EATON — While one family still has no answers for where their missing relative is, another was provided closure with the revelation that Preble County’s “Penny” Doe, discovered in 1968, was actually Albert Allen Frost of Hamilton who disappeared in the mid-1960s.

The Shelby, Ohio Police Department in conjunction with the Preble County Coroner’s Office exhumed in 2019 the unidentified remains of an unknown person found in a drainage ditch in 1968 in Eaton. At that time, Shelby Police Detective Adam Turner said the exhumation was performed for the purpose of conducting DNA analysis to compare to a missing persons investigation for Mary Jane Croft Vangilder, a 33-year-old mother from West Virginia last seen in 1945. The cold-case investigation into Vangilder’s disappearance began in 2018 in the City of Shelby in Richland County.

An announcement regarding the identity of the remains was made during a press conference on Friday, Nov. 17. The press conference was attended by officials from around the country.

“I want to thank everybody for coming today and welcome to Preble County,” Preble County Coroner’s Investigator Dave Lindloff began the press conference. “First of all, for the family members that’s here I want to extend our condolences. And the other thing, I always think, we owe you an apology. I’m sorry that it took this long.”

“The ultimate goal when we started this was so that we could provide the family closure,” Lindloff continued. “I’ve been involved probably in six or seven exhumations. I’ve been doing this for 40 years and we take these things very seriously.”

On May 25 1968, the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were located in Eaton. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), “children playing in a wooded area found a skull that was separated from a badly decomposed body trunk with a left arm intact (the fingers of which were hooked into a small tree). The lower right arm was missing. There was no clothing or jewelry. The skull was 75 feet downstream from the trunk. The entire area had been swept by high water within the previous few days.”

The initial coroner’s assessment stated the remains likely belonged to that of “a white/Caucasian female, about 30 to 50 years old,” who was believed to have died sometime between 1962 and 1968.

It was also determined by the same coroner the woman could have had complications giving birth. Despite subsequent investigations, Preble County authorities were unable to identify the remains at that time, and they were subsequently buried in Mound Hill Cemetery in Eaton.

A press release from Moxxy Forensic Investigations explained the process which led to Frost’s identification:

“Several decades later and per request of Detective Turner and the Shelby Police Department, the remains were exhumed on Aug. 28, 2019. Initial attempts to extract a working DNA profile were unsuccessful.

“Moxxy Forensic Investigations LLC received this case on Aug. 24, 2022. A sufficient DNA profile was obtained thanks to collaborative efforts with Intermountain Forensics in Salt Lake City, Utah for obtaining a viable DNA extraction and sequencing the sample and Saber Investigations LLC for bioinformatics for the DNA upload.

“During laboratory analysis, it was determined that this individual was incorrectly categorized as a biological female during the original anthropological report. This individual is a biological male, as determined by the Y-DNA that was discovered belonging to the remains.

“The DNA kit was uploaded to DNA database Gedmatch.com to undergo genealogical research on March 28, 2023,” the release noted.

Moxxy Forensic Investigation released the identification of Albert Allen Frost to Turner on March 28, of this year.

Albert A. Frost was born Jan. 25, 1935, to Martin Van Buren Frost and Eva Catherine Berryman. Albert was the youngest of eight children born to this union, according to the release. Past newspaper articles revealed he married for a short stint and had been arrested on larceny charges a few different times. He was a military veteran of the United States Army who proudly served his country. “In fact, he was known to wear his military-issued Army jacket everywhere,” the release said.

His last known contact was between 1963 and 1964. Albert’s last known address was in Hamilton, in Butler County.

“Nieces and nephews of Albert referred to him as shy, not a talker and would come in and out of their lives, ‘never having a roof over his head,’” it continued. “He was described as having dark hair, thin with a small frame and was left handed. A nephew stated that he looked up to his Uncle Albert and considered him sort of a rebel, never adhering to any structure. ‘He would get up and go as he pleased without any change of clothes except what was on his back.’ A niece said he was often homeless and needed money from time to time which her mother helped with.”

No record of Albert’s death was ever recorded and he was never listed or reported as an official missing person, according to Moxxy Forensics.

It has been rumored that Albert was a victim of homicide and buried clandestinely.

Moxxy Forensic Investigations thanked Intermountain Forensics, Saber Investigations, Criminal Coffee Co., the family of Mary Jane VanGilder, Eaton Police Department, Preble County Coroner’s Office, and Shelby Police Department for the collaborations of efforts on this case.

