December 19, 2025 • 10 mins
In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: In December 1987, 71-year-old Dorothy Glanton walked out of her Chicago home and vanished. Four months later, an unidentified woman’s remains were found along Lake Michigan in New Buffalo, Michigan. For nearly four decades, no one knew who she was. It wasn’t until 2025, through advanced DNA technology, that her name was finally restored. Anyone with information about this case should contact Detective Sergeant John Moore with the Michigan State Police - Niles Post at 269-683-4411.
This is the story of Dorothy Glanton.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case that started back in December nineteen eighty
seven in Chicago, Illinois. A seventy one year old woman
(00:22):
walked out of her home one winter day and never returned.
Four months later, human remains were discovered along the shores
of Lake Michigan near New Buffalo, Michigan, just across the
state line. For thirty seven years, the woman found there
remain unidentified, buried as a Jane Doe. Her family searched
(00:47):
for answers, never knowing she lay in an unmarked grave
just miles away. In twenty twenty five, that all would
change when DNA technology finally gave her back her name.
This is the story of Dorothy Glanton. Dorothy Glanton was
(01:12):
seventy one years old when she vanished from her Chicago
home on December ninth, nineteen eighty seven. She had spent
most of her life in the city, surrounded by a
large and loving extended family who knew her as steady
present and deeply rooted in their lives. Dorothy was originally
(01:33):
from Alabama, and, like many black families, seeking safety and
opportunity during the Great Migration, her family eventually made their
way north to Chicago. It was there that Dorothy built
her world, and it was the place that she always
called home. December ninth, nineteen eighty seven, Dorothy walked out
(01:56):
of her Chicago home and was never seen again. The
details of that day are still unknown. No one knows
where she planned to go, no one knows why she left,
and no one could have imagined that this would be
the last time her family would see her alive. Four
months had passed, her family was frantic, searching, calling, waiting
(02:22):
for any sign of her. Her elderly mother especially was heartbroken.
On April eighth, nineteen eighty eight, along the lake shore
near New Buffalo, Michigan, authorities recovered human remains. The body
was severely decomposed, with no identification and no personal belongings,
(02:44):
nothing that could tell investigators who this woman was. The
initial forensic assessment concluded that the victim was a white woman,
either in her forties or fifties. This, which we know now,
was a serious and costly error. The woman found along
(03:05):
the lake shore was not white, and she wasn't middle aged,
but in nineteen eighty eight, misidentifications like this were not uncommon,
especially when examiners were working with severely decomposed remains, and
forensic science still was limited at this time. With no
way to determine who she was, the remains became known
(03:27):
simply as the new Buffalo Jane Doe, and from there
the trail went cold. Back in Chicago, Dorothy's family was
living a nightmare. Months had passed with no news, no sightings,
no leads, nothing to guide them. In August nineteen eighty eight,
(03:50):
four months after the remains had been found in Michigan,
a relative placed a newspaper ad on behalf of Dorothy's mother,
a public plea for her to come home. The message
spoke to her mother's fear and her desperate hope that
Dorothy was still alive. But by then Dorothy had already
(04:10):
been found, her remains recovered, yet still unknown and unidentified.
The case went cold. Years turned into decades. Her family
never stopped wondering what happened. Their questions became part of
their daily lives. Where did she go that day? Why
(04:32):
did she leave? Was she searching for something or trying
to get away from something, and was she still out
there somewhere With no answers and no trace of her fate,
they lived in a constant and painful state of not knowing.
(04:53):
Fast forward to twenty twenty three, the Michigan State Police
decided to reopen the case of the New Buffalo Jane Doe.
This time, they had a powerful new tool at their disposal,
investigative genetic genealogy. They partnered with the DNA dough Project,
a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying unknown remains through DNA
(05:19):
and family tree analysis, and with that partnership in place,
the work began immediately. Dorothy's remains were exhumed decades later
so that DNA samples could be collected and analyzed. The
samples were obtained at Western Michigan University's Homer Striker and
(05:39):
d School of Medicine. Astria Forensics performed the extraction, Hudson
Alpha Discovery handled the sequencing, and a bioinformatics analyst processed
the data. Once the profile was uploaded into two DNA databases,
the long process of reconstructing a family tree began in
(06:02):
the summer of twenty twenty three, volunteers from the DNA
DO project gathered at a genealogy retreat to focus on
this case. The team was led by a genealogist named
Lisa Needler, an experienced researcher who had worked on dozens
of cold case identifications, but the miss id from nineteen
(06:24):
eighty eight created a major challenge. Initially, they thought they
were searching for someone much younger, possibly even a descendant
of an older woman who appeared in the matches, But
as they worked through the genetic clues, the pieces didn't
quite line up. Something was off. The genealogists soon ran
(06:48):
into a challenge shape by a familiar reality, the difficulty
tracing the family history of a black woman during this era.
