Canadian police have recently identified a woman who was referred to as the "Nation River Lady," almost fifty years after she went missing and was discovered deceased in a river in Ontario, according to authorities.
The woman, Jewell "Lalla" Langford (formerly Parchman), had traveled to Montréal in April 1975 but never returned home, prompting her family to report her as missing, stated the Ontario Provincial Police in a news release on Wednesday.
Langford, aged 48 at the time, gained the nickname "Nation River Lady" due to the location where her remains were found on May 3, 1975, in the Nation River in eastern Ontario.
In March 2022, her remains were repatriated to the United States, followed by a memorial service and burial, as mentioned in the news release.
According to the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit organization specializing in investigative genetic genealogy, it has been revealed that Langford was strangled with a flat plastic-covered television cable. The organization, which assisted the police in Langford's case, also disclosed that her hands and ankles were bound with men's neckties, and her face was wrapped with a tea towel.
Despite forensic artist renderings and three-dimensional facial approximation techniques developed in 2017, Langford's identity and potential suspects remained unknown until late 2019. During this time, a new DNA profile of Langford was obtained by the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, which eventually matched samples collected from two individuals listed in a family DNA tree, as detailed in the release.
Authorities have made a significant development in the case of Langford's murder after an extensive investigation spanning 47 years. The Ontario Court of Justice charged Rodney Nichols, 81, with the crime, as revealed in the release.
Detective Inspector Daniel Nadeau from the OPP's Criminal Investigation Branch expressed gratitude for advancements in genetic genealogy science and the collaborative efforts of investigators, which ultimately brought resolution to Langford's family and friends. He further emphasized the satisfaction of returning Langford's remains to her loved ones.
While police confirmed that Langford and Nichols were acquainted, they did not provide additional details regarding their relationship. The release also highlighted Langford's prominence in the Jackson, Tennessee business community, where she co-owned a spa with her former spouse.
Janice Mulcock, a retired detective constable from the Ontario Provincial Police, highlighted Langford's remarkable achievements during a videotaped briefing shared on the Ontario Police Department's Facebook page. Mulcock described Langford as a woman ahead of her time, noting that she held prestigious positions such as the chair and president of the Jackson, Tennessee, chapter of the American Businesswomen's Association. In 1971, Langford's colleagues voted her as the "woman of the year."
During the briefing, Marty Kearns, Deputy Commissioner of OPP Investigations and Organized Crime, expressed confidence that Langford's case would eventually be resolved. Kearns emphasized that members of the local crime unit and the criminal investigation branch always believed that the case was solvable and that the identity of the individual known as the Nation River Lady would be uncovered.