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DNA Breakthrough Identifies Parents of ‘Rachel Marie Doe’ in 42-Year-Old Blaine Cold Case
ANOKA COUNTY, MN — November 2025 — In a remarkable forensic breakthrough, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Homicide Unit has identified the parents of an infant long known to investigators and the community as “Rachel Marie Doe.” The development marks a pivotal moment in a decades-old mystery that has haunted Blaine and the broader Anoka County community for more than 42 years.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, extensive DNA testing and modern forensic genealogy have led to the positive identification of the baby’s biological mother and father, a discovery that brings long-awaited closure to one of Minnesota’s oldest unresolved cases.
The case dates back to January 21, 1983, when the body of a full-term newborn girl was discovered along a public roadway near Main Street and Lexington Avenue in Blaine. The infant, found with the placenta still attached, was determined to have been recently born before her death. With no clues to her identity or those responsible, she was given the name “Rachel Marie Doe” by local clergy and community members who later held a memorial service in her honor.
For more than four decades, the case—recorded under Anoka County case number 83-004919—remained unsolved. Despite persistent efforts by generations of law enforcement officers, the child’s origins and the circumstances surrounding her death remained a painful mystery.
That changed this year. Leveraging advanced DNA sequencing technologies unavailable in the 1980s, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit worked with forensic specialists to build a genetic profile that ultimately identified the baby’s parents.
“After 42 years, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office’s Cold Case Unit has successfully identified the parents of this child, whose story weighed heavily on the hearts of the community back in 1983, as well as today,” said Sheriff Brad Wise. “Many law enforcement professionals throughout these decades have worked to bring answers to this sad situation, and we are proud to give all who were affected by this story some closure.”
The Cold Case Homicide Unit, part of the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division, remains dedicated to pursuing justice for victims and families in unresolved cases throughout Anoka County. The office continues to review newly available forensic tools—especially genetic genealogy and DNA phenotyping—to reexamine cases that once appeared unsolvable.
While the Sheriff’s Office did not release the names of the identified parents, officials confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing as detectives evaluate the newly uncovered evidence and determine the next steps.
This long-awaited identification underscores how modern DNA technology is transforming cold case investigations nationwide, turning historical mysteries into solvable cases and restoring names and stories to victims who had long been forgotten.
The full official statement from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office can be accessed through the county’s website.
