s office said.
Nearly 30 years later, in 2022, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office partnered with the DNA Doe Project to apply investigative genetic genealogy to the remains, generating new leads in the case. According to the sheriff’s office, investigators traced genetic connections to Hartley in Columbus, where she had relatives.
Detectives interviewed Hartley’s family in Columbus and obtained a DNA sample from her daughter. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension later confirmed Hartley’s identity with the DNA sample, according to the sheriff’s office.
“[Hartley] disappeared just weeks before I started my career with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in 1993,” Sheriff Dan Starry said in a prepared news release. “To see this case come full circle more than 30 years later is a reminder that no matter how much time passes, we never stop looking for answers for victims and their families. While we cannot change what happened, we can honor Denise by restoring her identity and giving her family the answers they deserve.”
While detectives were able to identify Hartley, the medical examiner’s office has not determined the cause and manner of death, according to the sheriff’s office.
Anyone with information regarding Hartley’s disappearance or death is asked to contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 651-430-7850.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Minnesota detectives identify remains of Columbus woman missing 33 years
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
