Tossed away, like a used Kleenex, was the body of a young woman, between 15 and 25 years, old, in a thick standing of weeks near lonely Southbound 170, near the Baker Road underpass in Frederick County here.
It was July 31, 1991. Today, 13 years later, her killer remains at large.
Her death was not an easy one. She was found battered and bruised, blackened eyes, swollen jaw from a beating. She was wearing a pink anklet bracelet.
The identity of the girl remains a mystery, perhaps even to her killer. She looked like a girl who could have been anyone�s daughter, sister or friend.
She sported wavy hair and had some serious dental needs. Her face was accented by a slightly bulbous nose, for which her high cheekbones compensated.
Not stunningly pretty by the day�s standards, and perhaps not a popular teen. One could also picture her as a polite childhood friend, though, maybe offering you a lemonade on a sultry summer day.
Maybe she was on the verge of legal freedom and tempted fate before its time. Perhaps she was a bit too wild. And she paid her youthful mistake with her life.
Maybe she was just trying to get down the road, and her extended family is all dead. Maybe she was trying to escape an abusive relationship, but didn�t quite make it.
There are many things about this girl that may remain a mystery forever: What she did each day, what she prayed for at night, where she was born, her hopes her dreams. All these are snuffed out.
Officials do annual required case perusals, but for the most part, many people will always remember her as one of the many "Jane Does," that dot the countryside, an unfortunate lot that met tragedy and then went on to be unclaimed, perhaps the subject of a dinner conversation for a while in the local diner.
The young woman was no Laci Peterson or Elizabeth Smart. She didn�t capture the curiosity of the nation. Soon she became a memory, or a story distorted with time and morbid details.
But the young girl found on the side of the road 13 years ago does lay claim to a dubious honor. She is one of over 5,200 unidentified bodies in the United States.
If you want to help this young woman - and the thousands of other identified victims known as "Jane" or "John Doe," you can contact
