On a frigid, winter day in 1879, a burlap sack floated underneath a vessel at the Springwells dry dock. It turned out to be the burial shroud of woman who was bound and gagged.
The woman's body was well preserved by the icy waters of the Detroit River.
V. Giest & Son's Undertakers allowed the public to view the girl, hoping someone would know who she was. A description of the body, her clothing and the articles in her pockets were listed and sent to the surrounding towns, hoping to solve the mystery of her death. At one point, it was thought she was a woman known as "The Spanish Doctoress." However this woman turned up very much alive and living in Ludington.
