HUDSON, WI - Authorities are investigating how a woman who passed away at the hospital and was cremated, later had her remains found by Boy Scouts in a ravine more than a year later.
The woman's skull was discovered in October of 2002 in a trash bag several hundred yards from the nearest roadway across the river from Stillwater in Wisconsin, KARE11 reported. Over the last two decades, investigators with the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office (SCCSO) have been trying to figure out who the skull belonged to and how the woman died.
It was initially believed that the woman was of Asian descent, but investigative genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project determined she was actually of Swedish descent, SCCSO said. That new piece of information became a major turning point in the case. A DNA match to the Jane Doe was discovered in Stockholm, and family research led them to Stillwater.
However, there were no missing persons reports in the family or area. A search warrant states that it was discovered that a woman named Alyce Catharina Peterson, born in 1909, went to Regions Hospital for a medical emergency in July 2001. She died at the hospital and two days later was cremated at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Maplewood. Next of kin were given ashes.
It was then confirmed 24 years and one day later, after Peterson died, that the skull found in Houlton, Wisconsin, belongs to her. "We are thankful for the amazing work that the DNA Doe Project contributed towards identifying the skull in this case," Sheriff Scott Knudson said in a statement.
"After almost a quarter century, we are finally able to put a name to our 'Jane Doe' as Alyce Peterson. The identity and the information uncovered have now changed the direction of this 'cold case' into a new search for answers," Knudson added. "Our thoughts continue to go out to the family and friends of Alyce as this adds a new layer to events that many believed had been finalized in 2001."
"Even though the case continues, we are confident that without the DNA Doe Project's involvement, we would not have been able to move towards Alyce receiving a proper and final interment," he said.
According to the search warrant, multiple medical professionals have looked at the skull and determined it was severed from the body at the base of the neck after Peterson died, most likely with a handsaw. The search warrant was issued so investigators can get documents and records related to Peterson from Forest Lawn Cemetery as officials try to find out if the skull was severed there.
"This is the first time that I have seen a Doe identified as someone who had a death certificate and who was supposedly cremated," said DNA Doe Project case manager Eric Hendershott. "The fact that Alyce's skull ended up where it did was a real shock, but I'm glad that the team was able to identify her and reunite her with her family."
The woman's skull was discovered in October of 2002 in a trash bag several hundred yards from the nearest roadway across the river from Stillwater in Wisconsin, KARE11 reported. Over the last two decades, investigators with the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office (SCCSO) have been trying to figure out who the skull belonged to and how the woman died.
It was initially believed that the woman was of Asian descent, but investigative genetic genealogists with the DNA Doe Project determined she was actually of Swedish descent, SCCSO said. That new piece of information became a major turning point in the case. A DNA match to the Jane Doe was discovered in Stockholm, and family research led them to Stillwater.
However, there were no missing persons reports in the family or area. A search warrant states that it was discovered that a woman named Alyce Catharina Peterson, born in 1909, went to Regions Hospital for a medical emergency in July 2001. She died at the hospital and two days later was cremated at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Maplewood. Next of kin were given ashes.
It was then confirmed 24 years and one day later, after Peterson died, that the skull found in Houlton, Wisconsin, belongs to her. "We are thankful for the amazing work that the DNA Doe Project contributed towards identifying the skull in this case," Sheriff Scott Knudson said in a statement.
"After almost a quarter century, we are finally able to put a name to our 'Jane Doe' as Alyce Peterson. The identity and the information uncovered have now changed the direction of this 'cold case' into a new search for answers," Knudson added. "Our thoughts continue to go out to the family and friends of Alyce as this adds a new layer to events that many believed had been finalized in 2001."
"Even though the case continues, we are confident that without the DNA Doe Project's involvement, we would not have been able to move towards Alyce receiving a proper and final interment," he said.
According to the search warrant, multiple medical professionals have looked at the skull and determined it was severed from the body at the base of the neck after Peterson died, most likely with a handsaw. The search warrant was issued so investigators can get documents and records related to Peterson from Forest Lawn Cemetery as officials try to find out if the skull was severed there.
"This is the first time that I have seen a Doe identified as someone who had a death certificate and who was supposedly cremated," said DNA Doe Project case manager Eric Hendershott. "The fact that Alyce's skull ended up where it did was a real shock, but I'm glad that the team was able to identify her and reunite her with her family."
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