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Unsolved case · 1980
Also known as Murder of Sherri Jarvis · Walker County Jane Doe
The short answer
Sherri Ann Jarvis, a 14-year-old runaway from Minnesota, was sexually assaulted and murdered near Huntsville, Texas, on November 1, 1980. Her body went unidentified for 41 years until forensic genealogy confirmed her identity in November 2021. Her killer or killers have not been identified.
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Suggest coverage for Killing of Sherri JarvisThe case file
On 1 November 1980, a truck driver found the body of a teenage girl near Interstate 45, about two miles north of Huntsville, Texas, beside the Sam Houston National Forest. Investigators recovered a pendant necklace and red leather sandals from the scene. An autopsy found that she had been sexually assaulted and killed by ligature strangulation.
Witnesses reported seeing a girl matching her description in the preceding hours at a Gulf station and at the Hitch ’n’ Post truck stop along Interstate 45. She asked for directions to the Texas Department of Corrections Ellis Prison Farm and said that a friend was waiting for her there. Investigators checked the prison farm, missing-person reports, and school records but could not identify her. She was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville as an unknown victim.
Her remains were exhumed in 1999 for further forensic testing, including DNA sampling. The Walker County Sheriff’s Office formally reopened the case in 2015, and forensic artists and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children produced updated facial reconstructions over the years.
In 2020, the sheriff’s office partnered with Othram to pursue forensic genetic genealogy. DNA from preserved tissue was used to identify possible relatives, and comparison samples confirmed her identity in 2021 as Sherri Ann Jarvis, a 14-year-old from Minnesota who had been missing since 1980. Authorities announced her name publicly on 9 November 2021.
Sherri’s family thanked the investigators who restored her identity and expressed hope that the person or people responsible would be identified. No one has been charged with her killing, and the investigation remains open.
11 dated entries · 1966–2021
Sherri Ann Jarvis is born.
Jarvis sends her final known letter to her mother, from Denver, after running away from state custody in Minnesota.
Jarvis's body is discovered near Interstate 45 north of Huntsville, Texas, hours after she was sexually assaulted and murdered.
The unidentified girl is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Huntsville, Texas, under the designation 'Unknown white female.'
Forensic artist Karen T. Taylor creates a postmortem facial reconstruction drawing of the victim.
The victim's remains are exhumed for further forensic examination, including DNA sampling.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children releases a facial reconstruction of the victim.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office officially reopens the case.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office partners with Othram Incorporated to pursue identification via forensic genetic genealogy.
Forensic artist Carl Koppelman announces the victim's identity has been determined, pending family notification.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office publicly announces the victim's identity as Sherri Ann Jarvis.
1 named in this file
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
14-year-old runaway from Stillwater, Minnesota, sexually assaulted and murdered near Huntsville, Texas, on November 1, 1980; identified via forensic genealogy in 2021.[4]
4 cited
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
PressKPRC 2 / Click2HoustonAccessed Jul 11, 2026
PressCBS NewsAccessed Jul 11, 2026
Pressharriscountytx.govAccessed Jul 10, 2026
EncyclopedicWikipediaAccessed Jul 10, 2026
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