Two University of Colorado students hiking near Boulder Falls in 1954 discovered Boulder Jane Doe's brutalized body.

Frank Bender is a Philadelphia sculptor who did a facial reconstruction of Jane Doe last year to help Boulder police identify the woman. He is known around the world for his work in skull reconstruction and age-progression sculpture.

"I'm not convinced Boulder Jane Doe isn't Twylia May Embrey," Bender said in a telephone interview from Philadelphia. "I base that on the fact that the lab screwed up. We know that, in the handling of the evidence."

Because of his suspicions, Bender has created an age-progression photo of Twylia May.

While Bender doesn't believe the case has been deliberately mishandled, he noted that labs are overburdened, and the lab selected for testing the Boulder DNA had a history of inconclusive results.

Boulder detectives had ruled out Twylia May as a possible match for their Jane Doe, after a photo comparison of Jane Doe's skull and photograph of Twylia did not line up. But Bender wasn't convinced. He called Jennifer Kitt, Twylia's grandniece, who has been searching for answers about the disappearance for several years.

Bender told Kitt about the potential for distortion in photos, and eventually, Boulder police contacted Kitt's grandmother, Mildred Garner of Wellfleet, for a DNA sample. Two different DNA tests have been performed on samples from Garner and the remains of the young girl found in Boulder.

Twylia was born in 1934 to Charles and Iva "Addie" Embrey. They lived on a farm near Maywood. Twylia moved to North Platte in 1952, the day after she graduated from Maywood High School.

Garner, Twylia's older sister, had married and moved away from her family when Twylia was 8.

Twylia and her father never got along, according to Garner.

"She told them, 'When I get out of high school, you will never see me again,'" Garner said.

After Twylia moved to North Platte family members knew she was working at the Little Lemon Café, which was near the old Depot. Sometime in 1953, Charles Embrey stopped at the café to see his daughter and was told she hadn't worked there for some time.

Kitt said there is some evidence that her great-aunt may have been in Colorado at one time. She declined to give details until parties in Colorado could be contacted.

Kitt also believes that Boulder Jane Doe could very well be Twylia May. In September, Kitt traveled to Boulder where producers from "America's Most Wanted" interviewed her. The national crime-solving program is doing a story on Boulder Jane Doe, and had agreed to include information about Twylia on the show, Kitt said.

Detective Steve Ainsworth of the Boulder Sheriff's Office has opened a case file for Twylia, Kitt said.

"It was the only way to put Mildred's DNA into the FBI DNA database," Kitt said. "He accomplished that and donated his services."

With the DNA in the databank, it can be compared to other cases all over the country.
Despite the news a second DNA test ruled out Boulder Jane Doe as Twylia, Bender and Kitt are not convinced.

"So many things matched up," Bender said. "I have never seen a case that matched up like this and have it not be her. I believe there is still a strong possibility it is her."

Bender used family photos of Twylia and other members of the Embrey family to do an age-progression photo that shows what the missing woman would look like today.

In addition to his work in identifying the dead, Bender also creates sculptures of fugitives, many who have been wanted for years. One of his most famous age-progression sculptures led to the arrest of murderer John List. In 1989, "America's Most Wanted" contacted Bender to create a bust of what List would look like 18 years after the crime. After the show was broadcast, a former neighbor of a man called Bob Clark led police to the arrest of List 10 days after the call.

Bender is credited with solving dozens of unsolved mysteries. His work on the unidentified dead has been just as successful.

Bender believes if the comparison between Boulder Jane Doe and Twylia had been done 20 years ago, the case would be on the books as solved, given the number of similarities between the two.

"Everything matches up except the DNA," Bender said. "Like the wave in her (Twylia's) hair and the wave in the hair shown in the autopsy photos."

"America's Most Wanted" will air the Boulder Jane Doe segment sometime in February, according to boulderjanedoe.com.

"They need to start from scratch," Bender said. "DNA is not the beginning and the end."

Boulder Jane Doe's DNA should be re-taken, Bender said, and more sophisticated testing needs to be done to totally rule out Twylia as Boulder Jane Doe.

Paleo-DNA is a mitochondrial DNA marker determination for anthropological collections of old and new world populations, groups or individuals represented by soft tissue and/or bone samples.

"It's what they use on mummies," Bender said.

"Things happen," Bender said. "We are basing everything on DNA, and accurate identifications are getting by. Improper taking, improper handling, contamination, so many things can happen.

"There is still a strong possibility it is her," Bender said. "Twylia's relatives are such a nice family. I hope we can get an ID and they can get some rest. I felt bad about the lab from the beginning.

"I feel bad for (the family) and hope they can find a good end. A good end in this case is just knowing the truth."