DUNN COUNTY, Wis. (WEAU) – Dunn County authorities have made an arrest in connection with a cold case dating back to 1974.

Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bygd says Jon Miller, 84, of Owatonna, Minnesota, was arrested Thursday for the homicide of Mary Schlais.

On February 15, 1974, Schlais was found dead near the intersection of 408th Avenue and 990th Street in the town of Spring Brook.

At the time, Schlais’ death was ruled a homicide and an initial investigation showed she was hitchhiking from Minneapolis to go to an art exhibition in Chicago.

Over the next few decades, many tips, leads, and interviews related to the homicide were made, but no viable suspect was identified.

In recent years, Dunn County Sheriff’s Office investigators began working with a team of genetic genealogists from Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, leading to the identification of Miller as a suspect.

Miller is in custody and awaiting extradition to Wisconsin.

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