WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Police think a Wayne County woman who lost her memory and forgot her identity might be the same person who went missing more than a decade ago. But now they can’t find her.

The Portsmouth Police Department in Virginia believes that a “living Jane Doe” who was going by the name “China Black” and living in Wayne County in 2018 could be Kathryn Bene Griffin.

Portsmouth detectives have been working closely with the Michigan State Police. They believe Griffin may be China Black based on her most recent photo.

Disappearance of Kathryn Griffin

Griffin was last seen shortly before noon on Jan. 7, 2012, by a family member where she worked at the Perry’s Cutz barber shop on Victory Boulevard in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Police said Griffin left the barber shop riding a brown bicycle. She was wearing blue jeans, a plaid jacket, and a black smock. They didn’t know where she was going and said it was unusual for her to have no contact with her family.

Woman loses memory

Local 4 spoke with Black in 2018 when Michigan State Police were working to help her remember her identity.

Black said she was hit by a drunk driver after leaving a McDonald’s on Woodward Avenue near Wayne State University. She believes that is when she lost her memory.

“It’s frustrating that you wake up in the hospital and you don’t know who you is,” Black said in 2018.

She is a double amputee and is missing her left pinky finger. Black had previously gone by the names Joynez Johnson and CJ Jones.

—> Michigan State Police attempt to identify Metro Detroit woman who doesn’t remember her identity

Search for China Black

Nobody could verify Black’s story. In 2018, she was living in an adult foster care home and had lived there for at least the prior four years.

Portsmouth police said they have been unable to locate Black, but believe she is still in the Detroit area.

Police plan to take her DNA to compare it with a sample of Griffin’s mother’s DNA to determine if they are in fact the same person.

Portsmouth police believe that Griffin is living in Michigan, possibly in the Wayne area.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Portsmouth Police Department at 757-393-8536 or the Michigan State Police at 1-855-MICHTIP, or msp-missingpersons@michigan.gov.