Jane Doe found dead in Lake Michigan in 1988 was Black, not white as police believed

Michigan State Police are asking for help identifying a woman found dead along a Lake Michigan shore on April 8, 1988.

BERRIEN COUNTY, MI – An unidentified body that washed ashore from Lake Michigan in 1988 was likely a Black woman, not white as police initially thought.

The woman's body was found in Lake Michigan near New Buffalo on April 8, 1988. Michigan State Police exhumed her Nov. 9, 2021, so DNA could be connected for entry into police systems and used for forensic genetic genealogy.

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