A Pennsylvania schoolgirl's remains were found in 1973. Police have finally identified her.
Pennsylvania State Police said 14-year-old Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman's death was "an equivocal death" and there was "some level of suspicion."
Pennsylvania officials have identified remains found in 1973 as those of a missing schoolgirl, they announced at a news conference Thursday.
Two Lebanon County Game Wardens found the girl's remains on Oct. 10, 1973, in a wooded area in Lebanon County, according to PSP Tips, part of the Pennsylvania State Police Department.
The remains, later found to belong to missing 14-year-old Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, were under a plastic tarp and had already decomposed when they were found in the 1970s.
The girl’s manner of death was ruled undetermined, said State Police Sgt. Josh Lacey at the news conference. When local media pressed Lacey for more information, he said there was a level of suspicion surrounding her death.
“It was an equivocal death, meaning there was some level of suspicion to it given the fact that she was found underneath a tarp and some brush,” he said.
Teen Jane Doe in 1973 cold case identified thanks to genealogy
Investigators spent the past few decades trying to identify the remains. Facial reconstructions were made to help identify the girl. One bust was made through forensic analysis, and the other was a 3D representation made with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said Lacey at the conference.
All authorities knew was that she was white female with long brown or blonde hair, and she may have been between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-6 with a thin-to-average build.
Authorities exhumed the girl’s body in May 2016 from the Mount Lebanon Cemetery, state police said.
Dr. Rick Snow, who works as a consultant for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, helped remove the girl’s remains, Lacey said. The remains were then taken to a hospital for examination.
“With the assistance from Astrea Labs and the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a positive identification was made in October of 2024,” Lacey said. “This young female will no longer be known as Jane Doe. She will be known by her given name, Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman.”
Trooper Ian Keck, the lead investigator on the case, spoke too and said it was a combination of factors that led to identifying the girl’s remains.
“It was good ol’ genealogy research, going out, interviewing family, looking through old articles, public records of articles in the newspaper, as well as court documents,” Keck said.
Teen's family says they have 'some closure' as the investigation continues
Brenneman was 14 when she went missing, born on Nov. 26, 1958 reported the Lebanon Daily News, part of the Paste BN network. She was known for her “long, blonde hair,” Lacey said.
She was last seen at the beginning of the 1973 school year. She left for school and never returned home. She was from York County, about 47 miles from where she was found, he said.
Authorities didn’t answer questions about whether she made it to school the day she went missing or what school she attended, but they said they are still trying to learn more about her.
Her family prepared a statement that Lacey read at the news conference.
“The family wishes to extend our gratitude to Trooper (Ian) Keck and others on the Pennsylvania State Police team to identify Ruthie,” the family said in the statement. “Their work has provided us with some closure on questions that have lingered for the past 51 years.”
Police said a $5,000 reward has been offered for information that solves Brenneman’s case.
They ask that any person with information contact the PSP Reading Station at 610-378-4454, the PSP tips at 800-472-8477 or via email at PSPtipsemail@gmail.com.
Contributing: Matthew Toth, Lebanon Daily News
Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.