A woman's body was discovered stuffed inside a 55-gallon barrel inside a vacant former Goodyear store on Milby Avenue in Houston on June 30, 2005, and more than two decades later, investigators still do not know her name. Estimated to be between 25 and 35 years old, she stood about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed approximately 69 pounds when new owners found her remains while cleaning out the long-abandoned building. Investigators determined she had been killed roughly one to two weeks before she was found.
The building had caught fire in 2002 and sat vacant for about two years afterward, according to KHOU 11, whose reporter Holly Galvan detailed the case in the outlet's Texas Missing series. The property, located at what news outlets have identified as 107B Milby Avenue, later became St. Mena's Tire and Auto Center, according to Uncovered: Cold Case. Before the discovery, the fire-damaged structure had reportedly become a frequent shelter for people experiencing homelessness in the area.
The barrel itself contained used oil and filters alongside the woman's body, and forensic reports indicate she was wearing only a white bra, with no other clothing, shoes, or jewelry recovered at the scene, according to the Doe Network. She was Black, with brown eyes and brown or black hair worn in short braids about 2 inches long. She also had a horizontal scar in her lower abdominal area, which medical examiner documentation described as located specifically in her lower suprapubic region — a type of scar often associated with a C-section or other pelvic procedure, per the same case records.
A Tattoo That Reads Ivy — Or Maybe Ivv
Among the clues investigators are counting on most is a left-hand tattoo appearing to contain the letters Ivy or Ivv, along with a separate heart tattoo on her left wrist. Forensic artist Lois Gibson created reconstructions of the woman's likely appearance and the hand tattoo, work KHOU 11 says investigators hope will jog someone's memory. The woman's dental records show she had several fillings, and both dental records and DNA remain on file, though her fingerprints were never recoverable.
The case is logged in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as NamUs UP #3198 and carries the identifier 552UFTX in the Doe Network, both maintained under Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences case records. Those national databases exist specifically so investigators and family members across jurisdictions can cross-check dental and physical profiles against unsolved cases like this one.
Why So Many Cases Like Hers Go Unsolved
Under Chapter 49.25 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences is required to investigate all sudden or unexplained deaths — a mandate that keeps the office busy given the scale of unidentified remains in the county; the institute processed 437 unidentified decedents in 2021 alone, per Hoodline's own reporting on the county's forensic caseload. Statewide, the challenge is even larger: Texas Department of Public Safety records show an estimated backlog of 20,072 unsolved homicides as of 2020, prompting the state to expand the Texas Rangers' Unsolved Crimes Investigation and Cold Case Program to help local departments work through old files.
Traditional tools have their limits. Research published in December 2025 found that the FBI's national CODIS database yields identifications in only 13% to 16% of unidentified remains cases, while forensic genetic genealogy — which builds out multi-generational family trees rather than matching existing criminal offender profiles — achieves roughly a 50% resolution rate in NamUs casework. That gap helps explain why cold case investigators increasingly lean on newer DNA sequencing techniques when older methods stall.
Houston television station KPRC 2 featured the case in its Missing in Houston series in October 2024, expanding that initiative's focus beyond missing persons to highlight unidentified deceased victims as well. Advocacy groups like the Texas Center for the Missing continue working to educate both families and authorities on how to pursue leads in cases involving missing people, a population that numbers in the tens of thousands nationwide every year.
How To Report A Tip
The Houston Police Department's Homicide Division is asking anyone with information that could help identify the woman to call 713-308-3600. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS, or directly to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences Family Liaison Team at 832-927-5006. Investigators say they hope someone will recognize her face, her tattoos, or some other detail — and finally give a name to the woman who spent two decades as Houston's barrel Jane Doe.
