Michelle Garvey went missing from New London, Connecticut, presumably after running away from home, on June 1, 1982, at the age of fourteen. She was believed to have intended to return to her birth state, New Jersey, or to North Carolina. She had a previous history of running away, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Initially, it was unknown what had happened to the victim, as she may have left home to start a new life and could possibly be alive. Michelle Garvey’s body was found on July 1, 1982, in Baytown, Texas, one month after she went missing. Authorities were unable to identify her body, but could determine that the victim was a white female between fifteen and twenty years old with blue eyes and had curly red hair. The cause of death was determined to be strangulation. The girl also had an inverted left nipple, O positive blood type, a scar on one foot, was approximately five feet one to five feet three inches (1.60 m) tall and had one of her ears pierced. Her body was found wearing brown clothing, including a long-sleeved, button-down shirt with a distinct horse embroidery on the breast pocket. Her pants were made of corduroy material. The body was disposed of in a field after she died, possibly merely hours after her murder. She was buried near two other unidentified murder victims, the Harris County Does.

The body was exhumed in May 2011 to obtain a DNA profile to compare to potential matches, including Michelle’s brother. An amateur online sleuth, Polly Penwell, came across the cases of Michelle Garvey and her unidentified body and suggested to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Harris County medical examiner that they could be the same person after she compared both cases, while using a website known as Websleuths. Garvey was identified in January 2014 after the DNA sample taken from the unidentified body was matched to a sample taken from her brother, which had previously been submitted to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and analyzed by the University of North Texas. She had remained unidentified for 31 years. Michelle was fourteen when she had fled from her home in Connecticut, and was fifteen at the time of her death. She was identified through efforts made by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and by the Harris County Police Department, who eventually contacted her family and obtained samples of their DNA for testing in August 2013. Since her identification, authorities have continued their investigation, now aimed at finding Michelle’s murderer. After being returned from Texas to Connecticut, Michelle’s body was reburied by her family on March 1, 2014 in Montville, Connecticut.