“The Dead Unknown” tells the story of Jane and John Does in America and the thousands of families left in the dark about their loved ones’ fate.
Left for Dead
Inside America’s coldest cases
Watch as we go inside America’s coldest cases
There are at least 10,000 unidentified bodies in morgues and cemeteries across the country. Bodies may remain unidentified for far too long because agencies are not required to share case information about missing people and Jane and John Does.
Senator makes fourth attempt at bill to fund missing persons database
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy announced that he plans to introduce “Billy’s Law,” a bill that would provide $2.4 million in funding each year through at least 2020 for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Previous attempts to pass the legislation failed three times in Congress.
Indiana serial killer’s victims still unknown long after his death
Based on the confessions of serial killer Larry Eyler, who died in prison in 1994, authorities believe he killed at least 22 people. As many as six of his victims remain unidentified today.
A Minnesota woman’s tireless campaign to crack decades-old cold case
Deb Anderson started what would become a 14-year campaign to identify Blue Earth Jane Doe, an 18-year-old found slain in 1980. In this case, the murde
Boston’s Baby Doe is ID’ed, but most unnamed child victims go unnoticed
Boston authorities announced that they have succeeded in identifying a toddler found in a trash bag as Bella Bond. But many unidentified children never make national headlines. They are relegated to brief local crime reports.
How a dead Houston father remained unidentified for 12 years
For 12 years, Alice Almendarez agonized over the disappearance of her father, but local authorities had all they needed to know that he was nearby all along.
Digging up a 45-year mystery on a Kentucky hillside
Known only as “Mountain Jane Doe,” her stabbed body was found in Harlan, Kentucky, and quickly buried in a local cemetery in 1969. Authorities ordered the exhumation of her remains more than four decades later, but things didn’t turn out the way they expected.
Inside America’s coldest cases
In this episode of Reveal, we crisscross the nation tracing Jane and John Doe cases, showing why so many bodies remain unidentified despite new and powerful forensic tools.
Unidentified migrants reach undignified end
Out of the thousands of unidentified bodies scattered across the country, many are found in South Texas, where migrants are crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. We travel to border to find out what happens to these remains.