Sometimes there were gaps history that was never written to
or things that were left out of records. But even
with those missing pieces, the DNA DO project kept going.
(07:09):
They followed every clue they could find. Slowly the piece
began to come into focus. The genetic clue showed that
the woman was African American, not white, and that she
was a senior woman, not someone in her forties or fifties.
Once the misinformation from nineteen eighty eight was set aside,
(07:29):
the family tree began pointing toward a single name, Dorothy Glanton,
originally from Alabama, a woman who had spent most of
her life in Chicago, A woman who had disappeared in
December nineteen eighty seven. After thirty seven years, she had
finally been found. On November twelve, twenty twenty five, the
(07:55):
Michigan State Police announced the news the new Buffalo Jane
Doe had been identific as Dorothy Glanton. Detective Sergeant John Moore,
the lead investigator, said this identification brings closure to a
family that has wondered for nearly four decades what happened
to their loved one. Her family was notified, and for
(08:17):
the first time in thirty seven years, they could gather
in honor her memory, finally knowing where she had been
all this time. Even with her identity confirmed, many questions remain.
Why did Dorothy leave her home that day, How did
(08:37):
she end up sixty miles away in Michigan, did she
travel there on her own or did someone take her?
And what happened in those final moments before she reached
the water. The cause of death could not be determined,
and with no signs of foul play, investigators cannot say
(08:58):
whether her death was act or intentional. These are the
questions that are still left unanswered. Our thoughts and prayers
are with the family and friends of Dorothy Glanton. After
nearly four decades of uncertainty, they finally know what happened
to her. The circumstances, however, are still a mystery. Anyone
(09:24):
with information about the circumstances surrounding Dorothy Glanton's disappearance or
her death to contact Detective Sergeant John Moore at the
Michigan State Police Niles Post. You can find their contact
information in the description below. As we close out this episode,
remember that sharing Dorothy's story helps keep her case visible
(09:48):
and may help bring new answers. Follow Hunting for Answers
for updates on this case and others like it. Subscribe
on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram and TikTok for
more true crime stories case updates. Thank you so much
for joining us for another episode. Until next time. Hunting
(10:22):
for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case that started back in December nineteen eighty
seven in Chicago, Illinois. A seventy one year old woman
(00:22):
walked out of her home one winter day and never returned.
Four months later, human remains were discovered along the shores
of Lake Michigan near New Buffalo, Michigan, just across the
state line. For thirty seven years, the woman found there
remain unidentified, buried as a Jane Doe. Her family searched
(00:47):
for answers, never knowing she lay in an unmarked grave
just miles away. In twenty twenty five, that all would
change when DNA technology finally gave her back her name.
This is the story of Dorothy Glanton. Dorothy Glanton was
(01:12):
seventy one years old when she vanished from her Chicago
home on December ninth, nineteen eighty seven. She had spent
most of her life in the city, surrounded by a
large and loving extended family who knew her as steady
present and deeply rooted in their lives. Dorothy was originally
(01:33):
from Alabama, and, like many black families, seeking safety and
opportunity during the Great Migration, her family eventually made their
way north to Chicago. It was there that Dorothy built
her world, and it was the place that she always
called home. December ninth, nineteen eighty seven, Dorothy walked out
(01:56):
of her Chicago home and was never seen again. The
details of that day are still unknown. No one knows
where she planned to go, no one knows why she left,
and no one could have imagined that this would be
the last time her family would see her alive. Four
months had passed, her family was frantic, searching, calling, waiting
(02:22):
for any sign of her. Her elderly mother especially was heartbroken.
