Summary
In February 1990, human remains belonging to a female newborn infant were found in a partially wooded area in Dixie County, FL. Investigators believe the baby girl was born alive and possibly premature. Her umbilical cord was still attached and torn at the end. The shocking case gained substantial local media attention and in spite of many investigative efforts, she was not able to be identified. Eventually, the infant girl became known as "Little Dixie Doe".
An autopsy report revealed that the likely cause of death for the infant girl was blunt force trauma and therefore ruled her death a homicide. Years later, in 2005, the body of the infant girl was exhumed in an effort to obtain DNA evidence to assist with her identification. At the time, a DNA profile was unsuccessfully developed from the exhumed remains. Fortunately, in 2019 a second attempt at DNA profile was made by the forensic laboratory at the University of North Texas and this attempt was successful. In spite of the success, however, the DNA profile did not match in any government database. Once again, the case went cold.
In 2022, with all leads exhausted, the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office has now partnered with Othram to use Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a comprehensive genealogical profile from the remains. The hope is that a more comprehensive profile will generate new leads that might identify the infant girl or close family. A DNASolves fund has been created to cover the costs associated with this case. This case has been logged in NamUs as #UP964.
Anyone that has information that could assist in this investigation is encouraged to contact Investigator Carrie Barcia at The Dixie County Sheriff’s Office at 352-681-3107. Please refer to the NamUs ID for this case: #UP964.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.