St. Louis woman missing since 2001 identified by Illinois police

MONROE COUNTY, Ill. – Almost 24 years after a woman went missing in St. Louis, her case is making breakthroughs.

The Columbia Illinois Police Department announced Friday that a Jane Doe they discovered in 2002 was idenitifed as Carol Jean Hemphill.

Hemphill went missing on July 27, 2001, in the 5200 block of Davison Ave. in the Walnut East Park neighborhood. She was 40 years old at the time. She left behind children, a husband, siblings, and more family members.

Less than a year later, on March 28, 2002, Columbia Illinois Police discovered a body near a creek bed south of Gall Road. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was a homicide, and the body was sitting in the creek for at least six months.

As lab testing wasn’t advanced enough at the time to provide answers, Hemphill became “Jane Doe” for 23 years—up until last month.

Monroe County Coroner Bob Hill said solving this case of Jane Doe was one of his priorities when taking office. In December 2022, the case was selected to receive a grant to fund forensic genealogy testing.

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After going through testing in Texas–supported by the FBI–detectives received a report in October 2024 linking DNA samples between the remains and Gale Howard, the biological son of Hemphill. Further samples were then gathered from Hemphill’s husband, daughter, and sister.

A positive match was confirmed on Feb. 24, 2025.

“We are going to continue our efforts–this case is not done… today, however, is about officially reporting that Carol Hemphill has been identified and is no longer missing,” Columbia Illinois Police Department Chief Jason Donjon. “It is about getting Carol back to her loved ones for proper services.”

The family of Hemphill traveled from Texas to Illinois for the announcement Friday, all wearing shirts of her picture reading, “Your wings were ready…but our hearts weren’t.”

“It’s a relief for me, because I’ve been going through a lot through the years,” Hemphill’s sister, Deborah, said. “There’s been this heaviness on me that feels like it’s started to be lifted a little… I’m glad that we can put her to rest.”

Police said they will continue their investigation into Hemphill’s case.

“We’re still hurting…it gives us hope that maybe (police) will find (who was responsible,” one family member said.

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