Summary

On December 18, 1966, a woman’s body was found on a cliff near the edge of Paradise Drive in Tiburon, California. A hunter made the discovery and alerted authorities. The woman could not be identified and became known as Marin County Jane Doe. It was estimated that the woman was between 45 and 60 years old at the time of her death. She had auburn red hair, was 5’2” and weighed 105 pounds. She was wearing a red cotton dress and an off-white trench coat. The woman’s cause of death could not be determined.

Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP12018. Over the years attempts were made to identify the woman to no avail. It was learned during the course of the initial investigation that a woman matching the description of the Jane Doe had been seen three months prior to her body being found at a fire station. At the station, the woman stated that she was stranded and had no money for a taxi. After asking if she could sleep at the fire station, firefighters refused, and the woman walked away.

In 2022, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, working in conjunction with the California Department of Justice, submitted forensic evidence to the case to Otham’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas where scientists worked to develop an ultra-sensitive DNA profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®. Funding for advanced DNA testing was provided by the Roads to Justice (RTJ) program. This profile was used in a forensic search, by Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team, which led to relatives of the woman, who is now identified as Dorothy Jean Williams. Her married name was Dorothy Jean Vaillancourt. Originally from Tasmania, Dorothy was buried at Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery and Mortuary in San Rafael, California prior to her identification.

The identification of Dorothy Williams represents the 56th case in California where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram.