COVERT TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Thanks to today’s DNA technology, Michigan State Police are identifying the skeletal remains of a woman found in Van Buren County back in 1988.
She was first known as “I-196 Jane” because she was located in Covert Township near I-196 and CR-378, but an identity was never determined, until now.
Investigators used genealogy testing through the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit research group, to help gather more information. It’s similar to the websites where residents send their DNA to trace their family tree.
They submitted some of the skeletal remains to compare them to the massive public DNA database.
Using this technology, they finally identified I-196 Jane as 28-year-old Marcia Kaylynn Bateman from Oklahoma City.
According to the MSP’s press release, “Marcia was last seen in May 1988. Her family reported her missing in August 1988 to the Oklahoma City Police. Marica was known to visit family/friends in the Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles, California areas and may have visited these cities prior to going missing. At this point in the investigation, investigators have been unable to determine how she made it to Michigan from Oklahoma.”
Michigan State Police say the case is now classified as a death investigation as they work to determine if it was a homicide.
They’re asking for the public’s help with the next phase of this investigation:
- If you knew Marcia Bateman; contact MSP
- If you were camping at the Covert Campground off CR-378 or the South Haven State Park/Campground during the summer of 1988, take extra care in attempting to recall anything suspicious you may remember.
- If you were in the area of I-196 and CR-378 during the summer of 1988 and sawanything suspicious or vehicles stopped on the ramp, contact MSP.
***NOTE: Published reports first said the woman’s name was Maria, but MSP has since corrected it to Marcia. We have changed our copy to represent the new information***
