Pennsylvania human remains identified as missing teen from 1960s cold case

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (WHTM) – The Pennsylvania State Police say human remains discovered in Luzerne County nearly 10 years ago have been identified as those of a Wilkes-Barre teenager who went missing four decades earlier.

State Police say the remains were identified as 14-year-old Joan Marie Dymond, who disappeared on June 25, 1969. The remains were discovered in November 2012 on the grounds of a former coal mining operation in Newport Township.

Officials had previously identified the remains as Jane “Newport” Doe after she was discovered by individuals digging in a trash-filled depression in the ground. Lab results indicated a high probability she died in the late 1960s and State Police say she died of suspicious or foul play circumstances.

State Police say they are continuing to look for a suspect in connection to Dymond’s death.

“We never stopped pursuing answers, and this investigation remains very active,” said Captain Patrick Dougherty, commanding officer of PSP Troop P. “After 53 years, the family of Joan Marie Dymond very much deserves closure. We will do everything in our power to see that they have it.

The Criminal Investigation Unit at PSP’s Shickshinny station submitted the victim’s DNA profile to national databases for comparison to other profiles on record with negative results. The remains were later submitted to Othram, Inc. in March 2022 to undergo genetic genealogy testing, which was funded by the Luzerne Foundation.

Othram, Inc. provided troopers with possible family members of Jane “Newport” Doe, including the family of Joan Marie Dymond, who provided DNA samples. When those samples were compared to the DNA profile of the remains found in 2012, lab results received earlier this month indicated the remains of Jane “Newport” Doe are the remains of Joan Marie Dymond.

Anyone with information regarding Dymond’s disappearance should call the Shickshinny station at 570-542-4117.

Personnel worked with and received extraordinary assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS), multiple forensic anthropologists, Beta Analytic, Inc., and Othram, Inc.