Could AI Close the Book on Tennessee’s 25-Year-Old ‘Lady in the Lake’ Unsolved Mystery?

I always wondered if legendary Oscar-nominated actor, the late Robert Stack, ever thought, early in his career, that the day would come when he would become an instantly recognizable figure and NOT because of his movies.

Unsolved Mysteries

For most people, I'd imagine, Stack's name elicits thoughts of Unsolved Mysteries, and with today's high interest in true crime (it's one of the top-ranked podcast topics), I'm not surprised. And, despite multiple iterations and cancellations over the years, the ubiquitous docuseries has returned and has been thriving on Netflix since its 2020 re-entry into our lives.

We're definitely captivated by the unknown, but it's a far cry from entertainment for the officers and detectives who pound the pavement and lose sleep over cold cases. We seemingly live vicariously through them in their investigations. And there's been a cold case on the books in Tennessee on which some new light, by way of DNA evidence, may have been shed.

The Lady in the Lake

In March of 2000, a woman was found dead in Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge TN. Today, as then, her identity is unknown, and in later years, even dental records and DNA evidence that narrowed down her age range were unable to solve that particular issue.

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Nothing was really working, for that matter, until an image of the woman, known as the Lady in the Lake, was created with the help of artificial intelligence, and, suddenly, new leads have emerged. In particular, the AI image has led to two significant tips about women who disappeared just before the Melton Hill Lake body was discovered.

However, more leads have continue to flood in, so it may take a little longer for authorities to positively identify the Lady in the Lake.