Canadian Police Identify Famous Cold Case Victim After Nearly 50 Years

Ontario police have identified a famous cold case victim after recovering her body nearly 50 years ago.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) with help from the DNA Doe Project have identified the victim, formerly called the “Nation River Lady,” as Lalla Jewell Parchman Langford, according to a press release from the DNA Doe Project. (RELATED: Police Identify Headless Remains Found 26 Years Ago, Seeking ‘Persons Of Interest’ In Cold Case)

Canadian cold case victim known for decades as ‘Nation River Lady’ identified as Tennessee spa owner https://t.co/s56TrfuPmj

— WVTM 13 (@WVTM13) July 6, 2023

A local farmer discovered Langford’s remains floating in the Nation River on May 3, 1975, according to the release.

OPP officers investigated the Highway 417 bridge, a short distance away from where the body was found, and reportedly found blood, which led investigators to suspect that the body was dumped into the river, according to the DNA Doe Project.

Langford’s murderer reportedly strangled her with a plastic covered television cable, bound her hands and ankles using men’s neckties, and wrapped her face in a tea towel, the press release continued.

Canadian authorities failed in their attempts to identify Langford and the case eventually went cold until the OPP reached out to the DNA Doe Project for help in the case, according to the press release.

“We were incredibly lucky with a couple of elements in this case: we had a couple matches that are fairly closely related to our Nation River Lady and once we got close, we uncovered newspaper articles specifically mentioning Jewell Langford’s disappearance. She was practically there waiting for us to find her,” said Team Leader C. Lauritsen, according to the DNA Doe Project. “The heartbreaking part is that Jewell’s mother clearly searched for her for years and unfortunately died not knowing what happened to her daughter.”