PA PA-Floating in Walnut Creek, N. of Millcreek Mall, Erie County, Jane Doe, Oct.,'24, DNA - Rebecca Hakes, of NY, born July 13,1973, 2025.

[dotr]

Erie County Jane Doe (2024) is Now Identified

Millcreek Township Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify a 2024 Jane Doe

dnasolves.com

"In October 2024, a fisherman found the remains of an unidentified person floating in Walnut Creek, on the north side of the Millcreek Mall in Erie County, Pennsylvania's Millcreek Township. Millcreek Township is located on Lake Erie, between Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York. The Millcreek Township Police Department responded and began investigating. The body was found without clothes and was badly decomposed. A forensic pathologist performed an autopsy and identified the body as that of a female who was 5'8" tall and likely less than 50 years old.

The woman showed no signs of trauma. The pathologist estimated death occurred 4 to 6 months before the body was found. After the autopsy, the woman's body was sent to the Department of Applied Forensic Sciences at Mercyhurst University for additional examination. Despite an extensive investigation, the woman could not be identified and there were no matches with missing persons within 200 miles.''

''Recently, the Millcreek Township Police Department submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the woman.''

''Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the woman. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified woman using KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing. This investigation led to the positive identification of the woman, who is now known to be Rebecca Hakes, who was born July 13, 1973. Hakes lived in Olean, New York. According to the Olean Police Department, she was reported missing by relatives in the third quarter of 2024.''