Remains Identified as Those of Pa. Girl, 14, Missing Since 1969

The remains of a teenage girl who went missing in northern Pennsylvania more than half a century ago have been recognized as those of the woman whose remains were found a decade ago, according to state police. On Tuesday, state police in Wilkes-Barre said that the bones had been identified as those of Joan Marie Dymond, who was 14 years old at the time she went missing from the Andover Street Park in June 1969.

Capt. Patrick Dougherty, the commanding officer of Pennsylvania State Police Troop P, was quoted as saying in a statement, “We never ceased pursuing answers, and this investigation remains very active.” “After 53 years, the family of Joan Marie Dymond very much deserves to have some sort of resolution,” We will do all in our power to ensure that they are in possession of it.

People searching for antiquities in a trash-filled depression on an abandoned coal mining operation in Newport Township, according to the police, discovered the remains in November of 2012. The location was described as being in Newport Township. Investigators stated that they had a suspicion that foul play was involved in the death of the young female victim, who most likely passed away in the late 1960s.

Based on facial reconstruction photographs, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has produced a likeness of the missing girl. The investigators looked for a match in national DNA databases using the victim’s DNA profile, but they came up empty. The Luzerne Foundation has established a “Closing Cases” fund, citing the “Jane Doe” case from Aden Mountain as its inspiration. Investigative genetic genealogy is the practice of exploiting direct-to-consumer DNA databases to identify victims and perpetrators of violent crimes.

As a result of an investigation that was made possible by the foundation, state police requested DNA samples from anyone who might be a relative of Dymond. The Dymond family provided a sample, and subsequent testing proved that the remains belonged to Dymond. The state police are appealing to the general public for assistance in locating the person who was responsible for her death.