A Teenage Runaway
Lifestyle
Who Was Lori Ruff: DNA Evidence Sheds Light on Texas Mystery Woman
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Several conspiracy theories swirled around the internet about the true identity of Ruff and why she might have taken such great pains to change her original identity. Some speculated that maybe she was escaping from a cult or another nefarious past. It wasn’t until 2013, when Colleen Fitzpatrick set to work on Ruff’s case, that details began to emerge about her past.
Using a saliva sample from Lori and Blake Ruff’s daughter, Fitzpatrick was able to access a genetic database and found matching records for the girl’s DNA sample. Once the Ruff portion of the DNA sample was removed, all that remained was the genetic material of the elusive woman with a secretive past.
Using internet genealogical databases, Fitzpatrick traced the DNA to a family in Pennsylvania. Through a distant cousin and after some near misses, Fitzpatrick finally narrowed down the search and had a former investigator on the case visit the family. When investigator Joe Velling knocked on the door of the potential family member of Lori Ruff and showed them a picture of the mystery woman, the relative immediately exclaimed, “My God, that’s Kimberly!”.
Photo: Flickr/Boohoomian
It turned out that Kimberly McLean ran away from her Pennsylvania home in 1986, at the age of 18. She was distraught over the divorce of her parents and the remarriage of her mother, thereby introducing a stepfather into McLean’s life. She told her family that she was running away and, “not to come after her.” McLean took off and, despite her family trying everything in their power to locate her, she was able to fly under the radar of the authorities by changing her name and moving frequently.
McLean’s mother, now in her 80s, was devastated to find that, while her long-lost daughter had finally been located, it was too late…that McLean was deceased. The bright spot in this sad tale is that the McLean family has a granddaughter who offers a glimpse of the Kimberly McLean they knew and loved, as well as a new family to embrace, as the McLean and Ruff families struggle to make sense of this tortured life of secrets and lies.
