According to a post on the coroner’s office Facebook page, the exhumation was made in an attempt to obtain DNA that will hopefully lead to answers about who the child was and what happened to her.

“Agnes Doe was found deceased in 1987 and has remained unidentified since. With the current ability to analyze DNA, a familial match is possible,” the Facebook post states.

Tuesday’s news was a surprise to the community, with Mayor William Latchford simply stating “Wow,” when told of the exhumation.

After digesting the information, Latchford said, “That’s amazing news.”

The Knights of Columbus of St. Gregory’s Council in Tyrone buried the child known as Baby Agnes Doe. The child’s remains were exhumed Tuesday in an effort to use modern DNA technology in hopes of identifying the baby girl. Courtesy photo

He’s hopeful that it’s possible to find out the identity of the child and help bring some closure.

“It’s very important to a lot of people,” he said. “It’s a sad story, but it would be wonderful to have an ID to the person that so many care about.”

The case has been a mystery for 38 years.

On Feb. 5, 1987, the unidentified baby girl’s remains were discovered in woods between Pinecroft and Bellwood, according to an article in the June 19, 1987, Altoona Mirror. The child’s partial remains were found by a dog along Kerbaugh Road, the article stated.

A week later, then-Blair County Coroner Charles Burkey ruled the child’s death a homicide by unknown means, but said the infant had been cared for and fed. He estimated that she had been dead for only a few days before the body was discovered.

The Knights of Columbus of St. Gregory’s Council in Tyrone offered to bury the child if no one claimed her.

Despite a lengthy investigation, the case remained unsolved and on Saturday, June 20, 1987, the Knights buried the child, naming her Agnes after the Roman Catholic saint by the same name. A wealthy young woman martyred in ancient Rome, Agnes is considered the patron saint of little girls, the article states.

In the years since, area residents have gathered for the annual Respect for Life March that includes a prayer service and a mile walk to the baby’s grave.

If the case is finally solved, that would add even more significance to the yearly march, Latchford said.

The exhumation of the child’s body is part of an effort being funded by a

$1 million Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to the University of South Florida in order to identify the remains of missing and unidentified persons in Pennsylvania, according to Benton and a USF forensic anthropology lab Facebook post from July 2024.

The program is led by USF forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle, who is partnering with the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania State Coroner’s Association and Innovative Forensics on the project, according to the Facebook post.

Kimmerle started her cold case collaboration with PSP, the state Attorney General’s office and other Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies in 2016, and the current grant-funded program is a continuation of that, according to the Facebook post.

The remains of Agnes Doe and those of other unidentified individuals are being taken to the Indiana County coroner’s office, according to Blair County Coroner Ray Benton.

A Florida pathologist will extract tissue samples there for transport to Florida, so that testing can be done for cross matches to locate relatives, Benton said.

When relatives are found, perhaps with the help of agencies that do testing for people curious about their ancestry, additional testing and interviews can help authorities home in on an identification and potentially a cause of death, Benton said.

It’s impossible to say how long it might take for Agnes, he said, adding that her identity might never be found.

Only some of the agencies that test client DNA to satisfy those clients’ curiosity about their ethnicity share information with investigations like the one being done with Agnes, Benton said.

There are thousands of unresolved Pennsylvania homicides dating back to the 1960s, according to the Facebook post.

There are also long-term missing person cases that the Kimmerle project could potentially solve, the post states.

Anyone with information about the Agnes Doe case is asked to contact the Hollidaysburg State Police Crime Unit.