Two people were taking an early morning stroll along the 1200 block of Cedar Point Road when they saw the badly decomposed body of a woman floating offshore.

Cedar Point Road

The Sandusky Police begin to investigate. They note that her "body is near total decay." All they knew concretely was the woman appeared to be in her 20s to 30s, was 5’ 5”, and approximately 120 lbs. Her size 12 beige “disco style” cocktail dress and white lace slip were intact.

Cedar Point Road

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner couldn’t offer much more to this young woman's story. They noted that this Jane Doe had broken bones, a broken arm, and a broken leg — but it’s unknown if those injuries were caused by the ice in the lake or if those injuries caused her death and are part of the mystery.

Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner

After her autopsy, her body is returned to Erie County to Groff Funeral Home and buried in Sand Hill Cemetery.

Sand Hill Cemetery

The U.S. Marshals got involved in the investigation after finding an old teletype from another missing person's cold case file that they thought could be related to this Jane Doe. However, the missing person and this Jane Doe were not matches.

After the Sandusky Police Department shares that they did not have the funds to pay for DNA testing in this case, the U.S. Marshals office connects the police with the Porchlight Project

The Jane Doe body is exhumed in 2021 and sent to Bode Technology, a forensics lab that works closely with the Porchlight Project.

Sand Hill Cemetery

The forensic team discovers a family tree with twelve children connected to the DNA processed from the Jane Doe skeleton. The Bode team reaches back out to the Sandusky Police to alert them of the discovery.

Detective Eric Constantine from the Sandusky Police Department tracks down and speaks to a brother and sister of Patricia. In his conversation, he learns that her brother hadn't heard from Patricia since around the time the Jane Doe was discovered, and her sister detailed that Patricia was engaging in sex work when she would've disappeared.