NORTON SHORES, Mich. — A missing woman who had ties to Norton Shores, Stacey Lyn Chahorski, has been identified as the victim in a cold case from 1988.
The investigation began in December 1988 when an unidentified woman was found along I-59 in Dade County, Georgia, just over five miles from the state line.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) worked for years to identify her and begin the investigation into her death.
In the mid-2000s, the case was reassigned, and additional evidence was taken to the FBI's evidence lab to be tested. Photos were drawn to recreate what Chahorski could have looked like at the time and her DNA was entered into the missing persons database.
In 2015, the case was reassigned again. The GBI worked with the FBI to use a new type of genealogy investigation that had previously solved homicide investigations.
It was through this technology that Chahorski was identified.
Police say Chahorski's family has been notified of her identification and jewelry found on Chahorski has been returned. Her remains will also be transported to Michigan to be reunited with her family.
She was 19 when she went missing and would have been 52 today. Her family last heard from her on Sept. 15, 1988. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System says Chahorski told her mother she was in North Carolina and would be traveling to Flint and Muskegon.
The original police report about Chahorski's whereabouts was filed to the Norton Shores Police Department on Jan. 17, 1989, where her mother said Chahorski was traveling from Knoxville to Chicago.
Investigators are now working to find more information about what led up to Chahorski's death and are searching for a killer.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.