NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — An old picture captures the moment detectives gathered around the remains of a woman off the side of Interstate 10 in 1987.
"She was wrapped up in a mattress and blanket and had string and tape wrapped around her," describes Detective Charity Rose with the Nassau County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit.
The female victim had been stabbed to death, but there were few clues as to who she was. So she was listed as 'Jane Doe' and remained that way for decades.
Det. Rose says in 2011, one of Linda Anderson's children began searching the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database and found the Jane Doe listing from 1987. He submitted DNA to see if there was a match.
"In 2011 the DNA came back and was positively identified as Linda Faye Anderson," Rose said.
Finally with a name, detectives began looking into Anderson’s life before she died. She was a mother of four, possibly renting a small apartment in the Beaches area and was last known to work at Beaches Yellow Cab and the Jacksonville Kennel Club.
Rose says Anderson was last seen alive by her ex-husband.
"He said the last time he saw her was Oct. 14, 1986. However, she wasn’t reported missing until March of 1987," said Rose.
According to a report from the Neptune Beach Police Department, it was Linda Anderson's mother who reported her as missing, but it is unclear why it took so long.
"She was known to leave home for a couple weeks according to her daughter and her son," said Rose," but not for five months."
Also, who found her remains raised questions.
A man named Ivy Lee Thomas told investigators in 1987 he found Anderson’s remains while hunting. Thomas had been released from prison a few years earlier for killing his wife after she shot at him first, according to reports.
Rose can’t interview him. He died in 2011. But she doesn’t consider him a suspect, saying the two deaths are completely different.
In re-opening the case, Rose says there is evidence that she feels can be resubmitted for DNA testing, but she also needs help from the public. She needs to speak with people who knew Linda before she was killed.
"I’m hoping that anybody from the community that had contact with her, knew anything about her, who worked with her can come forward and tell us if she was dating anybody, was she having problems at home, problems at work," describes Det. Rose, "Where was she going on that day? Did they hear from her on Thanksgiving or Christmas? Any information would be helpful."
It could help finally bring answers in a case with so many questions.
If you can help shed light on Linda Anderson's life before she was killed or know anything about her murder, contact the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at 904-225-5174 or call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS(8477).