CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WAND) - Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman announced Tuesday investigators have identified the remains of a woman found in rural Champaign County in 1995.

Through genealogy, a team was able to construct a family tree and located Jane Doe's parents. This led to identifying the woman as Keri Lyn Wyant. Wyant was born on Oct. 18, 1971, and she would have been 23 years old when she was killed.

Her last known whereabouts were documented as working for a carnival. 

On May 1, 1995 in rural Thomasboro, an agriculture service worker found bones and some clothing while helping a farmer prepare for planting. Police were called and more bones were found in the area. An autopsy determined the bones and body could have been placed in the field 11 months prior to being found. At the time, the coroner ruled the death a homicide.

Sheriff Heuerman said his office, the coroner's office and genealogists worked to identify Wyant. In February 2020, a DNA profile was established, and through that it linked to the family tree and parents of Wyant. 

Investigators started to retrack her life prior to her homicide. Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said a lot of the companies she worked with are no longer, so they request anyone who knew or worked with Wyant to call police. 

"We hope anyone who worked with her during those times would know the associates or people she hung around," said Northrup. 

Wyant attended Galva High School in Galva in 1989 and 1990, but never graduated. She moved out of her parents' house and lived with other family members before moving to Peoria for a short time.

Investigators said she then spent some time in Little Rock, Ark., before appearing back in Illinois.

In February 1994, investigators said Wyant was seven months pregnant and had nowhere to stay, so she moved in with a friend in Kewanne. Wyant went on to have a boy.

In the summer of 1994, she left her son with a friend and joined joined Swyear amusements out of New Athens at a carnival they were operating at the Henry County Fair.  The amusement company held venues at the Sangamon County Fair, Granite City Celebration and Fisher Fair before focusing on venues in Arkansas. Investigators said this was her last known whereabouts. 

The Fisher Fair usually is in July, and the sheriff's office is looking into if she would have been at the fair in 1994. Heuerman said she had no record or ties of spending time in Champaign County area. He said the amusement company could not positively confirm her employment because it did not have records of employment from that far back. 

Northrup detailed her employment before she went missing. Investigators ask anyone who worked with her to contact police.

  • 1990 - spent time working for Gustavos Tacos in Galva, Ill.
  • 1990 - she also worked for a Market Street Cafe on Market Street in Galva, Ill.
  • 1990 - worked at a Hardees in Galesburg.
  • 1990-1991 - worked at a Taco House on Center Avenue in Galva. 
  • 1991 - worked for a couple in Abingdon, Ill. 
  • 1991 - worked for Parco Limited a franchisee company for Wendy's restaurants. 
  • 1992 - worked for a company owned by Springwood Associates in New York, but worked locally in Illinois
  • 1993 - worked for Bilco Enterprises, which oversees Dunkin Donuts, including the one located on Knvoville Avenue in Peoria. 
  • 1993 - worked for either BJ's or BJ restaurant on Richwoods Boulevard in Peoria. 
  • 1993 - worked for I-10 gas station and restaurant in Fina, Texas for a short time.  
  • 1994 - worked for Swyear amusements out of New Athens, Ill. 

The sheriff's office said it has since learned the son died when he was 7 years old when a vehicle hit him while riding his bicycle. Her parents told investigators they had no prior contact with Wyant after she moved out of their home in 1990. 

The genetic and genealogy was used at no cost to the sheriff's office or coroner's office. A crime TV show reached out to help in this case and covered the cost. The TV show is called the Unknown Doe Project. 

This is a developing story. More details to follow.Â