The Harford County Sheriff’s Office is offering up to a $2,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest in a 1988 cold case involving the death of a 25-year-old woman whose body was found in an Edgewood waterway.

Patricia Burns, of Dundalk, was found stabbed to death on July 6, 1988 in a waterway along Winters Run Road in Edgewood, which Det. Kevin Smith of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said was a popular swimming spot in the 1980s.

“The mother of a family went to look down in the water and saw Ms. Burns in the water and contacted law enforcement at that time,” Smith said. “The timeframe is probably no more than two hours that she was in the water. They located her very quickly.”

Despite the quick recovery of Burns’ body and collection of DNA evidence from the scene, Smith and the Sgt. Chris Maddox of the Major Crimes Unit, said DNA evidence in the 1980s was a developing tool that restricted investigators’ ability to develop a suspect.

“Back in ‘88, DNA was just becoming a tool in law enforcement and would have needed to be sent to the FBI who, to my understanding, were very stringent in what they would take back then,” Smith said.

Maddox said that detectives revisited Burns’ case after connecting with her daughter, who inquired about the status of the case.

Since DNA capabilities have advanced since the 1980s, detectives revisit cold cases routinely to analyze the initial investigation, potential leads and DNA evidence. Maddox said detectives work to see if any evidence can be run through more advanced DNA methods to possibly build a DNA profile based on partial DNA samples found at a crime scene that were never fully tested due to technological capabilities at the time.

“The hope is that the DNA can lead us in the right direction and for us to talk to people who knew Patty or we get lucky and find somebody who is associated with the suspect,” Maddox said.

Regardless of retesting DNA evidence, Smith and Maddox said they do not have any witnesses or leads in the investigation — something Smith said is equally as important to an investigation as is DNA evidence.

“Forensics helps paint a picture, but at the end of the day, it is going to take people coming forward and speaking with us to tell us what they know,” Smith said.

The Burns case is one of 23 cold cases in Harford County. The oldest case, Maddox said, dates back to 1967, while the most recent is from a 2021 quadruple shooting in Edgewood that killed 29-year-old Charles Pugh.

“I have a board in my office with every one of the cold cases from 1967 to 2021, so the community may have forgotten about it over time, but the sheriff’s office has not,” Maddox said.  “It is my goal as a sergeant of the unit to try to get as many of those names erased off that board as possible to get families closure.”

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said on social media that information leading to an arrest in the case may be eligible for a cash reward up to $2,000. Anyone with information is asked to contact Smith at 443-409-3576 or submit an anonymous tip at p3tips.com.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.