Melody Harrison was a teenager found deceased in a remote desert area near Apache Junction, Arizona in 1992.
She was identified by the DNA Doe Project in November 2023.
Background[]
Harrison was reported missing in June 1992 by her family, around the same time that she is thought to have died. However, they removed her from the missing persons' database in 1996, as they had received incorrect reports that she had been seen alive and assumed she preferred to remain estranged.
Following her identification in 2023, authorities are investigating the possibility that she was the victim of a serial killer, such as Scott Lehr or Bryan Patrick Miller.
Case[]
On August 6, 1992, Harrison’s mummified skeletal remains were discovered in a desert area near the northwest corner of Idaho and Baseline Roads, south of US Highway 60 in Apache Junction, Pinal County, Arizona. It is believed she had been deceased for approximately three to ten weeks prior to recovery. No cause of death was determined; contemporary media coverage suggests foul play is suspected by investigators.
Genealogy research and later investigation[]
It was initially speculated that she was of Hispanic or Native American ancestry. Later testing by the DNA Doe Project showed she was of mixed ancestry, having a parent of Mexican descent, a parent of Black descent, and ties to Virginia. Specifically, it was announced that she might have substantial ties to the following areas:
- Virginia: Pittsylvania and Halifax Counties
- Southwestern United States: Southern California, Pinal County & Pima County in Arizona and Bexar County in Texas.
- Mexico: Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Jalisco and Baja California Peninsula.
Some of the surnames associated with the decedent could include Chandler, Dixon, Graves, Lovelace and Patrick (Virginia); Alvarez, Aros, Chavez, Garcia, Garza, Guerra, Haro, Molina, Parra, Solis, Soto, and Villegas (Mexico and Southwestern United States).
In June 2021, researchers using forensic genetic genealogy identified "Bernhard Lyon Neumann" as a close relative to Jane Doe, possibly a first cousin. He was believed to have been born in 1953 near Darmstadt and Eberstadt, Germany to a woman named Else Maria Neumann and his father is believed to be an African-American service member.
In April 2022, Bernhard Lyon Neumann was identified as the Doe's full paternal uncle, thus making his brother the Doe's father. He was adopted as an infant and could give no information on this sibling, including if he was younger or older than Bernhard or if he was adopted as well.
In May 2023 it was announced by the DNA Doe Project that her mother was of Latin American descent, whilst her father was an adoptee born to a German mother and African-American father stationed in Germany with the US military.
In early 2025, it was announced that a newly-formed cold case unit had been formed. Harrison’s case was specified to be one the team was focusing on.
Characteristics[]
- Brown hair, described to appear similarly to Hispanic and Native American individuals.
- No dental restorations were observed, and her teeth were said to protrude, with some visible gaps.
Clothing and jewelry[]
With the exception of her clothing, no personal items associated with the decedent were photographed.
- A white, Team Gear brand, pullover short-sleeved tee shirt with soccer balls on the front and back, size L.
- Blue denim cut-off Levi jeans. There were two belongings in her front left pocket: A Phoenix Transit System token inscribed with the words "Valid for one student fare” and a round piece of paper the size of a penny with a figure of Abraham Lincoln on one side and the Lincoln Memorial on the other side, both in green ink.
- A golden ring with a nugget design on present her left ring finger.
Gallery[]
