PHOENIX — More than four years after a woman was found dead in downtown Phoenix, police have confirmed her identity.
They said the middle-aged woman suffered a heat-related death in June 2017.
Detectives were unable to identify her despite distinctive tattoos on the left upper part of her chest and lower right leg and she was buried as a "Jane Doe."
After exhausting all other leads, police contacted the DNA Doe Project six months ago hoping to identify the woman using investigative genetic genealogy.
The method led to detectives asking the FBI for a partial fingerprint comparison.
It resulted in a hit for Laura Jean Jordan, whose photo on file with authorities was similar to a facial sketch made after her body was discovered.
The DNA Doe Project is headquartered in Sebastopol, California and is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization whose stated mission is to identify John and Jane Does and return them to their families.
