SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – The victim of one of the strangest and longest-running cold cases in Florida has been identified.
The Sumter County sheriff announced the news in the ‘Little Miss Panasoffkee’ case on Wednesday.
According to investigators, the case dates back to February 1971, when a couple of hitchhikers discovered a woman’s body under the Lake Panasoffkee Bridge on Interstate 75.
At the time, the body was already heavily decomposed and sunken in the water, likely having been there for weeks before being found.
“Today, ‘Little Miss Panasoffkee’ has a name, said Sumter County Sheriff Patrick Breeden. “She has been identified as Maureen L. Minor Rowan, also known to her friends and family as ‘Cookie’.”
The sheriff also announced that they have identified a person of interest: Charles Emery Rowan Sr., also known as “Emery,” who died in 2015.
The key to the identification was advanced fingerprint technology through the state-of-the-art STORM system, which succeeded where previous methods failed, deputies said. Investigators had hoped DNA and genealogical data would solve the case, but it was a return to fingerprint basics that led to the breakthrough.
[WATCH: Sumter County sheriff announces ‘Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee’ identification]
A decades-old case
For nearly 55 years, the identity of “Little Miss Panasoffkee” remained a mystery.
Central Florida Public Media reports that the woman had been strangled, with a man’s belt found around her neck. She’d also reportedly been wrapped in a blanket and dropped over the bridge.
Detectives were never able to identify her, but the unusual circumstances around her death earned her a moniker from the community.
With no one to claim her, the body was buried in a Jane Doe marked grave in Wildwood’s Oak Grove Cemetery, deputies said, though she was later unearthed for re-examination.
Over the decades, investigators have revealed more information about Little Miss Panasoffkee, including the following details:
- At the time of death, she was 17-24 years old.
- She was about 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and weighed around 115 pounds.
- She had dark-colored hair and brown eyes.
- She was wearing plaid green pants, a matching solid-green shirt, and a shawl with green-and-yellow print.
- She had a Baylor wristwatch on her left wrist, a yellow-gold ring with clear stone on her left ring finger.
Biological testing showed that Little Miss Panasoffkee may have been of Greek descent, potentially coming to the U.S. 10-12 months before her death.
In addition, the testing determined that her teeth contained high levels of lead, which could link her to the small town of Lavrion, approximately 60 miles southeast of Athens, deputies noted.
“Lavrion is known for its high level of lead contamination associated with mining operations in the region,” a release by the sheriff’s office reads.
Deputies said that in 2018, detectives began partnering with private labs that could use advanced DNA technology to possibly uncover more clues in the case.
“The ongoing goal is to extract enough DNA suitable for a genetic profile of Little Miss Panasoffkee,” deputies wrote. “She has undergone numerous attempts through various private labs; however, the state of her remains has been problematic in providing a viable profile.”