Dateline: Cold Case Spotlight - Complete timeline of Penny Doe's tragic case

Dateline: Cold Case Spotlight unveiled the details of Penny Doe’s case in 2022; however, the true identity of the victim was yet to be identified. After coming across a tragic turn of events, Penny Doe was found dead in July of 1990. Penny Doe was just 19 at that time.

Though details of the outfit she was wearing were revealed along with the start of a quick investigation, the true identity of Penny Doe was not revealed. Here is the complete timeline of Penny Doe’s tragic case unveiled by Dateline.

Dateline explored the complete timeline of Penny Doe’s case

Penny Doe’s remains discovered

Dateline unveils the details of how Penny Doe’s remains were found in 1990. On July 22, 1990, a group of four children came across a woman’s dead body. The body was found in Monroe Township, which is located in Clarion County.

During the news conference that took place a few days ago, where Drew Welsh, the district attorney of Clarion County, shared the true identity of Penny Doe, three of the four children who found Penny Doe’s body were also present. Dateline spoke to one of the children, Angie Clinger, about the time when she found the body. Angie Clinger pointed out that soon after finding the body, they ran and reported the details of the incident to the authorities.

Investigation begins

In the Dateline episode, the details of the investigation, which began soon after the remains were found, are unveiled. Soon after the body was found, the autopsy report revealed that the cause of death was “blunt trauma to the right side of her head”.

The autopsy report changed the trajectory of the investigation, shifting to a homicide case. Though the investigation of the case began promptly, resolution was yet to be found. The case remains open and unsolved even today.

New procedures used to find details of the case

The primary goal for the investigation, as unveiled by the Dateline episode, was to find the culprit involved in the case, along with finding the identity of Penny Doe. Penny Doe's nickname was given to the victim because of the pennies that were found in the victim's pocket.

From checking her DNA to the victim's fingerprints, several methods were used to find the identity of Penny Doe; however, no progress could be made. In the news conference, Drew Welsh noted that through the years from 1990 to 2020, immense “hard work” was done for this case. The clay representation of Penny Doe’s face, along with the illustrations that were made, was able to provide tips but was eventually not helpful in solving the case.

Eventual breakthrough in the Penny Doe case

Though Dateline unveiled the details of the early investigations in the case, Penny Doe’s case received a ,breakthrough in March 2024. In 2023, police reportedly were able to identify a funding source, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, which partnered with Othram Labs in 2024 to extract the DNA.

Through this extraction, a family tree could be developed, which eventually led to the identification of a woman who could be the sister of Penny Doe. After the DNA was tested, it was a match.

Penny Doe’s true identity

At the press conference, Welsh finally unveiled the true identity of Penny Doe, which had remained under investigation since 1990. Penny Doe’s real name was Windy Buchanan. Further details of Windy’s family were also revealed during the press conference.

She was born in Kentucky. After Windy Buchanan disappeared, her family tried to search for her for years. Windy’s sister, Tania Buchanan, also revealed during the press conference how “fierce” and “kind” Windy was. The pennies that were found in Windy’s pockets also played a crucial role in her life. According to Tania, Windy believed “finding a penny” could bring “good luck”.

Second goal in Penny Doe’s case

Though the first goal of identifying Penny Doe has been accomplished, the other goal of finding the identity of the criminal is yet to be achieved.

To make sure the case is solved quickly, Welsh has requested the people who might know any details regarding Windy Buchanan’s case to come forward, as it is “never too late”.