It was September 8, 2018, when a Jane Doe was found along Sulphur Creek Road in the Whites Creek area of Davidson County in Tennessee. Dateline featured her story in our “Cold Case Spotlight” series in 2025. Detective Matthew Filter, now retired, of the Metropolitan Nashville Police told Dateline at the time that the Jane Doe was “in a very advanced state of decomposition” and “definitely unrecognizable.”
Her body was fully clothed -- decked out in Vanderbilt University gear. She became known as “Vandy Jane Doe” for more than seven years.
Just this week, she got her name back. On February 4, the MNPD posted a press release with the news: Vandy Jane Doe has been identified as 25-year-old Yadezia Jones of Nashville.
According to MNPD, over the course of the investigation, their department worked with the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) to develop DNA profiles that were entered into a national database, but there were no matches. “In 2022, new biological samples were collected for Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) for analysis,” the press release states. “The samples were sent that same year to Othram Lab which developed a comprehensive DNA profile. That profile was uploaded to Family Tree DNA and GED Match Pro.”
Then, in September 2025, DNA Investigative Solutions was given access to the DNA profile. According to MNPD, “the recent identification was a result of these combined efforts.”
Dateline spoke with Tia Lorenzen from DNA Investigative Solutions about the recent developments. “It’s a multi-step process,” Tia said. “Going over matches and clustering them into different groups.” Then they work to build a family tree. “We start building out the family tree of all of the matches and kind of figuring out how they relate to each other,” she said. “Sometimes it takes months.”
In December, they identified a likely parent of Vandy Jane Doe and shared that with the MNPD. According to Tia, police were then able to get in touch with the family. “There was a daughter people hadn’t heard from since 2018,” Tia said. “They submitted a DNA sample right away and that was a little before the holidays.” The official confirmation came in on Wednesday.
DNA Investigative Solutions has been working on the Vandy Jane Doe case for a while, before they even had access to her DNA profile. They still have Vandy’s case listed on their website, but now, she’s moved under their solved section. “This work is a reminder that every person matters and every name deserves to be known,” they wrote on the site. “We extend our sincerest condolences to Yadezia’s family and friends.”
Tia Lorenzen says it’s important to their work that people who have done a DNA test be willing to upload those kits to sites like GED Match, Family Tree DNA, and DNA Justice. “We really rely on that, and we wouldn’t have been able to do this if it weren’t for the people that had uploaded and shared their DNA,” Tia said.
MNPD stated in their press release that “the cause and manner of death remain undetermined” and despite how she was dressed when she was found, Yadezia had “no known connection to Vanderbilt.”
In their press release, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department shared their gratitude for the numerous agencies who assisted in the investigation over the last seven years.
They emphasized that they are still investigating Yadezia’s case, and ask anyone with information to call Cold Case Unit Detective Andrew Davis at 615-862-7720.
