Fla. woman found in Ga. in the 80s identified through DNA

NEWTON, Ga. (WALB) - A Florida woman has been identified by authorities after being found injured in Newton 37 years ago, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

The woman was found injured and unconscious on the side of the road of Highway 91 North on May 14, 1985, the GBI said.

She was then taken to an Albany hospital where she died from her injuries on June 1 that same year.

According to WALB’s report in 2012, the former Baker County Coroner Andy Belinc said, “She had been injured pretty badly.”

After an autopsy was performed, the GBI’s Medical Examiner’s Office said the way in which she died was unknown, but the cause of death was blunt force trauma to her head.

After taking a sample of bone marrow from her body in 2012, the FBI was able to test her DNA and find that the woman was likely Mary Anga Cowan, aka “Angie.”

Law enforcement told WALB in 2012 that her death may have been caused after she fell from the back of a truck.

The GBI said the FBI used the DNA of one of Cowan’s children to help identify her as well.

Read the report of when Cowan’s body was exhumed in 2012, here.