The phenotype report for 'Joanne Doe' depicting her at various ages. January 26, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
WINNECONNE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Investigators say they have a promising new lead in the case of an unidentified skull found in Winneconne 40 years ago.
“They were able to get genealogy-based DNA, and from there, we started to get some information about some people that were potentially related to our victim,” said Lieutenant Chris Braman with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities have begun a search for relatives of the unidentified skull, dubbed “Joanne Doe.” The skull was originally discovered by boys diving for bottles in the Wolf River in 1985.
Investigations into the skull were done in conjunction with University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh anthropologists who worked to make a “phenotype report” to help identify whom the skull belonged to.
“I took a look at it, measured the cranium, whole bunch of measurements, and then we can take those measurements and treat them statistically,” said Professor of Anthropology Jordan Karsten. “In a way, that tells us at least an estimate of if the person is likely European, or if they’re maybe of African heritage, or if they’re Native American and maybe archaeological.”
Braman said many potential relatives reside in Ireland.
“They actually had kind of a family reunion, and they talked about the case and they provided DNA standards for me to a genealogy site. They’re the ones who named her Joanne,” he explained.
The skull of Joanne Doe was found along a stretch of the Wolf River near the bridge in Winneconne. Investigators say it’s one of only a few pieces of evidence that they have to work off of.
“We did a dive out in 2023. We found some garbage debris that was older, probably 1960s, 1970s, but it’s a big area,” Braman told us.
Despite the Ireland connection, investigators are still searching for direct relatives of “Joanne.”
They’re collecting SNPs, which are genealogy profiles based off of millions of ancestral characteristics, to narrow down the search.
Karsten says the investigation is as close as it’s ever been.
“We’re so close that you can almost feel like it’s solvable, but we just need a little bit more information,” Karsten said. “I mean, more uploads into the databases for these SNP profiles for DNA. That one new upload could totally change it.”
Anybody with information about the case is encouraged to contact Lt. Braman at (920) 236-7341 or by email at CBraman@winnebagocountywi.gov.
Braman said he will continue making cold calls to potential relatives until the search is complete.
Comments