SAN FRANCISCO—On Friday, October 25, 1946, Cheryl Lanier was born. She went missing at the age of 26 on Monday, January 1, 1973, in San Francisco.
On Thursday, September 30, 1976, an unidentified woman, later determined as Lanier, was seen jumping from a moving 18-wheeler on Interstate 10 near Wirt Road in Houston, Texas. She was transported to Spring Branch Hospital where she passed away from her injuries. Her death was originally classified as an accident. When she was discovered, she had no identification on her person, but only the clothes on her and a road atlas.
In 2010, an official, long-overdue missing person’s report was filed in San Francisco approximately 37 years since her disappearance. Online sleuths suggested as early as 2019 and 2022 to propose a match between Lanier and the mysterious Harris County Doe.
n July 2025, Harris County in Texas tipped off San Francisco Police Department about a potential match. On Wednesday, May 6, DNA analysis identified the match as Lanier. The San Francisco Police Department closed the 53-year-old case as a result.
