It’s been over 13 years since Kenora’s ‘Millie’ Jane Doe’s body was found near the Rideout area, and the mystery into her true identity continues to this day.
Unidentified Human Remains Canada is featuring Millie’s case this month with the goal of matching her DNA with those of possible family members in the northwestern Ontario area, to help bring closure to her family.
On June 17, 2009, a hiker walking close to the Trans-Canada discovered her body in a small one-person tent in a wooded area near Miller Rapids Road in Kenora, just off of Veterans Drive near the Highway 17A Bypass intersection.
The Kenora OPP say Millie had pitched her tent along Rideout Bay, and as recently as one to two days before she was found, she had used a hibachi stove to cook inside of her tent. Her cause of death was deemed to be accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from the stove.
Millie is estimated to have been born between 1954 and 1974, making her between 35 and 55 at the time she was discovered. She was Caucasian, roughly 5’4” and 110 lbs, wore oval wire-framed glasses, had shoulder-length brown hair and wore heavy hiking gear.
The OPP’s investigation found that Millie had at one time undergone major facial reconstruction surgery, which was likely done 20 to 30 years prior to her death. The woman also likely wore braces in adulthood, and spots on her lower teeth suggest she was a smoker.
Unidentified Humans Remains Canada says Millie’s DNA matches reveal Danish ancestry and her ancestors may have immigrated from Denmark’s Jutland Peninsula to North America within recent generations, but they note this has been a challenging case for their genealogy team.
Notably, among her possessions was the novel ‘A Long Way Down’ by Nick Hornby, a dark comedy with themes of suicide.
Photo of Millie’s possessions at the time of her death courtesy of Canada Unsolved.Anyone with any information on Millie’s case is asked to contact the Kenora OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). You can also find more information on submitting your DNA to see if you're a possible match HERE.
Other local cold case investigations include Richard Roach who was killed in Sioux Narrows in February of 2015, Susan Assin who was found murdered in 1974, and the OPP are continuing investigations into Henry Stone-Arnold and Alyssa Turnbull’s deaths after arrests were made earlier this year in both cases.
