Episode 2: DNA Pretzel - Ada
Oct 26, 2026 · 19 min · 8 segments
The mystery woman in the vineyard is finally identified. A letter to the editor published in a small newspaper raises questions. * * * Hosted on Acast. See…
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- Olivia LaVoiceHost
Oct 26, 2026 · 19 min · 8 segments
The mystery woman in the vineyard is finally identified. A letter to the editor published in a small newspaper raises questions. * * * Hosted on Acast. See…
There's so many scams and everything going on.
She just wasn't too sure.
Is this legit? What is this?
The message said the woman appeared to be related to a Jane Doe known as the Belle in the Well and asked if she'd be willing to provide information about her family.
The sender didn't realize this woman had been adopted and coincidentally had just began her own journey to find her biological family with Missy's help.
Like, you know, what is this? What are they trying to do here? Missy knew that family tree better than anyone.
So with the adoptee's permission, Missy got in touch with the people who sent the message.
Might she be interested in doing the same for the dead? Missy didn't have to think about it for long.
Though the work is unpaid and extraordinarily time-consuming, Missy was hooked.
I used to think of her work as a somewhat cliche image of putting together a puzzle, but I quickly learned that was oversimplifying it.
The puzzle piece might fit, but sometimes there's another twist.
And a lot of times we end up calling that kind of like a pretzel.
You know, it's a DNA pretzel.
When I first came across the DNA Doe Project then, it was essentially a happy accident.
I didn't really understand what they did, but I was eager or desperate enough to reach out.
Today, the nonprofit has identified over 150 Jane and John Does, but back then they were brand new with just one success story.
That was good enough for me, but the real question was whether it would be good enough for the Kern County Coroner's Office.
There's so many scams and everything going on.
She just wasn't too sure.
Is this legit? What is this?
The message said the woman appeared to be related to a Jane Doe known as the Belle in the Well and asked if she'd be willing to provide information about her family.
The sender didn't realize this woman had been adopted and coincidentally had just began her own journey to find her biological family with Missy's help.
Like, you know, what is this? What are they trying to do here? Missy knew that family tree better than anyone.
So with the adoptee's permission, Missy got in touch with the people who sent the message.
Might she be interested in doing the same for the dead? Missy didn't have to think about it for long.
Though the work is unpaid and extraordinarily time-consuming, Missy was hooked.
I used to think of her work as a somewhat cliche image of putting together a puzzle, but I quickly learned that was oversimplifying it.
The puzzle piece might fit, but sometimes there's another twist.
And a lot of times we end up calling that kind of like a pretzel.
You know, it's a DNA pretzel.
When I first came across the DNA Doe Project then, it was essentially a happy accident.
I didn't really understand what they did, but I was eager or desperate enough to reach out.
Today, the nonprofit has identified over 150 Jane and John Does, but back then they were brand new with just one success story.
That was good enough for me, but the real question was whether it would be good enough for the Kern County Coroner's Office.
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