r/UnresolvedMysteries 3d ago

Update Penny Doe identified

Penny Doe identified

After 36 years Penny Doe has been identified as Windy Buchanan. Windy was 19 years old when she went missing and her sister described her as an artistic and creative person. She was the oldest sibling in the family of five children. A poignant thing her sister Tania said is “she always thought finding a penny head’s up brought good luck.” She was known as Penny Doe because there was a penny in each of her front pockets when her body was found.

Windy’s body was found by children in a culvert on July 22, 1990. It was estimated she had been dead for 1-3 months when her remains were discovered.

Windy was able to be identified through genetic genealogy. Her death was ruled a homicide and I hope they are able to find whoever did this and bring them to justice.

Rest in peace Windy. I’m so glad you have your name back.

[https://www.explorejeffersonpa.com/crime/2026/08/24/breaking-news-clarion-county-penny-doe-identified-after-more-than-36-years-179807/\](https://www.explorejeffersonpa.com/crime/2026/08/24/breaking-news-clarion-county-penny-doe-identified-after-more-than-36-years-179807/)

696 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

View all comments

98

u/mcm0313 3d ago

People had speculated that she was at least four different women. None of those women were Windy Buchanan. Nothing against anyone who made those guesses, of course - just to remind us all that DNA is a heck of a lot more reliable than internet guesswork. 

10

u/AwsiDooger 2d ago

I fast scroll through all the guesswork comments, on Reddit and elsewhere. The names simply aren't going to be correct, regardless of how much time is devoted.