McLean County has officially closed its only open case involving unidentified remains.
"Today marks a significant moment in a case that spanned over four decades, a case that has weighed heavily on our agency, the community and the hearts of those who never stopped looking for their loved one," said Sheriff Matt Lane.
In a joint press conference Tuesday, McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder identified Linda C. Haddad as the Jane Doe found hanging near the base of a utility pole on U.S. 136 near LeRoy on Feb. 2, 1982. A passerby saw her and stopped a snowplow driver, who cut Haddid from the pole and called for police. Investigators at the time found no evidence of foul play and ruled the death a likely suicide, but they were unable to identify her.
"This was McLean County's only unidentified person," said Yoder. "We're honored to have found this person. Everyone's life is important."
Last year, the Sheriff’s Department partnered with the private forensics firm Moxxy Forensic Investigations to employ investigative genetic genealogy using DNA databases. The Texas-based nonprofit fundraised the estimated $7,000 needed to complete its work on the McLean County case.
"We didn't know this was an option," Lane said. "We didn't have this type of thing budgeted for. They raised the money for us. Without that, this case would have gone nowhere. At least, it wouldn't have been solved this quickly."
Haddad was born Aug. 27, 1942, in Cambridge, Mass. She was 39 at the time of her death.
At the joint press conference, Moxxy case leader and investigative genealogist Kaycee Connelly read a statement from Haddad's family, noting her upbringing with her parents, older sister and golden retriever, Michael.
"Her father brought home fish and chips every Friday evening, which her family would often eat together on the banks of Charles River near their home," the statement said. "Like her mother and sister, Linda had great style and dressed elegantly."
Reports in the Pantagraph newspaper in 1982 indicated Haddad hitchhiked into the area. She was seen walking near U.S. 136 on Feb. 2 hours before her body was discovered, declining aid from a farmer offering help. She was also noticed by an Illinois state road crew, who asked if they could help her, according to the Pantagraph. She reportedly smiled and waved them away.
Weeks after her body was found, investigators recruited help from University of Oklahoma forensic anthropologist Clyde Collins Snow. Using bone samples, Snow narrowed her age range to 35-45 but was unable to identify her. Investigators followed more than 100 leads before ending the active investigation on Dec. 17, 1982. The first new lead in decades came in 2021 when McLean County detective Bryan Hanner picked up the case, which had been reopened in 2016 based on a tip that turned up nothing.
Moxxy uses techniques developed in the past decade, employing publicly available DNA databases to investigate unidentified persons and cold cases, "which are a very small percentage compared to the databases that we are seeing at Ancestry and 23andme," Connelly said.
Consumer DNA tests do not allow investigators to access their data, however individuals can volunteer their data to public databases.
"It requires them to give permission to compare to unidentified human remains and perpetrator kits," Connelly said.
With the case officially closed, the coroner's office will be updating Haddad's death certificate to include her name.
Family and friends are unaware why Haddad travelled to McLean County or whether it was her intended final destination. They told Moxxy investigators they weren't aware of any suicidal behaviors.
"What I find extremely important to note is the amount of effort that her father, mother and sister went through to try to locate her from the moment that they could not reach her," Connelly said. "They tried every single day. Even the family members who are still living today—they were still looking. They never gave up."
Haddad was buried Dec. 7, 1982, in Scogin Hill Cemetery in southwest rural Bloomington. A Pantagraph report on the burial said eight people attended the funeral: McLean County coroner William Anderson, three reporters, two men from Beck Memorial Homes, Rev. Roger Dykstra from Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington and a grave digger.
"She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, an aunt—and today we begin a way to close that chapter with dignity and truth," Lane said. "This breakthrough is not just about solving a mystery but about restoring humanity to someone who was lost and giving their family closure that they deserve."
Det. Hanner worked with cemetery officials to locate the unmarked grave and arranged for a name plate to be placed in Haddad's final resting place.
