SANDUSKY, Ohio (WJW) – Four decades after the body of a woman was found on the shores of Lake Erie in Sandusky, detectives now know her identity.

The woman’s identity was discovered on March 30, 2023, exactly 43 years after she was found.

Through DNA testing, Sandusky detectives now know the woman is Patricia Eleanor Greenwood, who was born in 1948.

Sandusky Police Chief Jared Oliver and Detective Eric Costante told the Fox 8 I-Team that they never stopped searching for answers.

In 2021, the Porchlight Project, a nonprofit dedicated to funding new DNA testing and genetic genealogy for cold cases in Ohio, offered to completely fund the effort to discover this Jane Doe’s identity. Costante said a tissue sample was sent to Bode Technology, a forensics lab that works closely with the Porchlight Project.

“The genealogy work led to a tree in which twelve children from the same family were given up for adoption in Michigan,” a press release from the Porchlight Project states.  “Detective Costante spoke to one of the surviving brothers, who revealed that he had not heard from his sister, Patricia Greenwood, since around the time the body was found in Sandusky. A further interview with a surviving sister suggested that Patricia may have been a sex worker at the time of her disappearance.”

Police tell us Greenwood’s death is considered a possible homicide. Detectives are releasing her identity in the hopes that someone from Michigan or Ohio may remember Patricia and who she was with around the time of her disappearance.

If anyone knew Patricia Greenwood, they are asked to please contact Sandusky Police as soon as possible.