Pearl Lady
For law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, one of the most frustrating and saddening types of cases are those involving the unidentified dead.
There are currently an estimated 40,000 unidentified dead nationally -- and despite advancements in technology and awareness, a majority of these cases remain unsolved.
But behind these statistics are real-life stories -- all with unhappy endings. They're stories of the unidentified dead, their loved ones, their caring community and the officers who work their cases.
Detective Ken Schweinefus with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department in Ohio has his own Jane Doe -- a case that haunts him daily.
"She has nobody, no identity. No one is mourning for her or looking for her. A lost soul, if you will," explains Detective Schweinefus. "I've taken this upon myself to solve. I can't retire until I find out who this woman is."
For now, she's known only as "Pearl Lady" -- an older woman who was all dressed up when she was found on Nov. 29, 2006, floating in a Northbend, Ohio, section of the state's river.
She wore a black blouse, black skirt, panty hose, and two strands of pearls -- one white and one black. She had on makeup.
"She was dressed as if she is going to some type of event or gathering. This was the week of Thanksgiving," says Detective Schweinefus. "She wanted to look nice."
A visual exam at the scene revealed the woman was a white female between 55 and 65 years old. She was 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 134 pounds and had short, grayish-blonde hair and hazel eyes. She had all of her natural teeth -- with a chip in the front -- and no identifying marks, scars or tattoos.
Initially, Detective Schweinefus thought the case would be solved quickly. The woman hadn't been in the river long -- maybe just a day or so -- and her face wasn't damaged. He believed she'd be easily recognizable and that her loved ones would come forward to identify her.
Unfortunately, even after local news stations like WKRC News 12 in Cincinnati aired Pearl Lady's photos during their broadcasts, no one came forward to say they knew who she was.
Weeks passed, and although police fingerprinted her and entered her information into every possible database looking for a match, none surfaced.
Cops And Community Member Want To ID Pearl Lady
Deb Dixon, a reporter with News 12, covered Pearl Lady's story from the start and quickly grew attached to the case. She's worked closely with Detective Schweinefus to keep the story in the public spotlight.
"The unusual thing we did with this story was we put her actual face on air," says Deb. "It was very clear very soon that she could not have been from here. Somebody like that doesn't just turn up dead and have nobody report her missing."
Cops began thinking Pearl Lady may have been from out of town -- perhaps visiting relatives for the Thanksgiving holiday.
"It's possible she's from some small town in, say, northern Kentucky, where even some police departments aren't as updated. They might not have the computers to search the databases," explains Detective Schweinefus.
Another clue revealed during the autopsy led to even more theorizing. Pearl Lady had bruising and broken ribs on both sides of her body -- injuries consistent with falling from a high structure and falling head or chest first into the water.
Cops entertained the theory Pearl Lady may have jumped to her demise -- but then discovered the nearest bridge was 8 miles from the location where she was found.
While it's possible her body could have floated the 8 miles, cops say they'd have expected more markings and damage on Pearl Lady's body from river debris if that were the case.
Another theory is that Pearl Lady either fell -- or was pushed -- from a boat.
"We have these river boat tours that leave from our downtown area and go about 8 miles out and turn around," says Deb. "Pearl Lady was found 8 miles away from where the tours begin, and the river boats are very high."
According to Deb, the river boat tour is a popular tourist attraction in the area -- a scenic, peaceful thing to do while passing through town. If Pearl Lady was, in fact, from out of town, enjoying a boat tour would have been a likely activity.
"It's possible she was pushed, it's possible she thought about committing suicide and went through with it, but until we know who this woman is, we won't know for sure," says Detective Schweinefus.
A Promise To Identify Her
No matter what happened to Pearl Lady, Detective Schweinefus and Deb both want to see her identified.
"It is our responsibility to send her home. She needs to be buried somewhere," says Deb. "It just seems impossible that some nursing home, some community somewhere in this country isn't missing her."
Detective Schweinefus agrees, vowing to do what it takes to solve this case.
"She has nobody, no identity. No one is mourning for her or looking for her. A lost soul, if you will," explains Detective Schweinefus. "I've taken this upon myself to solve. I can't retire until I find out who this woman is."
If you know anything about the identity of the Pearl Lady, you've got to call our Hotline at 1-800-CRIME-TV.
