Woman Who Went Missing in 2007 Identified as 40-Year-Old Mary Alice Maloney

Human remains discovered in the woods of La Vergne, Tenn., in 2007 have been identified as those of Mary Alice Maloney.

Through genetic research, the DNA Doe Project has confirmed that the remains belong to Maloney, who was 40 at the time of her death. Her body was discovered on Nov. 14, 2007. Originally from Connecticut, Maloney had been living in the Greater Nashville area when she disappeared, and investigators believe she died in the spring or summer of 2007.

“Our work is often complicated by the lack of people who have uploaded their DNA profiles to the public databases we can use for our cases,” DNA Doe team leader Jenny Lecus said in a statement on the DNA Doe Project’s website. “That’s why one of the recommendations we make to families of the missing is to make sure your DNA profile is in GEDmatch.com, FamilyTreeDNA.com and DNA Justice.org.”

Genetic genealogists with the organization first identified distant relatives of Maloney, then made a breakthrough in 2021 when a closer DNA match — a distant cousin — appeared. From there, they began building out her family tree. Maloney, who was of mixed Puerto Rican and African descent, was estimated to be between 25 and 49 years old when La Vergne police discovered her remains.

In its statement, the DNA Doe Project thanked the La Vergne Police Department and the late Sergeant Bob Hayes for entrusting them with the case, the University of North Texas for DNA extraction, HudsonAlpha Discovery for whole genome sequencing, Kevin Lord for bioinformatics support, GEDmatch Pro and FamilyTreeDNA for access to their databases, and the organization’s investigative genetic genealogists for their continued work to help identify Jane and John Does.

According to News Channel 5 Nashville, La Vergne Police have determined that the cold case investigation into Maloney’s death remains open and ongoing.