Remains of Local Woman ID'd After 28 Years

The remains of a Bensalem woman who went missing nearly three decades ago were recently identified, bringing a some closure to the case.

Jeanette Rose Tambe was 22 years old in October 1984 when she disappeared. She was last seen by a friend while taking a bus to visit relatives in South Philly.

Bensalem police weren’t able to find her right away, but they never gave up.

Detective Christopher McMullin, of Bensalem’s special victims unit, utilized the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), an online system that can be searched by law enforcement officials in hopes of resolving these cases.

According to NamUs spokesperson J. Todd Matthews, the remains of an unidentified white female were found on Jan. 24, 1988 on the property of the former Publicker Industries on State Road in Bensalem. However, DNA comparison to a blood sample from Tambe’s brother concluded that the Publicker remains were not hers.

Other remains were found on Aug. 8, 1986 in New Jersey, but the face, hands and teeth were badly disfigured with acid. There was a loose match to Tambe’s brother, but because of the damage, officials felt it was necessary to also have a comparison from Tambe's mother. Unfortunately, the mother had since passed away.

According to Matthews, McMullin consulted with a former detective on the case and learned that two vials of blood were taken from the mother during the original investigation. Because the had been relocated since then, McMullin was not confident that the blood would still be around.

Fortunately, McMullin found that the vials were still in the evidence cooler after more than 25 years. 

In the end, the samples were tested and the tests confirmed that the remains were indeed Tambe’s. Maybe now she can rest in peace.