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Marshall County officials hope DNA analysis will identify baby found dead in 1982

For more than 40 years, the identity of a baby found in a Pleasant Grove dump has remained a mystery. Now, DNA analysis may help push the case forward.

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. — For more than 40 years, the identity of a newborn baby, their body found in a cardboard box in a North Alabama community dump, has remained a mystery. Now, with DNA and forensic technology more advanced than ever, officials hope they may finally be able to connect a name, or at least a family, to the little girl currently known as Angel Jane Doe.

It was February of 1982 when Marshall County investigators were called to the Pleasant Grove community, where they found the body of the infant, wrapped in a woman's housecoat and placed inside the box. Officials said the baby appeared to have been born at full-term. 

No usable leads were developed. The body was autopsied and returned to the Marshall County Coroner's Office before ultimately being buried at the Crestview Cemetery in Guntersville.

Now, the investigation is beginning anew.

"While working with an outside DNA contractor on another case, this case was brought to the attention of current Sheriff’s Investigators," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement published Friday. "With advancements in DNA technology, it was determined that Genetic Genealogy testing would be the best course of action. Coroner Cody Nugent was able to secure an exhumation order for the remains, and on November 30, 2023, Sheriff’s Investigators, DA Investigators, and the coroner’s office retrieved the remains of Angel Jane Doe from Crestview Cemetery. The remains will be sent to Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for DNA retrieval."

The sheriff's office warns that the process may take months, possibly even years, to yield results. Ultimately, the department wants to identify the child as well as her family, "as it would be a tremendous relief to not only local law enforcement, but the community as well."

Anyone with information about the discovery of Angel Jane Doe in 1982 is urged to call the Marshall County Sheriff's Office at 256-582-2034.

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