Update: 'She was a complete mystery.' Victim identified 36 years after her death

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Troop T closed a nearly 36-year-old case by identifying the victim of a fatal crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Stonycreek Township.

Linda Jean McClure, 26, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, was a passenger in a tractor-trailer hauling fruit that crashed at mile marker 119.4 eastbound on Oct. 22, 1987. The tractor-trailer clipped another tractor-trailer in front of him. The driver lost control and his truck hit the center barrier and burst into flames, killing McClure and the driver, according to the original state police accident report said Pittsburgh attorney Jeffrey Weinberg, who is representing McClure's estate.

While police immediately identified the truck driver as a California man, his passenger, who as far as law enforcement could tell was not employed by the trucking company, remained unknown despite multiple attempts to identify her over the last three decades, according to Communications Director Myles Snyder, Pennsylvania State Police Communications.

Over that time the state police's turnpike criminal investigating unit continued looking into the deceased woman's identity as one of their unresolved cases. As new troopers of Troop T rotated into the state police station, they looked at the unresolved cases "with a fresh eye." The troopers looked at what hadn't been done before, Snyder said.

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"The great advancements with DNA," especially over the last year with genome-sequencing technology, provided a new means of identifying individuals through genetic genealogy, he said.

In the McClure case, the police were able to obtain DNA from her autopsy and had that on file to be used as a match if possible.

Her family had not reported her missing. "It made the case extremely difficult for years," Snyder said. Even though police had her DNA profile, a match could not be made with anyone on a missing persons list.

"She was a complete mystery," Snyder said.

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In August 2022, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission agreed to pay for forensic genetic genealogy DNA testing.

"We are thankful to the turnpike commission. This case was turnpike based for the entire case," said Sgt. Derek Schrader, commander of the state police turnpike Somerset station, in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Pennsylvania Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said in a media release Tuesday: “The Pennsylvania Turnpike is pleased we were able to support the State Police on this cold case.

“We hope that this revelation provides long overdue comfort to Ms. McClure’s family."

Forensic evidence was sent to Othram’s lab in The Woodlands, Texas, where forensic scientists used its new Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to produce a genealogical profile for the unknown female, according to Othram's website.

Othram’s genealogy team then produced investigative leads from this profile, state police said.

PSP Troop T investigators continued their investigation and determined that the woman was McClure. McClure’s family told investigators they last communicated with her in the late 1980s. Her brother submitted a DNA sample for comparison, which confirmed McClure was the victim of the crash, Snyder said.

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“There were many obstacles in this case but none that deterred the outcome,” said state police Major Michael Carroll, Commander of Area II in a news release. “I commend the troopers who remained dedicated to their duty and ultimately brought closure to this case,” he said.

McClure's DNA was found at the hospital by the state police after her autopsy. "Once we found it we put into our evidence room and sent it out for testing to several laboratories. We were fortunate to have enough DNA sample," Schrader said.

According to Weinberg, "Sgt. Schrader was wonderful and very helpful. The state police doggedly pursued this case and spent the money to identify her, even though there was no emphasis of any family member or state agency to do so," he said. "This is a great example of what taxpayers expect. I give the state police a lot of credit."

For the state police it was about doing their job, being able to solve the mystery, and letting her family know.

"It is very good to give the family closure," Schrader said. "They were very thankful."

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: The woman who died in a 1987 fiery turnpike accident was just IDed