Thanks to funding for new DNA testing for cold cases, police say they have finally identified the body of a woman found on the beach near Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio on March 30, 1980 — precisely 43 years to the day of the discovery.
According to officials, the woman was Patricia Eleanor Greenwood, who was born in 1948 in Bay City and lived in Traverse City and Saginaw.
When police first found the partially decomposed body, they determined that it was a young woman estimated to be about 5’5” tall and 120 lbs. She was wearing a size 12 “disco style” dress but had no other identifying features.
She would have been in her early 30s at the time of death, and may have been a sex worker.
The mystery took a turn in 2021, when Porchlight Project, a nonprofit dedicated to funding new DNA testing and genetic genealogy for cold cases in Ohio, offered to cover the costs to identify the body. Sandusky Police Detective Eric Costante sent a tissue sample to the forensics lab Bode Technology in Lorton, Virginia, which was able to extract DNA from the sample. The DNA was then cross-referenced with public databases and other evidence to generate a strong lead that pointed to a Michigan family.
“This case, and similar cases, highlight the successful outcomes that can happen when advanced technology combined with the expertise and tools available to Genetic Genealogy are applied to cold forensic cases,” Teresa Vreeland of Bode Technology said in a statement.
The lead generated from the DNA test led to a family of twelve children from the same family who were given up for adoption in Michigan. An interview with one of Greenwood’s surviving brothers revealed that he had not heard from his sister since around the time the body was found in Sandusky, and a surviving sister suggested that Patricia may have been a sex worker.
Police are investigating Greenwood’s death as a possible homicide and looking for anyone who might remember her and who she was with around the time of her disappearance.
“Being able to give Patricia Greenwood her name back is the first step in finding the justice that she so deserves,” Porchlight Project board member Nic Edwards said in a statement, adding, “Now it is time for the public to come together and provide information about Patricia Greenwood to the detectives. Patricia needs your help.”
Sandusky Police are asking anyone who knew Patricia Greenwood to call 419-627-5980.
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