Partial remains left unidentified following the 1971 Tonti train wreck have been identified as a Chicago-area mother and her three-year-old daughter.
The remains were identified as 35-year-old Katherine Marcelin Adams and three-year-old Gladys “Gigi” Adams.
The family was surprised by the discovery because relatives believed both had been fully buried in a Chicago cemetery with a third family member who also died in the train wreck.
The investigation began in early 2025 after college student Henry Morton approached the City of Salem about using modern DNA analysis and forensic genetic genealogy to identify remains that had been buried for more than five decades.
The remains were exhumed on June 12, 2025. Investigators then made an unexpected discovery — what had long been believed to be the remains of one unidentified person actually contained partial remains of two people.
Forensic anthropologists and genealogists worked together to identify the remains as Katherine and Gigi. The effort included the DNA Doe Project, Marion County Coroner Claude Howell, City of Salem, forensic anthropologists, Crouse Funeral Home, Merz Vault Company and numerous other contributors.
Howell officially notified the surviving family following the identifications.