What happened to Baby Jane Doe, police continue to investigate 30-year-old cold case

By Ryan Goodlett/WNKY

Barren River Lake October 2019

LUCAS, Ky. – Who is Baby Jane Doe, and why did someone stuff her tiny body into a suitcase and throw her into Barren River Lake like a piece of discarded trash?

These are the questions Kentucky State Police have been trying to answer for over 30 years.

Two fishermen discovered a suitcase on Aug. 22, 1989 on Barren River Lake. The suitcase contained the skeletal remains of Baby Jane Doe. (Photo: Kentucky State Police)

While out in the Skaggs Creek area of Barren River Lake, two fishermen found the suitcase Aug. 22, 1989.  Inside the suitcase were the skeletal remains of a child.

To this day, both the child and the killer remain unidentified.

Kentucky State Police Detective Courtney Milam is the current investigator on this cold case.

Kentucky State Police Detective Courtney Milam

“This came to us Aug. 22, 1989, so it’s been a few years,” Milam said. “We had a report that two fishermen found a suitcase on the side of Barren River Lake. It is believed that we have a three-year-old female, bi-racial caucasian/African American race, around three years of age. And we think that the remains were in the suitcase for about six to eight months before they were actually found.”

DNA testing in 1989 was less advanced than today’s technology, especially after months of body decomposition. The approximate age and race of the child were determined through forensic anthropology. Kentucky State Trooper Daniel Priddy said the only information they received about the case was three quick phone calls.

Kentucky State Trooper Daniel Priddy

“Three calls were received by Kentucky State Police Post here, it was a male subject that advised that he was an attorney and he was looking for immunity for a female that may have information involving this case at that time, Priddy said. “Of course those calls were received in 1989, which is 30 years ago. At the time, you know, it was very difficult to to be able to get in contact with units and especially detectives that were working it.”

The caller never identified himself and there was no way to trace the call.

Police had model images made of what the child’s face may have looked like based on skeletal structure, but there is not much for investigators to go on.

“Cold cases, they’re extremely hard to solve,” Priddy said. “Especially as time goes by, this has been 30 years. So witnesses are older, some passed away, some that were involved may have been passed away by now. So it’s hard for us to get new info. But you know this case is heart-breaking. It’s a child, you know, and the worst part about it is the child’s not identified.”

Kentucky State Police ask anyone with information about this case to call Post 3 at 270-782-2010.