DANSVILLE, N.Y. -- A cemetery service was held Wednesday morning for Tammy Jo Alexander, whose body was found in 1979 in Livingston County and only identified earlier this year.
Alexander was a missing 16-year-old from Florida who was fatally shot and whose body was later discovered in a Caledonia cornfield.
For years, she was called "Cally Doe" in Livingston County and her headstone read "Unidentified Girl," but the stone now bears her name.
Alexander was finally identified in January thanks to a childhood friend who circulated information about her case. Police then tracked down a relative and a DNA comparison was a match.
Her sister, Pamela Dyson, was at Greenmount Cemetery in Dansville for the service. She thanked the community for adopting and loving Tammy Jo.
"It never occurred to me that someone would murder my sister and even now, in my mind, I cannot understand why," Dyson said. "Tammy was sweet and kind.
"Why would anyone want to harm her? Why would anybody murder her and throw her away?"
"We hope you find some peace and comfort today with this resolution of at least who your sister is, and more importantly where she is," said former Livingston Count Sheriff John York.
It was the family's wish to have Tammy Jo remain buried in Dansville despite the fact that she grew up in Florida. They said here is where she was loved and taken care of for more than three decades.