![\"Pennsylvania](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2EGA2BUXPBHYTPCOZGPPTIX77I.jpg\")
Pennsylvania State Police say the remains belong to Dorris Joanne Girtz, who went missing at about 23 years old and grew up in Portage County.(Source: Pennsylvania State Police)<\/p>\nWATTS TOWNSHIP, Penn. (WOIO) – A Ravenna woman finally has her name back decades after her skeletal remains were discovered along a Pennsylvania roadway.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania State Police say the remains belong to Dorris Joanne Girtz, who went missing at about 23 years old and grew up in Portage County.<\/p>\n
Troopers announced the development in the cold case Friday, June 20, which is exactly 46 years since the remains were found.<\/p>\n
At this time, investigators are still working to learn how Girtz died, according to Pennsylvania State Police.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania State Police say the remains belong to Dorris Joanne Girtz, who went missing at about 23 years old and grew up in Portage County.(Source: Pennsylvania State Police)<\/p>\n
On June 20, 1979, human skeletal remains were discovered along the eastbound lanes of Route 322 in Watts Township, Penn.<\/p>\n
Troopers describe the remains as severely decomposed and mostly skeletonized.<\/p>\n
For decades, police carried out various methods to identify the Jane Doe. <\/p>\n
But it was thanks to advancements in DNA analysis and genetic genealogy that in 2023, a study was conducted by Othram Labs.<\/p>\n
Investigators say the DNA analysis of two molars extracted by a local dentist helped to link investigators with a distant family member.<\/p>\n
Their investigation sent them to Ravenna, where they gathered additional DNA from family.<\/p>\n
Now that Girtz is identified, Pennsylvania State Police will turn their focus to solving how she died.<\/p>\n
Anyone who knew Girtz during the years of 1977 to 1979, or anyone with tips about the case is asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police Newport Station at 717-567-3110 or tip line at 1-800-472-8477.<\/p>\n