Authorities exhume body hoping to solve 1985 murder of student

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The unsolved murder of a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse senior has baffled detectives for more than 20 years, but investigators haven't given up hope of finding her killer.

Authorities on Thursday exhumed Terry Dolowy's body from the Calvary Cemetery in Steger, Ill., about 30 miles south of Chicago. They hope newer technologies can give them clues into the 22-year-old murder.

"Forensic science has changed," said Vernon County Chief Deputy James Hanson. "Given the improvements in forensic science over the years, investigators are confident that new evidence can be obtained that may be useful in the resolution of this homicide."

Dolowy was 24 when she disappeared from her home near Barre Mills on Valentine's Day, 1985, following a shift at a downtown La Crosse restaurant.

Her fiancȩ returned home and found the front door open and Dolowy missing, along with her white poodle Suzie. Authorities found no sign of struggle and no possessions were missing.

Dolowy's body, decapitated and burning, was found six days later in a roadside ditch in the town of Bergen in Vernon County. Her head was never found.

Authorities did not say if any specific evidence prompted Thursday's exhumation.

"We're hoping to discover more evidence that will lead us to the person or persons responsible for her death," La Crosse County Sheriff Steve Helgeson said. "We're always felt the murder case is solvable, and we continue to believe now more than ever that it's solvable and the person and persons responsible will be brought to justice."

Forensic pathologists and anthropologists at the Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's office in Hastings, Minn., will examine Dolowy's remains.

Authorities say new tips in the case poured in after the La Crosse Tribune ran an article in 2005 about the 20th anniversary of Dolowy's death.

"This case has never fallen off the radar screen," Hanson said.