Susan Lund

Susan Lund of Clarksville, Tennessee, was 25 years old and a loving wife and mother of three children at the time of her disappearance in 1992. Investigators say her family last saw her at the family's Clarksville home on Christmas Eve of that year. She'd left to walk to a local grocery store but never returned home. Susan’s husband quickly reported her missing, and multiple agencies searched for her for months. Eventually, the official missing person case was closed, but investigators say her family never stopped looking for her.

Shortly after Lund’s disappearance on January 27,  1993, two young girls discovered human remains along a wooded roadway within Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park in Ina, Illinois. Despite several unique characteristics of the remains, investigators were not able to identify the woman, and for thirty years, she remained “Ina Jane Doe.”

In January 2022, investigators announced that over the last year, a multitude of new efforts were taken to identify this “Jane Doe,” with Dr. Amy Michael of the University of New Hampshire leading the way - offering to reexamine the case using updated methods. Michael worked with writer and researcher Laurah Norton, and they found that the original sketch of the woman may have exaggerated her unique characteristics and based on their research commissioned a more accurate forensic sketch by artist Carl Koppelman. At the same time, investigators also pursued DNA identification, and after uploading the DNA of “Ina Jane Doe” to GedMatch they quickly found a lead and were able to confirm a familial match using a sibling’s DNA – identifying the remains as belonging to Susan “Sue” Lund.

While Susan Lund’s identity has been restored, her children remain dedicated to identifying the person who is responsible for their mother’s death.

Laurah Norton profiles Susan's case and others in her new book Lay Them To Rest available everywhere books are sold on October 17th. Learn more and get your copy today by clicking the button below!

Investigators ask anyone with information about what happened to Susan Lund or where she was between the date she was last seen and the discovery of her remains to call Detective Captain Bobby Wallace at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at (618) 244-8004 or email him at bwallace@jeffil.us. If you wish to remain anonymous, please click the submit a tip button below or call Jefferson Co. Crime Stoppers at (618) 244-8477.