In 1975, the body of a girl was found on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Clinton. For more than 50 years, she has remained as “Jane Doe” in the cold case.
The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office reported a deceased female in the Mississippi River on April 11, 1975. An autopsy determined her manner of death — a gunshot wound to the head — to be a homicide. She was found to be 10 weeks pregnant, and officials believed her to be in her early twenties or as young as 12 years old.
All leads in the investigation led to dead ends, and she remained known as “Jane Doe 1975.” She was believed to be the longest unidentified Jane Doe in Iowa, according to a news release from the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office. Her case went cold, but investigators continued to try to identify her.
“Jane Doe” was identified on June 22, 2026 — 51 years after she was found — by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office as Cheryl Lynn Edwards of Waukegan, Illinois, according to a news release. She was 15 years old at the time of her death.
Clinton County investigators, with the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Major Crime Unit, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Astrea Forensics and the DNA Doe Project, identified Edwards through forensic genetic genealogy.
Edwards’ family had been searching for her since her disappearance, according to the release. Her family has been notified of the identification.
Edwards’ hometown of Waukegan is a lakeside city of about 90,000 residents along Lake Michigan, around an hour north of Chicago and about three hours east of where her body was found. Lake Michigan feeds into the Mississippi River in Missouri, not Iowa.
Edwards’ identification reignited her case, allowing investigators to continue the homicide investigation.
The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, the Waukegan Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Major Crime Unit seek information regarding Edwards’ life, disappearance, associations and activities before her death.
Those who may have information about Edwards are asked to contact the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office at 563-212-9211, option 2, Clinton County Crime Stoppers with the P2Tips App or online at P3tips.com, or email the Iowa Division of Public Safety at mpicinfo@dps.state.ia.us.
Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Homicide victim in 1975 Iowa cold case identified as Illinois teen
Reporting by Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
