Louisiana Fishermen Make Gruesome Catch

In 1986, two fishermen on Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana made an unbelieveable discovery; they came across the body of a naked woman floating in the water. The fisherman contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, who in turn called the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.

Search and rescue workers recovered her body. The woman was naked except for a white plastic bag over her head which had been attached by duct tape around her neck. Police say she also had a red 22 lb. weight attached to a string around her neck. The initial autopsy revealed that the cause of death was asphyxia. But who was this woman?

The pathologist estimated that the woman had only been in the water for a couple of days. She was determined to be a white female, from 20-30 years old, reddish brown hair, 5'2''-5'5'', and about 120 lbs. She had silicone breast implants and was also about 8-12 wks. pregnant. Police say she had a hip fracture that is consistent with a car crash and also had perfect teeth; her wisdom teeth had been removed. The pathology report also showed that she had markings on her left ring finger consistent with wearing a ring.

Police did everything they could to identify the woman to no avail. The woman, labeled "Jane Doe," was buried at a public cemetery in Slidell, Louisiana. A plain white cross was assigned to an unmarked grave in a portion of the cemetery called Potter's Field.

Seventeen years later, it suddenly looked like the mystery might be solved. Police in Ohio who were searching for a missing woman discovered information about the Lake Pontchartrain Jane Doe, and she sounded like a possible match for their case. The only way to find out was to dig up Jane Doe's body and check the DNA for a possible match. The body was exhumed, but unfortunately, she wasn't the missing woman from Ohio.

After examining the body, Jane Doe's nose appeared to be in excellent condition, even though the rest of her face was fairly decomposed. Police say it's possible that Jane Doe may have had some sort of plastic surgery on her nose. Also, Jane Doe's teeth were perfect- she had all her teeth, only missing her wisdom teeth, they were straight, without cavaties or fillings. This suggested that Jane Doe was from at least a middle class upbringing and was well taken care of. And now, new technology has provided police with more information, including a "photograph" of the woman, created by famous forensic anthropologist, Mary Manhein of the LSU "Face Lab."

Someone out there must remember her, a friend, a family member or a doctor. Look at the clues and help us identify this mysterious woman found in Lake Pontchartrain.