Tina Barrett of Fairfield, a member of Frost’s family who provided DNA for the investigation, attended the press conference on Friday.

“As a member of Albert’s family, I only vaguely know about Albert. My mom remember him fairly well. I’m just appreciative of both Detective Turner and Preble County for chasing this down,” she said. “We have never known what happened to Albert. You know, my great-grandmother died not knowing what happened to her child. And there are a lot of people that happens to. and I am appreciative they chased this down. And my hope is that other municipalities, other counties, see what they did here and take the initiative and be responsible for the people that have been found in their jurisdictions who have not been identified. We have a lot of technology available to us today. And they could connect those families and close those gaps in people’s memories. And I think that’s a duty we all have and I’m very appreciative to them for doing that.”

Barrett said the family really didn’t speak a lot about him when she was young. “Families do have a way of just shutting down hard subjects, especially for children. Keep in mind that Albert went missing when I was about two or three. So it’s not something we would have talked about. What I know about Albert from my mom is he appears to be a man who had some mental health issues, probably on the spectrum. He was the kind of guy who didn’t look you in the eye, would talk only when spoken directly to. He was very proud of his military service, but really just was wayward and I think very easily manipulated, and did a lot of things just because he had no other way to survive.”

“There are a lot of people like that in our society right now,” she noted. “And this is just a reminder that this mental health crisis we’re in right now, we’re just paying attention to it. And again, I’m very appreciative that we’ve been able to close the books a little bit on Albert. We know where he is.”

“I am curious about how he died, but I don’t know that we’ll ever know,” she added. “I don’t think he rolled himself up in something and threw himself into the creek. So that suggests to me that there was foul play. I know that Albert was vulnerable based upon what I know about his mental health challenges.

“I feel for Mary Jane’s family,” Barrett said. “I understand that their hopes were dashed by this not being Mary Jane. My hope though, as I said, is that other jurisdictions who have a Jane Doe, a John Doe, just an unidentified body, that they take the extra step. This DNA analysis is advancing exponentially every day. And I would think something that 10 years ago was impossible is today commonplace. And so, I think we just need to take another look at these things. Because there are families who are missing these people and just don’t even know where to go. And I’d like to think that if there is another mother out there who’s waiting for her child, that she at least gets an answer. I think that it shouldn’t have to come after she dies.”

Detective Turner spoke about the case during the press conference.

“Each and every person involved in this case was essential for us to end up where we are today. Without his team of dedicated professionals, our work would never have been identified,” Turner said. “Dave Lindloff and Coroner Mark Vosler, both of whom made all this possible. I can’t say enough good things about both. It really means a lot everything that you guys did for us. We couldn’t have asked for a better partnership between the two cities.”

Turner said his hope is all unsolved cases can be resolved.

“To those who believe that cold cases such as this are a waste of time, I have a hard time with this philosophy — that the case is too old or too cold,” he said. “I’ve unfortunately seen cases where law enforcement has stated the case is no longer being investigated due to the passage of time. I don’t know what this means. If the case is unresolved, no matter the age, it should remain open. Never give up. The family and Mary Jane Vangilder still misses their mother, grandmother and desperately seeks the answers to her whereabouts. I have personally seen her granddaughter Mindy weep in agony on more than one occasion about her grandmother. A grandmother that she never knew, but whose absence still affects her life.

“Our ancestors, our lineage back through time are our roots to this earth and when someone’s missing in that chain, that leaves a void that cannot be filled.”

“My hope is that a detective, a police chief, a sheriff, or coroner hears or reads about what we did in this instance and remembers an old case, an unidentified body or unresolved crime that needs to be reevaluated,” Turner continued.

“Am I disappointed this turned out to be not Mary Jane Croft Vangilder? Of course. However, I knew from the beginning that even if this was not her that we would identify somebody and return their name. That alone justified everything we did here,” he added.

“To the family of Mary Jane Croft Vangilder, thank you for your continued support. Thank you for allowing me into your lives in the hopes of finding your mother and grandmother. I will continue to search for her. Remember that without her and without her investigation, Albert never would have been identified. She provided closure to his family.

“And finally, to Albert, we’re very sorry that it took so long to restore your name,” Turner concluded. “It is a shame that you’re more we renown now more in death than in life. But I take solace in the fact that wherever you are outside the stars and beyond the firmament, you’re with your family.”