On July 31, 1991, a Maryland State Highway Administration worker was cutting weeds along Interstate 270 in Frederick County when he came upon the decomposed body of a young woman.
Believed to be between the age of 15 and 25, she was found battered and bruised. Fourteen years later, the identity of the woman and the cause of her death remain a mystery.
Though her identity is unknown, her death is not forgotten.
The Maryland Missing Persons Network, the Victims' Rights Foundation and The Doe Network will hold a vigil in her memory at 8:30 p.m., Sunday, at the Washington Farm Park on Baker Valley Road, directly underneath Interstate 270, the general area where her body was found.
For the last 14 years, the mystery surrounding the woman's death has remained a central case for The Doe Network, a national volunteer organization which assists police and families in locating missing persons and unidentified victims.
"This case has a personal meaning to me," said Kylen Johnson, The Doe Network's Maryland director. "I recognized the girl. I hung around Frederick in the summer of 1991 and I would see her. It's like my pet case."
Johnson is also hoping the vigil will revitalize the case and help to identify the woman.
The Maryland Missing Persons Network also assists in generating public awareness of missing and unknown persons. The Victims' Rights Foundation is a nonprofit organization in Montgomery County that provides support to victims of violent crimes.
Three different sketches and a clay bust of the unidentified woman have been done in hopes that someone will come forward with information. They can be found at www.marylandmissing.com/pages/21/index.htm or www.doenetwork.org/cases/237ufmd.html. Johnson said a $1,000 reward is also available for anyone who can identify the woman and her cause of death.
According to Lt. Ron Cullison, commander of the Cold Case Homicide Unit with the Maryland State Police, in the last 14 years, they have received no information. No relatives or friends have come forward, Cullison said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Cpl. Tina Becker, with the Maryland State Police at 410-386-3029.