Naming the nameless: Doe Network solves mysteries and provides closure

Networking is important. Doe Network volunteers never know where a lead will come from: Photo courtesy of Todd Matthews, Doe Network U.S. Media Director.Ten years ago, a 30-year-old Maryland woman came across a case on a state police website involving the unidentified remains of a young girl found nine years before. The forensic sketch of the girl looked familiar to the woman who, surprised that the case hadn’t been solved yet, decided to solve it herself. 

Since that first mystery caught her attention, Kylen Johnson has solved six cases of unidentified human remains through volunteer work for the Doe Network, an international organization focused on helping law enforcement solve cases with unidentified victims. According to Johnson, the Doe Network has been responsible for solving about 60 cases.

The Doe Network’s name comes from the police practice of referring to unidentified victims as Jane or John Doe. Johnson said that when she joined the network in 2000 there were only about 25 volunteers. Now there are enough volunteers that each state has its own chapter. The Washington, D.C., area alone has 10 active volunteers.

Johnson said people get involved for different reasons and everyone goes about solving cases in their own way. 

“Several [volunteers] have missing relatives; others just like mysteries,” Johnson said. “Most just pick cases they can relate to age-wise, race-wise, social status-wise. . . . I have all my cases memorized, and when I come across a new case on the Doe Network I compare them.”

Volunteers spend a lot of time on the web, searching sites like the Doe Network and NamUs: Photo courtesy of Todd Matthews, Doe Network U.S. Media Director.The Doe Network website contains hundreds of cases of missing persons and unidentified victims, cases that law enforcement agencies have had to shelve because of limited resources and manpower. Volunteers try to match the characteristics of unidentified victims to those of missing persons. The most promising matches are handed off to local law enforcement. 

Cases on the network’s website go back to the 1920s. Some cases include forensic sketches, facial reconstructions or photos of the clothes and jewelry found on the victims. Sometimes a case includes a fair amount of information, and sometimes volunteers have almost nothing to go on. 

"The Forgotten," an ABC TV network series based on the Doe Network, first aired in September 2009. Johnson says many volunteers joined because of the show. While the reality of a Doe Network volunteer may not be as exciting as the television series would indicate, there are still perks. 

“I’ve seen it all there,” Johnson said. “We’ve had all kinds of quacks join up. That can be amusing. . . . Lots of people have met through here. A couple have married.”

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System website, about 4,400 unidentified human remains are found every year across the country. Of those, more than 1,000 remain nameless after a year. On the flip side, there are about 100,000 missing persons cases nationwide at any given time. Currently, in the district, including Maryland and Virginia, there are 362 unidentified persons cases and 263 missing persons cases open.

Families desperate for answers often offer rewards for information of loved ones: Photo courtesy of Todd Matthews, Doe Network U.S. Media Director.While there have been advancements in technology such as DNA matching, the process of solving these mysteries is still formidable. It can also be very emotional as families of missing persons struggle to discover the truth about their loved ones, both dreading and longing for an end to their search. Because of her experience with the Doe Network, Johnson has developed connections with these families and knows what they're going through.

“It’s a little odd of a relationship,” Johnson said. “I have one woman who lives in Kentucky I talk to from time to time. We have a weird bond because I helped link her missing husband to a John Doe in Vermont.”

Johnson is now working for the Doe Network as the media representative for Virginia and Washington, D.C., and as the area director for Maryland. She runs her own website for the area called the Maryland Missing Persons Network. The case of the young girl that originally got Johnson interested in the Doe Network has yet to be solved.

These are currently open cold cases. Click on each picture to find out about their stories:

Unidentified white female found in Baltimore, MD in 1976.: (Forensic sketch courtesy of Maryland Missing Persons Network)Unidentified black male found in Cecil County, MD in 1997.: (Forensic sketch courtesy of Maryland Missing Persons Network)