[chris]

For about 35 years, the teenager buried in Dansville, New York, was known only as "Caledonia Jane Doe" or "Cali Doe." Her name was Tammy Jo Alexander, a 16-year-old from Florida whose family did not learn what happened to her until 2015.

The FBI's public notice states:

On November 10, 1979, the body of an unidentified 16-year-old White female was located in a cornfield off of New York State Route 20 in Caledonia, New York. The girl had been murdered with a .38 caliber weapon. She had been shot once in the head, dragged into the cornfield from the road, and then shot again in the back.
On January 26, 2015, law enforcement officials in Livingston County, New York, announced that the female had been identified, through the use of DNA, as Tammy Jo Alexander of Brookesville, Florida. Alexander had disappeared from her home in Florida in 1979. At the time, Alexander was known to run away from the area, sometimes hitchhiking with truckers, as she lived near a truck stop.

Who She Was

WKBW reported that Tammy Jo Alexander was born on November 2, 1963, in Atlanta, Georgia. She last lived in Brooksville, Florida, and attended Hernando High School and South Sumter High School.

The FBI said Tammy was known to run away and sometimes hitchhiked with truckers, in part because she lived near a truck stop. Her high-school friend Laurel Nowell told the Democrat and Chronicle that they sometimes hitchhiked together and once traveled as far as California.

Shortly before her death, Tammy stayed at a Georgia prison ministry. CBS News identified it as the now-defunct Rainbow Prison Ministry in Young Harris, Georgia, which housed released prisoners.

While there, Tammy recorded cassette tapes for her then-boyfriend, Kevin Williams. In one recording, she said, "Hi Kevin. How ya doin? I'm fine. It was nice to hear from you," and then began reading from a postcard: "Moon over Miami, the alluring beauty of moonlight shimmering over the..."

The Timeline

An ex-boyfriend reportedly last saw Tammy in spring 1979. Her movements during the following months were not fully documented.

According to an Associated Press report from January 1980, Tammy ate sweet corn, potatoes and boiled canned ham at a diner in nearby Lima, New York, several hours before her death. A waitress reportedly saw her eating with an adult man.

A 2013 FBI ViCAP alert described that man as white, between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall, wearing black wire-rimmed glasses. He reportedly drove a tan station wagon. He has never been publicly identified and has not been named as a suspect.

The Livingston County Sheriff's Office dates the crime to November 9, 1979. On November 10, a farmer found Tammy's body in a cornfield off New York State Route 20 in Caledonia, Livingston County. WHEC reported that the site was about a half-mile southwest of Route 5.

She was buried as an unidentified girl in Greenmount Cemetery in Dansville.

In 2010, volunteer forensic artist Carl Koppelman drew a portrait of "Caledonia Jane Doe" and posted it in NamUs, according to the Genesee Sun.

Around 2013, Laurel Nowell began trying to find Tammy online. In August 2014, contact by a former classmate led authorities to Tammy's half-sister, Pamela Dyson, and to the first missing-person report filed for Tammy. The Hernando County Sheriff's Office said no previous report had ever been filed.

The Genesee Sun reported that Koppelman saw Tammy's new missing-person listing in September 2014, recognized her as the girl depicted in his 2010 portrait and alerted the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. That resemblance provided a lead, but DNA established the identification.

DNA from Pamela Dyson matched the remains. On January 26, 2015, Livingston County authorities announced that Caledonia Jane Doe was Tammy Jo Alexander. Pamela said, "It is a devastation, but at the same time it is a relief."

A public graveside ceremony was held in Dansville on June 10, 2015, when a new headstone bearing Tammy's name was unveiled.

The Evidence

Tammy had been killed with a .38 caliber weapon. She was shot once in the head, dragged from the road into the cornfield and then shot again in the back.

The Democrat and Chronicle reported that investigators recovered a spent slug from the dirt beneath her body. It was compared with hundreds of bullets from confiscated weapons, but no match was found. CBS News reported that heavy rain on the night of the killing washed away much of the potential forensic evidence. Tammy's pockets had been turned inside out, and she carried no identification.

She wore tan corduroy jeans, a multi-colored plaid shirt, blue knee socks and brown rippled-sole shoes. A red, nylon-lined man's windbreaker with black stripes on the sleeves was found on her body. The FBI identified its label as "Auto Sports Products, Inc." It has not been established who owned the jacket.

She also wore a silver necklace set with three small turquoise stones, one shaped like a bird.

Another distinctive item was a two-piece keychain locket. One piece was a heart with a key-shaped slot and the inscription "He who holds the key can open my heart". The other piece was the key that fit it. The Democrat and Chronicle reported that keychains of this type were sold in vending machines along the New York State Thruway.

In 2006, Tammy's clothing was sent to a palynology laboratory at Texas A&M University. The Associated Press reported that pollen on the clothing indicated she had recently been in the southern or southwestern United States or Mexico.

The Investigation

The case became the largest criminal investigation in Livingston County history, generating "tens of thousands" of leads. After Tammy was identified, the Livingston County Sheriff's Office and FBI worked to reconstruct her final months, including her connection to the Georgia prison ministry.

At the 2015 identification announcement, Sheriff Thomas Dougherty said the result involved old-fashioned police work as well as DNA. Former Sheriff John York said, "It's a great day to give her a name."

In August 2016, FBI Special Agent Adam Cohen announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Investigators were then comparing DNA from three male persons of interest with a possible sample from Tammy's clothing. The FBI later reported that none of the three matched.

Theories

No one has been charged, and claims about responsibility remain theories unless ruled out by investigators.

In 1984, Henry Lee Lucas claimed that he had committed the killing. The Democrat and Chronicle reported that his statement was not considered credible. The confession was ruled out, and Lucas was never publicly identified as a suspect or person of interest in Tammy's case.

Where It Stands

The murder remains unsolved. The Livingston County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate with the FBI Buffalo field office.

On the 46th anniversary in November 2025, Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty renewed the appeal for information. Thousands of leads had been examined over the decades, but none had solved the case. Investigator James Merrick remains the current tip contact.

The FBI's poster and photographs of Tammy and the evidence are attached below.

Name: Tammy Jo Alexander
Age: 16
Found: November 10, 1979
Location: Caledonia, Livingston County, New York
Agency: Livingston County Sheriff's Office and FBI Buffalo field office
Reward: Up to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction
Case status: Unsolved homicide

Anyone with information should contact Investigator James Merrick at (585) 243-7100.

See also: Caledonia NY Jane Doe * Update, 16 yo girl been identified