Human remains found under a plastic tarp and brush by two Lebanon County game wardens in Pennsylvania in 1973 have now been determined to belong Ruth Brenneman. Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania State Police
Human remains found under a plastic tarp and brush by two Lebanon County game wardens in Pennsylvania in 1973 have now been determined to belong to a teen girl who went missing that year from the city of York, about 50 miles away.
Authorities had found the remains in a wooded area near Ridge and Tomstown Roads in Union Township in October 1973 but had been unable to identify to whom they belonged, describing them as a Jane Doe with long brown or blonde hair. Advertisement
In 2016, police exhumed the body and have since used a mixture of DNA testing and fresh interviews with living relatives to determine that the remains belong to Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, a 14-year-old girl from York, police said in a news release.
Ruth left for school one morning at the start of the 1973 school year but never returned home. It remains under investigation whether she ever made it to school.
The cause of Ruth’s death has not been determined and police are offering a $5,000 reward for information that helps solve the case. Anyone with information regarding this case should call the Pennsylvania State Police-Jonestown at 717-865-2194. Advertisement
