COLUMBIA, Ill. — The Columbia Police Department announced on March 14, 2025, that a woman previously known only as Jane Doe has been identified as Carol Hemphill, nearly 23 years after her remains were discovered in a creek bed along Illinois Route 3. The skeletal remains were found on March 28, 2002, during a routine inspection by an Illinois Department of Transportation crew. Initial investigations estimated that the deceased was a black female, between the ages of 33 and 49, standing between 4-foot-10 and 5-foot-4 and weighing approximately 105 pounds. The remains were believed to have been at the site for about 12 months prior to their discovery. For over two decades, officers and detectives from the Columbia Police Department, along with the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, pursued leads in the case without success. Despite extensive efforts and collaboration with various law enforcement agencies and local media, Hemphill's identity remained a mystery. In recent years
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