Wilkes-Barre, PA – The Pennsylvania State Police announced today that human remains discovered in Luzerne County nearly 10 years ago have been identified as those of a Wilkes-Barre teenager who went missing four decades earlier.
PSP announced the development and asked for the public's help to find the person responsible for the death of Joan Marie Dymond. She was 14 years old when she disappeared from the Andover Street Park on June 25, 1969.
"We never stopped pursuing answers, and this investigation remains very active," said Captain Patrick Dougherty, commanding officer of PSP Troop P. "After 53 years, the family of Joan Marie Dymond very much deserves closure. We will do everything in our power to see that they have it."
The remains of the young woman, previously known only as Jane "Newport" Doe, were discovered Nov. 17, 2012, on the grounds of a former coal-mining operation in Newport Township by individuals digging for relics in a trash-filled depression in the ground.
Examination determined the remains were those of a female, estimated to be in her mid-teens to early 20's, who died of suspicious or "foul play" circumstances. Lab results indicated a high probability she died in the late 1960s.
The Criminal Investigation Unit at PSP's Shickshinny station submitted the victim's DNA profile to national databases for comparison to other profiles on record with negative results. The remains were later submitted to Othram, Inc. in March 2022 to undergo genetic genealogy testing, which was funded by the Luzerne Foundation.
Othram, Inc. provided troopers with possible family members of Jane "Newport" Doe, including the family of Joan Marie Dymond, who provided DNA samples. When those samples were compared to the DNA profile of the remains found in 2012, lab results received earlier this month indicated the remains of Jane "Newport" Doe are the remains of Joan Marie Dymond.
Although Joan Marie Dymond's remains have been identified, PSP is asking for the public's help to find the individual responsible for her death. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance should call the Shickshinny station at 570-542-4117.
Personnel worked with and received extraordinary assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS), multiple forensic anthropologists, Beta Analytic, Inc., and Othram, Inc.
For more information on the Pennsylvania State Police, visit psp.pa.gov.
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