Woman shot dead and found in canal in northwest Broward in 1981 now ID’d, cops say

A woman who was fatally shot in the head and found in a canal in 1981 has now been identified 45 years later, according to police.

Investigators are looking for leads.

The Coconut Creek Police Department shared Jan. 14 that it has identified the woman as 24-year-old Barbara Overby of Fort Lauderdale.

Officers got a call Sept. 28, 1981, about a woman found in a canal near the 6700 block of Lyons Road, police said in a news release. The autopsy determined the woman had been fatally shot in the head, but without identification on her, the woman was labeled a Jane Doe for decades.

Until last November, when the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office found her original fingerprint card in the archives.

“The fingerprints were run through the National Crime Information Center database and there was a hit,” police said.

A detective tracked down her relatives in North Carolina, who said they hadn’t seen or heard from Overby in over 45 years.

“The family recalled rumors of her residing in Florida but could never be completely sure,” according to police.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call 954-973-6700.