1982 Milwaukee cold case; woman identified using DNA, social media
Breakthrough in 1982 Milwaukee cold case
It's a case that sat as a long-standing mystery. A woman's remains found in the Milwaukee River were unidentified for decades. Now, a breakthrough in the case brings closure to one family.
MILWAUKEE - It's a case that sat as a long-standing mystery. A woman's remains found in the Milwaukee River were unidentified for decades.
Now, a breakthrough in the case brings closure to one family.
Unidentified person poster
1982 cold case
What we know:
Milwaukee police say the woman's family tried to report her missing back in the 80s, but an out-of-state police department never took the report.
Family told investigators she was last known to be in Chicago.
Investigators say she likely died from an accidental drowning, but for decades they never knew who she was, until now.
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Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office
"It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
The 1982 Milwaukee River cold case stuck with Michael Simley, and the entire Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office for decades.
"She didn’t have any purse on her, no ID in her pockets. We were truly left not knowing who she was," said Simley.
Break in the case
What we know:
Now, 44 years later to the date that woman's body was found, there's a break in the case.
"As the years progressed, DNA analysis advanced, we are able to do different types of DNA testing just to look specifically for relatability at specific individuals and how they are related to each other," added Simley.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, the Milwaukee Police Department, and the Department of Justice worked together to identify the 26-year-old woman as Berline Trammel.
Berline Trammel
Thanks to advanced forensic investigative genetic genealogy.
"The DNA banks that we were able to pull from are just like 23 and me, ancestry," said Jamie Sromalla, lead investigator for missing persons.
Sromalla says a DNA hit matched a 6th or 7th cousin on Trammel's dad's side. Then, they built a family tree.
"Basically, that is just taking open-source information and looking on Facebook stuff like that and piecing together family members to try to figure out if one of them is missing," added Sromalla.
An analyst with MPD just happened to search for the words "Aunt Berline" on social media, and then a picture popped up with resemblance to the renderings investigators had.
The picture that popped up when investigators searched social media
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The photo, plus the DNA hit, sealed the deal. It was Trammel.
"It was great to be able to provide answers to family. And that’s all you can really ask for," said Sromalla.
It's a breakthrough, years in the making, and a reminder that even in the coldest cases, hope is never lost.
FOX6 did reach out to a half-sister who is not based here in Wisconsin and hasn't heard back.
The medical examiner's office says there are 12 long-term unidentified remain cases in Milwaukee County. The oldest one with DNA dates back to 1974.
The Source: FOX6 spoke with the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office and Milwaukee police.