PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – In December 1980, the skeletal remains of an unknown woman were found by hunters in the woods west of Highway 231 near Fountain, Florida.
The remains were originally thought to have belonged to JoAnn Benner, whose 1976 missing person case remains unsolved.
However, after the remains were examined, it was determined that the remains did not belong to Benner, and the case went cold.
Nearly 45 years after the body was found, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit has identified the mysterious remains as Carol Skidmore.
Investigators say in the spring of 1977, Carol, her husband James Skidmore, and her 5-year-old son left their Texas home, hoping to repair their troubled marriage.
However, just weeks later, Carol’s son, Lynn Dale Mahaffy, was found murdered in Parksville Lake, Tennessee.
James Skidmore died from a drug overdose in an Arkansas motel, leaving behind a suicide note.
Investigators now believe James killed both Carol and her son before taking his own life.
The whereabouts of Carol were unknown until now, thanks to modern technology.
“We were able to submit a tooth from the remains to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,” said Sheriff Tommy Ford. “We obtained a DNA profile.”
Once the profile was run through the CODUS database, It didn’t take long for a match to be found.
“CODUS is the combined DNA index system,” explains Caylynn Aaron, BCSO’s Senior Crime Scene Analyst. “It is actually a giant database of DNA profiles.”
CODUS and other modern technologies, such as genetic fingerprinting, are able to bring closure to many families with cases just like this one.
“It holds a special place in my heart being able to give that family closure after 45 years of not knowing where she’s at,” adds Aaron.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office says they will continue to use modern technology to solve more cold cases.
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