(Berrien County, MI) - Remains found along the Lake Michigan shoreline decades ago have been identified as a 71 year old woman from Chicago.

Dorothy Glanton was reported missing after leaving her home on December 9, 1987, according to Michigan State Police.  Four months later, police said the remains were recovered along the shoreline near New Buffalo.  In 2023, investigators reopened the case and asked for help from a nonprofit group specializing in genetic genealogy.

Police said DNA extracted from Glanton’s remains was analyzed and uploaded to genealogical databases, allowing researchers to construct a family tree that led to her identification.  “This identification brings closure to a family that has wondered for nearly four decades what happened to their loved one,” Sgt. John Moore, the lead detective on the case out of the MSP Niles Post.