In the summer of 1971, two young boys found an unidentified woman semiconscious and lying on a dirt road off Route 99 east of Woodstock Road.
The woman, who was suffering from exposure, was hospitalized at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore in critical condition, according to reporting from the time.
She remained unconscious due to injuries from an apparent assault and died two months later, on Sept. 7, 1971. Police were never able to identify or speak with her, and she remains the oldest of Howard County’s 32 cold cases
Now, Howard County Police have teamed with interns from Loyola University Maryland to create a more accurate image of the woman, or Jane Doe, in hopes of identifying her.
Wade Zufall, a police tech corporal, worked with the two forensic science students and NamUs, a national database for missing and unidentified people, to use artificial intelligence to generate an image of the woman.
“We’re hoping, with the updated photograph, it personalizes the photograph,” Zufall said. “I think it brings out her, who she was, and allows us and the public to view the real face of our Jane Doe.”
The only photo that police had of the woman was an autopsy photo. Zufall said the new image seeks to show how she would have looked around the time she died.
He said he’s hoping a family member, friend — anyone — might recognize the Jane Doe and contact police.
The area where the woman was found, off Route 99, is near where the Howard County Conservancy is located today. The area is north of U.S. 70 and near a community fixture, The Woodstock Inn.
Zufall said there could be a local resident who frequented the bar in the 1970s who might recognize the woman with the new AI-generated image.
When the woman was found, doctors said she had suffered a recent stroke on her left side but it was not the cause of her condition.
Because of the stroke, doctors performed brain surgery on the woman, shaving her head in the process. The autopsy photo showed her after doctors shaved her head, so it is not how she would have been recognized at the time, he said.
The Baltimore Sun reported on July 23, 1971, that police said no one matching the Jane Doe’s description had been reported missing in the area.
She has been unidentified for 53 years.
There are 349 open cases of unidentified people in Maryland, according to NamUs. The Howard County Jane Doe is listed as the county’s only unidentified person.
The medical examiner approximated the Jane Doe’s age to be 42 to 50, Zufall said. She had brown, graying hair and blue eyes. She was about 5 feet tall and weighed 110 to 120 pounds.
The woman had a small scar on her temple on the left side, he said. She had a history of a stroke and at least one pregnancy.
The victim’s dental records show she had seven teeth on the bottom row and no teeth on the top row. She was found wearing a blouse, a skirt, a slip and undergarments, according to an Aug. 19, 1971, Sun article. Police did not find shoes or a purse.
Zufall urged anyone who has information to call 410-313-STOP or email HCPDCrimeTips@howardcountymd.gov.
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