Remains of ‘Oak Grove Jane Doe’ from 1946 exhumed

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Investigators are one step closer to solving Oregon’s oldest unidentified person case.

Since 1946, the mystery surrounding the homicide and partial remains of a woman referred to as “Oak Grove Jane Doe” has stumped law enforcement. Now the remains are being tested in the hopes of finally identifying her.

The remains were first discovered on April 12, 1946, in a burlap sack along the Willamette River south of Portland in Clackamas County. More remains were also discovered later that year near Willamette Falls and the McLoughlin Bridge.

Examiners determined the victim was a middle-aged white woman between the ages of 30 and 50. The body, described as “petite in stature,” had suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and was dismembered.

According to detectives, the remains appeared to be put into several burlap sacks before they were discarded in the river.

“The case drew national attention at the time, but her identity was never confirmed,” OSP said. “In the 1950s, critical evidence, including the victim’s remains, went missing from law enforcement custody, with no documentation of their disposition. This halted further progress in the case.”

The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the case again in 2008, but could not make progress without access to the body.

OSP’s Human Identification Program learned the unidentified remains were likely at Oregon City’s Mountain View Cemetery. The body was exhumed and is expected to undergo forensic testing. 

“For decades, this case was presumed impossible to resolve, and now, after nearly 80 years, we are hopeful we can restore this victim’s name and return her identity to history,” forensic anthropologist Hailey Collord-Stalder said.