Remains found ten years ago have been identified as those of a teenage girl who disappeared in northeastern Pennsylvania more than half a century ago. Wilkes-Barre State Police said Tuesday the remains have been identified as those of 14-year-old Joan Marie Dymond of Wilkes-Barre, who disappeared from Andover Street Park in June 1969.
“We have never stopped looking for answers, and this investigation remains very active,” Capt. Patrick Dougherty, Pennsylvania State Police P Troop commander, said in a statement. “After 53 years, the family of Joan Marie Dymond richly deserves closure. We will do everything in our power to ensure that they have it.”
Police said the remains were found in November 2012 by people searching for relics in a trash-filled depression at a former coal mining operation in Newport Township. Investigators said they suspected foul play in the death of the young victim, who likely died in the late 1960s.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a likeness of the girl based on facial reconstruction images. Investigators sent the victim’s DNA profile to national databases but got no matches. With the rise of investigative genetic genealogy — using direct-to-consumer DNA databases to identify victims and perpetrators of violent crimes — the Luzerne Foundation has launched a “Closing Cases” fund, citing the mountain of Aden “Jane Doe”.
Othram, Inc. provided the soldiers with possible family members, including Dymond’s family, who provided DNA samples. Tests recently confirmed that the remains were his.
According to the Times Leader, Dymond was the daughter of George F. Dymond and his wife, Anne Rose. George, a World War II veteran, died in 1984 and his wife died in 2000.
State police are asking for the public’s help in locating the individual responsible for her death. Anyone with information regarding his disappearance should call the Shickshinny station at 570-542-4117.