page_title: List of unidentified decedents in the United States
section_title: Bahia Honda Keys Jane Doe (1979)
hierarchical_section_title: List of unidentified decedents in the United States / Florida / Bahia Honda Keys Jane Doe (1979)
caption_attribution_description: English: Reconstruction of an unidentified male found in Florida in 1980
context_page_description: An unidentified decedent, or UID, is a deceased person whose legal identity is unable to be determined by law enforcement. Although the majority of individuals are identified soon after their bodies are recovered, it is not uncommon for bodies to remain unidentified for years or even decades. There are approximately 40,000 unidentified decedents in the United States at any given time.
  A deceased body can be identified in several different ways. Most commonly, a relative of the deceased identifies the body by sight. However, if a body is decomposed, skeletal, or unrecognizable due to severe facial trauma at the time of recovery, other methods must be used. Some common modes of identification include fingerprint comparison, dental records, chest x-rays and comparing the deceased's DNA to the DNA sequence of relatives such as a parent or sibling. Since identification of a deceased individual is a legal matter, officials require a high degree of certainty in order to make a formal identification.
context_section_description: A girl presumed to be between sixteen and nineteen years old was found drowned on March 5, 1979 in Bahia Honda Key, Florida. She had died hours before due to unknown circumstances. The Jane Doe was believed to have been a smoker, as she had evidence of emphysema in her lungs. She was white with auburn hair that was curly and had brown eyes. She was approximately five feet five inches (165 cm) tall and weighed 110 pounds (50 kg). Distinguishing features included a dental crown made from metal or porcelain, several fillings and evidence of root canals, a visible scar on her right pointer finger and she also had nails that had been well-maintained. She was wearing a black top and blue jeans on the day she died.
caption: Pinellas County John Doe
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