On May 25, 1981, a woman was found beaten and strangled with pantyhose near a low-water crossing on Highway MM outside Dixon in Pulaski County, Missouri. She was about 32, White, had no identification, and her clothing appeared to have been put on hurriedly; her pockets were pulled out. Autopsy findings placed her time of death about four to five hours before discovery.

Buried for decades as Pulaski County Jane Doe, her remains were exhumed after a 2015 court order so investigators could pursue advanced DNA testing. In 2021 genetic genealogy identified her as Karen Kay Knippers, born in 1948 and last known to be living in St. Louis. She had been married to Harold Clayton Sturgal, who died in 2008.

No arrests have been announced and the homicide remains unsolved. Anyone who knew Karen or recalls her movements in 1981 is asked to contact Pulaski County investigators with any information.