The Death of Mt Tamalpais Jane Doe, January 1973

On Saturday, January 6, 1973, a hiker named Barbara McAninch discovered partial skeletal remains scattered over a 25-foot area in a gully at the top of Mt Tamalpais in Marin County, CA. It was in a wooded area near the outdoor Mountain Theater. The remains were comprised of a nearly complete human skeleton, though the skull was missing.

McAninch, a college student majoring in anatomy, took the bones home to San Francisco to study them. She decided to call authorities on about January 9th. On Wednesday, January 10, 1973, then-Deputy Coroner Bill Thomas told the press that he expected to receive the skeleton that day. At the time the remains were believed to be that of a male, and Thomas stated that the body could be of a victim of foul play; as he said, "Marin County often serves as a dumping ground for San Francisco's murder victims."

A photo of Marin County coroner Dr Donovan Cooke examining the skeleton were published in the Modesto Bee and San Rafael Daily Independent Journal the following day; these photos are linked below. Bad weather prevented further search of the site for more clues.

The skull was never found. A team of experts from the College of Marin, Novato Prehistory Museum, and private archeologists worked together to determine things about the body. Due to the state of the remains, cause of death, weight, hair color, and eye color could not be determined.

One week later, on Thursday, January 18, 1973, it was announced that the skeleton was that of a young woman who had been dead for one to three years, i.e., 1970-1972. NamUs puts her estimated year of death at 1970-1973. It was reported in the news that the woman was determined to be about 5'8 and 18 to 20 years old when she died. While NamUs puts Jane Doe's estimated age group as "Late Teen/Young Adult," her estimated age range is listed as 15 to 25 years old. The database also indicates that Jane Doe was a white female who was about 5'8 to 6'0 tall.

Her fingerprints are unavailable, while the status of her DNA is unknown. Though Doe Network states that it is unknown if Jane Doe's dental records are available, from the newspaper clippings it is clear that they are not, as her skull was never found. No information has been entered about any clothing, jewelry, or personal items possibly found with her.

According to the first version of her NamUs page that is available on WebSleuths, no clothing was found on or near Jane Doe, and her DNA, dentals, and fingerprints are not available for comparison. It is unknown if any attempts have been made since this time to retrieve DNA from the remains.

Jane Doe has zero MP rule-outs. Her NamUs case, #UP11798, was created on November 20, 2013, and last updated on April 18, 2023.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Investigator Alexandra Torres of the Marin County Sheriff's Office - Coroner Division at (415) 473-6043. The agency case number is 73024.

Sources

NamUs

Doe Network

WebSleuths

Unidentified wiki

Solano-Napa News Chronicle 1/10/73

Modesto Bee 1/11/73

San Rafael Daily Independent Journal 1/11/73, 1/18/73

Note: I regularly revisit cases, fix any typos or formatting errors, check for updates, ensure that I have exhausted all sources, etc. This write-up was last updated on September 11, 2025.