A Woman’s Decomposed Remains Were Found on Floating Boat in 1999. Nearly 30 Years Later, She’s Been Identified
McCutcheon’s remains were first found more than 20 years ago on a vessel floating off Sigsby Bay, outside Key West.Credit: Monroe County Sheriff's Office/FacebookCumie Doylene McCutcheon was 56 when her remains were discovered near Key West, Fla.
A missing persons case that went unsolved for decades has finally been closed, authorities announced on Wednesday, Oct. 7
Cumie Doylene McCutcheon was 56 when her remains were discovered near Key West in 1999
Investigators identified her remains through forensic genetic genealogy and DNA from her son
A missing persons case that went unsolved for nearly three decades has finally come to a conclusion, after human remains found on a boat in 1999 were identified.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, located in the Florida Keys, announced on Wednesday, Oct. 7, that its major crimes detectives, the county’s Medical Examiner’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators identified remains belonging to 56-year-old Cumie Doylene McCutcheon.
McCutcheon’s remains were first found more than 20 years ago on September 29, 1999 on a cabin cruiser boat floating off Sigsby Bay, just north of Rat Key outside Key West. Law enforcement officials only identified her as a white female between 35 and 45 years old known only as “Cinnamon” at the time.
DNASolves, which maintains a DNA database to be used by law enforcement, wrote in a press release that authorities were alerted to the scene that day by an anonymous caller, who said he was the woman’s boyfriend.
He told law enforcement that she was suicidal, and by the time investigators found the remains, she was already in an advanced state of decomposition, making her unrecognizable.
A view of Fleming Key near Key West.Credit: Alamy
Although law enforcement officials took fingerprints and entered her information into NamUs (the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System), attempts in 1999 to identify her were unsuccessful, and the case went cold.
A break in the case finally arrived in 2026, when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) approached Othram, the Texas-based company that operates DNASolves, with DNA from the cold case.
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Researchers used the company’s “forensic-grade” genome sequencing to develop a profile for the remains and eventually found some new leads after genealogists used the profile in a genetic search. Investigators later compared the DNA to that of McCutcheon’s son, according to the sheriff’s office, and were finally able to officially identify her.
DNASolves wrote in its press release that McCutcheon’s death is believed to have resulted from a possible overdose involving amphetamines and alcohol, and suicide was being considered as a possible manner of death.
Othram shared in its press release that the identification marks the 71st publicly announced case in Florida in which investigators used its technology to identify remains.
“I want to thank the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office and the FDLE for their hard work on this case and providing closure to this family,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said of the case.
Source: Crime