Decades-Old Mystery Solved: Human Remains Found in 1982 Identified as Missing Wisconsin Woman, Connie Lorraine Christensen

Accident – Death – Obituary News : Human remains found in rural Indiana in 1982 have been identified as those of Connie Lorraine Christensen, a woman from Oregon, Wisconsin, who went missing more than four decades ago. The remains were discovered by hunters near Jacksonburg, a rural community about 60 miles east of Indianapolis. Chief Deputy Coroner Lauren Ogden of the Wayne County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Christensen died from a gunshot wound, and her homicide case remains unsolved.

Christensen was last seen in Nashville, Tennessee, in April 1982, when she was three to four months pregnant. She had left her 1-year-old daughter with relatives while she was away and was reported missing when she failed to return to Wisconsin as planned. The recent identification of her remains was made possible through the partnership between the coroner’s office and the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying cold case victims.

The DNA extracted from Christensen’s remains was compared to the DNA of her living relatives, and a match was found. Coincidentally, at the same time the identification efforts were underway, Christensen’s family was working on creating an accurate family tree using ancestry and genealogy. Several of her living relatives had uploaded their DNA to an ancestry website, which allowed the genealogists at the DNA Doe Project to quickly provide a candidate for identification.

Christensen’s adult daughter, Misty, was taken to the location where her mother’s remains were found. She had the opportunity to leave flowers and was also given a gold ring set with an opal and two diamonds, which was found with her mother’s remains.

An online obituary for Christensen states that she would have been an amazing mother and grandmother. She is survived by her daughter, Misty, and three grandchildren living in Michigan. The obituary also mentions that Christensen’s parents and a brother preceded her in death.

The identification of Christensen’s remains brings some closure to her family and opens up the possibility of solving her homicide case. The Wayne County Coroner’s Office and the DNA Doe Project are continuing their efforts to identify other cold case victims and provide answers to their families..