For 33 years, she was known only as a mystery.
In June 1993, authorities in Minnesota made a horrifying discovery. A severed head was found near Bone Lake in Washington County. Just one day later, a human foot was recovered nearly 40 miles away at Pig’s Eye Lake near St. Paul. Investigators quickly realized the remains belonged to the same victim, but they had no idea who she was.
The victim became one of Minnesota’s most haunting unidentified homicide cases.
For decades, investigators chased leads that never materialized. One of the strangest clues came from an anonymous phone call in which a man claimed additional body parts could be found beneath the Mendota Bridge. Authorities searched the area but found nothing, and the caller was never identified. Whether the call came from the killer, someone with knowledge of the crime, or a hoaxer remains unknown.
Then came a breakthrough.
Advances in forensic DNA technology and genetic genealogy allowed investigators to revisit the case. Working with the DNA Doe Project, detectives traced the victim’s family tree through distant relatives. The investigation eventually led them to her daughter and confirmed the victim’s identity as Denise Hartley.
Hartley was 27 years old when she disappeared. Originally from Ohio, she had moved to St. Paul in 1992 and left her daughter in the care of relatives while she tried to build a new life. She was the youngest of 15 siblings. Remarkably, no missing-person report had ever connected her to the unidentified remains, allowing the case to remain unsolved for more than three decades.
Today, investigators finally know who the victim was.
What they still don’t know is who killed her.
A Criminal Justice Perspective
The identification of Denise Hartley demonstrates how genetic genealogy is transforming cold-case investigations. Identifying a victim is often the first major step toward solving a homicide because it allows investigators to reconstruct the victim’s final days, relationships, routines, and potential suspects.
Several questions remain:
- Who was Hartley spending time with before her death?
- Why was her body dismembered and scattered across multiple locations?
- Who made the anonymous phone call about additional remains?
- Did the killer know Hartley personally, or was she targeted by a stranger?
The dismemberment and disposal of the remains suggest an offender who was focused on concealing the victim’s identity. Ironically, that effort succeeded for more than three decades—until modern DNA science caught up.
Denise Hartley finally has her name back. Now investigators hope to give her family something else they have waited 33 years for: justice.
If you have any information on Denise Hartley, contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 651-430-7850.
Cold Cases After Dark 
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