Minnesota teen known as ‘Walker County Jane Doe’ identified 41 years after her murder in Texas

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A murdered teenager dubbed “Walker County Jane Doe” has finally been identified 41 years after she was found dead on the side of a Texas highway.

Walker County Sheriff Clint McRae revealed the teen’s name, Sherri Ann Jarvis, at a news conference on Tuesday after investigators used advancements in DNA testing to identify her.

Ms Jarvis was 14 years old when she was raped and killed after going to a rest stop in Huntsville to ask for directions to the Ellis Unit prison on Halloween in 1980, the sheriff said.

Her naked body was discovered on the shoulder of an interstate the next day. An autopsy showed signs of sexual assault and her cause of death was ruled to be asphyxia by strangulation.

Sheriff McRae said Ms Jarvis was from Stillwater, Minnesota, but had told staff at the rest stop she was from Rockport, Texas.

Detectives had spoken to authorities in Rockport and interviewed inmates and employees at the prison she was trying to reach, but no one knew who she was.

For more than four decades, Ms Jarvis was referred to by law enforcement as “Walker County Jane Doe”.

A break in the case finally came last year when investigators submitted tissue samples from the victim’s autopsy to Othram, a company that specialises in analysing DNA from trace or degraded samples.

Othram’s testing produced six relatives, which led investigators to five family members who identified Ms Jarvis from a composite photo.

In a statement read at Tuesday’s news conference, the family said Ms Jarvis had run away in 1980 after being removed from her home because she kept missing school.

“We lost Sherri more than 41 years ago and we’ve lived in bewilderment every day since, until now as she has finally been found,” the family said.

“Sherri Ann Jarvis was a daughter, sister, cousin and granddaughter. She loved children, animals and horseback riding. She was deprived of so many life experiences as a result of this tragedy.”

The family noted that Ms Jarvis’ parents died before learning what happened to her, adding: “You are with mom and dad now, Sherri, may you rest in peace.”

Sheriff McRae assured that investigators will continue searching for Ms Jarvis’ killer, who they believe could be responsible for other murders.

"We want this information out there, we want to re-spark this investigation with the public and bring it back to life,” he said.

“I know we like to refer this case as being a cold case, [but] it’s always been an ongoing investigation.

“She has always been a top priority - we loved her too.”