Dixie County Sheriff's Office Partners with Othram to Identify a 1990 Baby Doe

An infant baby girl found in Dixie County, FL has been unidentified for more than three decades
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Published May 12 by Michael Vogen
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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.

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Michael Vogen

Michael Vogen

Director of Case Management

2829 Technology Forest Blvd Suite 100, The Woodlands, Texas 77381
media@othram.com

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.

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About Othram Inc.

Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at ... Read morerecovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches have failed. Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit Othram.com to learn how we can help you with your case. With dnasolves.com anyone can make a difference and help solve the next cold case.