DNA Likely to ID ‘Mummified in Michigan,’ But How She Died May Be Unanswered

The mystery surrounding the likely death of Pia Farrenkopf may never be fully unraveled.

Oakland County authorities say they’re confident a DNA sample obtained from Farrenkopf’s sister will establish Farrenkopf as the woman whose mummified remains were found in a suburban Detroit garage earlier this month, MLive reports.

Identification could take several months. Authorities had hoped for a more expedient process – dental records – but their plea for a dentist who may have treated Farrenkopf went unanswered.

But how she died – natural causes, suicide or homicide – may never be known because here wasn’t enough tissue remaining on the badly decomposed body to perform a thorough autopsy to determine the cause of death, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.

"It's going to be a challenge to get much beyond what we already have," he said.

Farrenkopf’s sister, Paula Logan, said she last saw her in 2007. Farrenkopf received a traffic citation in Pontiac, where she lived, in October 2008. The last call on her now-disconnected phone occurred in early 2009, the same time as her last bank transaction, according to the MLive report.

After that, her life is a blank slate.