Connie Lorraine Christensen:Found 1982, near Jacksonburg, Wayne County, Indiana

    



  In 1982, on December 26th, hunters in rural Wayne County Indiana stumbled upon a set of skeletal remains in the fork of a large fallen tree. 

   The skeleton was found in a wooded area off Jacksonburg Road. The spot was about 1 ½ miles north of Interstate 70.  Jacksonburg Road doesn’t have an exit off the Interstate. The killer could not have left the Interstate right there to dump this body.


  This killer had local knowledge. There is an overgrown gravel lane that leads into the woods near where the body was found. 

That gravel to the right is the entrance to the lane. 

In summer it is almost impossible to tell that a road is there. 
From above you can see that the lane leads into the woods. See the top center of this photo.


   Medical examiners would determine that the body belonged to a female in their teens or twenties. 


   According to an article about the discovery in 1982, the victim was wearing long pants and a long sleeved blouse. Her shoes were a sandal style. (In the late 70’s and early 1980’s many women wore sandals with hosiery for a dressed up look. It would have been appropriate for work, going out, or to church.) A woman’s coat, presumed to belong to the victim, was found nearby. A gold ring set with an opal was found with the victim. The ring isn’t described in any detail. 

A typical opal stone. 


   The spot where she was found was not far from the place where Pamela Ann Smith was found in the Spring of 1976. Pamela Ann Smith’s skeletal remains were found in a field near Greensfork, Indiana. She had disappeared on August 24th, 1975. Her case is also still unsolved. 


    This victim could be from Ohio. Wayne County is not far from the Ohio border. Highway 40 runs from Ohio, into Indiana and intersects with Jacksonburg Road. She could also be from Indiana. She could be from just about anywhere. The killer could have abducted her from a public area near the interstate; offering a ride. But, the spot where she was left seems to indicates someone with local knowledge. If she was left there in the fall after the foliage was gone…it’s possible that the killer could have stumbled upon that lane but it seems like an outside chance to me. 


    Hunters used this area in 1982 and still do today. Trappers also used this area, closer to the water of Martindale Creek which runs through there. It’s possible that the killer knew of this place due to one of those pastimes. 


     This facial reconstruction may be difficult to recognize as a teen or a woman in her 20’s. But, keep in mind that she has symmetrical features and what looks like a square jaw. While her eye color and hair color are not known; we do know that she was Caucasian.


   Update:The unidentified remains were identified in 2023. Connie Lorraine Christensen grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin.  In 1982 she lived in Oregon, Wisconsin and had a one year old daughter. 

   In April of 1982 she visited family in Nashville, Tennessee and left her daughter there for a visit. Maybe she was going to try to get a job and get on her feet financially. 

   Had she driven there herself? Where did her car go? Had she hitchhiked? Had she traveled to Nashville with someone? 

   On the way back to Wisconsin; Connie Lorraine Christensen was shot and left in the woods of Wayne County. Who shot her? Was this a man that she was in a relationship with? 

    If you have information, please submit a tip:


     The Indiana State Police Cold Case Division is investigating this case. 41-10291 is the case number. 


      If you have information about this case, please call 

(765) 778-2121 or (800) 527-4752. 


Listen and Share this case on YouTube:https://youtu.be/k6tGUzmausc?si=hbLUyB-pNEP1WIFp


          

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