Elsie Marie Baker (born May 6, 1896 - c. June 1959) was a woman whose remains were found during an excavation in Grants Pass, Oregon. She was identified on February 15, 2023.
She was identified through genetic genealogy with help from Parabon Nanolabs in February 2023.
Background[]
Elsie and her husband relocated from Idaho to Oregon in 1950, settling in Rogue River. Elsie vanished sometime after May 1955, with no official record of her death. Family trees suggest conflicting dates for her demise, listing it as "September or October 1955." Elsie and her husband divorced in May 1955, and the divorce was finalized in June 1956. Her ex-husband passed away in November 1958.
Reports indicate that Elsie underwent cancer treatment on June 13, 1959, at the Josephine General Hospital in Grants Pass, Oregon. During that year, police interviewed a nurse who had cared for Elsie. The nurse claimed that Elsie had moved to live with family out of state, leading investigators to believe she was still alive.
Case[]
On June 19, 1986, the skeletal remains of an elderly woman were discovered in a shallow grave on rural private property outside of Grant Pass, Oregon, in Josephine County.
The homeowner found the remains while excavating the property for a septic system. He noted a depression in the ground where the grave lay, a feature present since he purchased the property 12 years prior, in 1974.
Dentists at Oregon Health Sciences University examined the dentures extensively but found no valuable leads. In 2016, bones were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for processing and upload into the national DNA database.
Elsie's disappearance, reported by her niece to the Oregon State Police in Medford on September 1, 1960, revealed that she left her wheelchair at home and had taken $10,000 with her. Elsie needed her wheelchair as she was fragile from cancer and could not walk unassisted.
Elsie's only known child had nine children of her own, whose genealogy research in Utah, New Mexico, and California eventually led to Elsie's identification through genetic testing and comparison to known relatives.
Characteristics[]
- The Phenotype report incidated the following:
- Northern and South Eastern European descent.
- Hazel eyes.
- Brown to dark blonde hair..
- Full set of dentures.
- Two rubber stopper-like implements, determined to be the ends of crutches or a walker.
- Degenerative joint disease.
Sources[]
- Elsie Baker at the Doe Network
- Josephine County Sheriff's Office (Facebook)
- NBC 16
- Newswatch 12