On April eighth, nineteen eighty eight, along the lake shore
near New Buffalo, Michigan, authorities recovered human remains. The body
was severely decomposed, with no identification and no personal belongings,
(02:44):
nothing that could tell investigators who this woman was. The
initial forensic assessment concluded that the victim was a white woman,
either in her forties or fifties. This, which we know now,
was a serious and costly error. The woman found along
(03:05):
the lake shore was not white, and she wasn't middle aged,
but in nineteen eighty eight, misidentifications like this were not uncommon,
especially when examiners were working with severely decomposed remains, and
forensic science still was limited at this time. With no
way to determine who she was, the remains became known
(03:27):
simply as the new Buffalo Jane Doe, and from there
the trail went cold. Back in Chicago, Dorothy's family was
living a nightmare. Months had passed with no news, no sightings,
no leads, nothing to guide them. In August nineteen eighty eight,
(03:50):
four months after the remains had been found in Michigan,
a relative placed a newspaper ad on behalf of Dorothy's mother,
a public plea for her to come home. The message
spoke to her mother's fear and her desperate hope that
Dorothy was still alive. But by then Dorothy had already
(04:10):
been found, her remains recovered, yet still unknown and unidentified.
The case went cold. Years turned into decades. Her family
never stopped wondering what happened. Their questions became part of
their daily lives. Where did she go that day? Why
(04:32):
did she leave? Was she searching for something or trying
to get away from something, and was she still out
there somewhere With no answers and no trace of her fate,
they lived in a constant and painful state of not knowing.
(04:53):
Fast forward to twenty twenty three, the Michigan State Police
decided to reopen the case of the New Buffalo Jane Doe.
This time, they had a powerful new tool at their disposal,
investigative genetic genealogy. They partnered with the DNA dough Project,
a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying unknown remains through DNA
(05:19):
and family tree analysis, and with that partnership in place,
the work began immediately. Dorothy's remains were exhumed decades later
so that DNA samples could be collected and analyzed. The
samples were obtained at Western Michigan University's Homer Striker and
(05:39):
d School of Medicine. Astria Forensics performed the extraction, Hudson
Alpha Discovery handled the sequencing, and a bioinformatics analyst processed
the data. Once the profile was uploaded into two DNA databases,
the long process of reconstructing a family tree began in
(06:02):
the summer of twenty twenty three, volunteers from the DNA
DO project gathered at a genealogy retreat to focus on
this case. The team was led by a genealogist named
Lisa Needler, an experienced researcher who had worked on dozens
of cold case identifications, but the miss id from nineteen
(06:24):
eighty eight created a major challenge. Initially, they thought they
were searching for someone much younger, possibly even a descendant
of an older woman who appeared in the matches, But
as they worked through the genetic clues, the pieces didn't
quite line up. Something was off. The genealogists soon ran
(06:48):
into a challenge shape by a familiar reality, the difficulty
tracing the family history of a black woman during this era.
Sometimes there were gaps history that was never written to
or things that were left out of records. But even
with those missing pieces, the DNA DO project kept going.
(07:09):
They followed every clue they could find. Slowly the piece
began to come into focus. The genetic clue showed that
the woman was African American, not white, and that she
was a senior woman, not someone in her forties or fifties.
Once the misinformation from nineteen eighty eight was set aside,
(07:29):
the family tree began pointing toward a single name, Dorothy Glanton,
originally from Alabama, a woman who had spent most of
her life in Chicago, A woman who had disappeared in
December nineteen eighty seven. After thirty seven years, she had
finally been found. On November twelve, twenty twenty five, the
(07:55):
Michigan State Police announced the news the new Buffalo Jane
Doe had been identific as Dorothy Glanton. Detective Sergeant John Moore,
the lead investigator, said this identification brings closure to a
family that has wondered for nearly four decades what happened
to their loved one. Her family was notified, and for
(08:17):
the first time in thirty seven years, they could gather
in honor her memory, finally knowing where she had been
all this time. Even with her identity confirmed, many questions remain.
Why did Dorothy leave her home that day, How did
(08:37):
she end up sixty miles away in Michigan, did she
travel there on her own or did someone take her?
And what happened in those final moments before she reached
the water. The cause of death could not be determined,
and with no signs of foul play, investigators cannot say
(08:58):
whether her death was act or intentional. These are the
questions that are still left unanswered. Our thoughts and prayers
are with the family and friends of Dorothy Glanton. After
nearly four decades of uncertainty, they finally know what happened
to her. The circumstances, however, are still a mystery. Anyone
(09:24):
with information about the circumstances surrounding Dorothy Glanton's disappearance or
her death to contact Detective Sergeant John Moore at the
Michigan State Police Niles Post. You can find their contact
information in the description below. As we close out this episode,
remember that sharing Dorothy's story helps keep her case visible
(09:48):
and may help bring new answers. Follow Hunting for Answers
for updates on this case and others like it. Subscribe
on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram and TikTok for
more true crime stories case updates. Thank you so much
for joining us for another episode. Until next time. Hunting
(10:22):
for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Host
Hunter Gilmore
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