A decades-old cold case mystery of a woman's skull found deep at the bottom of a river took a shocking step forward in a new genetic breakthrough.
The skull of 'Wolf River Joanne Doe,' an unidentified woman, was found in eight feet of water in Winneconne, Wisconsin by two teenage boys snorkeling in July 26 1985.
Winnebago County Sheriff's Office investigators have used genealogy-based DNA testing to determine that Mary Jane Connor could possibly be 'Joanne's' grandmother, as they work to identify the woman and her killer.
'It's statistically probable that she's the grandmother but we don't know what sex her child was who would be the parent of our victim,' Lieutenant Chris Braman told The Post-Crescent.
Authorities are now probing the grandmother for clues as to who the victim might be. Records have shown that Connor was born on October 14, 1883 from her parents Owen and Mary Connor in Northern Ireland. She had three siblings named Ellen, Bernard and Therese.
According to the 1901 Ireland census, the family was Roman Catholic.
Connor immigrated to the US from Londonderry, Ireland on a transatlantic steamship named Caledonia and arrived in New York on August 24, 1907.
Investigators located the obituaries of Connor's parents, sibling, nieces and nephews but none of them mentioned Connor.
The skull of 'Wolf River Joanne Doe,' an unidentified woman, was found in eight feet of water in Winneconne, Wisconsin by two teenage boys snorkeling in July 25 1985
Winnebago County Sheriff's Office investigators have used genealogy-based DNA testing to determine that Mary Jane Connor could possible be 'Joanne's' grandmother, as they work to identify her and her killer
Connor's name appear in line seven of the list of passengers aboard the Caledonia steamship that travelled to the US from Londonderry, Ireland in August 24, 1907
'We can speculate as to why that was – whether she was a black sheep, or they didn't want her to leave and she left – but it definitely appears that she wasn't recognized in the family after she was gone,' Braman told the outlet.
According to the outlet, investigators have consulted the Manchester Historical Society, professional genealogists and relatives of the Connor family to learn more about her.
Part of their breakthrough started when Braman received DNA testing from a 91-year-old Northern Irish man who lived in Connor's hometown.
The results produced a strong genetic match to 'Joanne' and officials determined the man was Connor's nephew.
The outlet reported that authorities shared details about 'Joanne's' genetic genealogy being 99 percent Irish or Northern English.
Investigators then used that DNA reference to connect 'Joanne' as a direct descendant of Bernard Connor, one of Connor's four siblings, and his wife Alice O'Hagan.
'We were very lucky that someone who was basically a generation above [the victim] was still alive and willing to help,' Braman told the outlet.
Braman told the outlet he has been working since 2011 to identify 'Joanne' as other experts have examined her skull remains.
Part of the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office breakthrough started when Lieutenant Chris Braman received DNA testing from a 91-year-old Northern Irish man who lived in Connor's hometown. Source: Facebook/Winnebago County Sheriff's Office
James Provinzano, an associate professor of anthropology at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (pictured) examined 'Joanne's' cranium in 1985. Source: Facebook/University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Over 40 years later, Jordan Karsten, a UW-Oshkosh biological anthropologist, worked with law enforcement to help find more clues on the cold case
On the day she was found, a Sheriff's Office dive team searched the riverbed for the rest of her body but nothing else was found.
James Provinzano, an associate professor of anthropology at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, examined 'Joanne's' cranium in 1985. He hypothesized that it belonged to a woman around 30 years old, who was dead between 15 to 40 years.
Over 40 years later, Jordan Karsten, a UW-Oshkosh biological anthropologist, worked with law enforcement to help find more clues.
'I was asked by Winnebago County Sheriff's Office... and my goal was to try and figure out, is it male or female? There are methods we have where we can study a cranium both visually and by taking measurements,' Karsten said in a video to the outlet.
Karsten inspected the cranium and determined 'Joanne' was a Caucasian woman from the modern era between 30 to 50 years old. He estimated the skull had been submerged in water for 20 years or less.
The outlet reported that the Sheriff's Office decided to publicize their new developments in hopes that a relative of Connor will submit their DNA for additional testing to solve the cold case.
'We're like one record away right now. If we could figure out who Mary Jane married, I think we would be in really good shape,' Braman told the outlet.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Lieutenant Chris Braman and Jordan Karsten for comments.
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