DADE COUNTY, GA — After being reassigned to two different teams, one Norton Shores woman has been identified after 33 years.
The body of one woman was found Friday, Dec. 16, 1988, around 2 p.m. by Dade County Sheriff’s Office roughly 5 miles from the Alabama Stateline on I-59 northbound in Dade County, GA.
On March 24, 2022, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agents identified the missing woman as Stacey Lyn Chahorski of Norton Shores, Michigan, with the use of a new type of genealogy investigation in tandem with clay renderings and composites.
Prior to their use of the new genealogy investigation, GBI agents in collaboration with Dade County Investigators attempted to identify the woman for years before the case was reassigned in the mid-2000s.
When the case was reassigned for the first time investigators located new evidence and sent it to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) lab in Washington D.C. for further testing. From the testing, analysts were able to create a DNA profile of Chahorski and enter it in the DNA base before it was reassigned again in 2015.
Chahorski was buried in a Dade County Cemetery and authorities report her body will be reunited with her family.
Investigators are now looking for the killer, those with information that can aid in the active investigation can share information via calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477) or by visiting gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online.
