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Investigators getting closer to answers 56 years after newborn twins found dead in Shelby Township

Detectives use forensic genetic genealogy to investigate case

Investigators exhume remains of newborn twins in Shelby Township.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Newborn twins were found dead near the side of the road in Shelby Township 56 years ago.

On April 19, 1967, two teen boys were walking along Ryan Road, which was a dirt road then, when they found the newborn twins wrapped in plastic and a sheet.

The twins, a boy and a girl, were estimated to be between the ages of 2 months premature and 7 months old. Originally, it was believed that the newborns could have been stillborn but evidence showed at least one of them was alive.

The case was reopened in 2019 after Shelby Township Police Department Det. Lt. Terrance Hogan tracked down the remains and obtained a warrant to exhume them. Their bones were sent to two different labs with the goal of identifying relatives.

Last week, Hogan confirmed that detectives are still working on the case. Hogan said they are using forensic genealogy and are getting closer to finding an answer.

Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) has helped solve many cold cases and the method is only getting more advanced. You can click here to learn more about FGG and how it helped solve a cold case in Livingston County.

Anyone with information should contact the Shelby Township Police Department 586-731-2121. The case number is 2387-2019.


Read: Michigan cold case coverage

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We’re working to bring attention to as many unsolved and missing persons cases from around the state as we can. Our hope is that getting this important information out to the public will help generate tips for investigators and potentially lead to closure for the affected families. If you have a cold case you’d like us to look into, please let us know by using the form below.


About the Author
Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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