MEDWAY (AP) – Workers on Thursday exhumed the body of a teenage girl killed 28 years ago as internationally-renowned forensic experts Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Henry Lee traveled to the state in hopes of recovering evidence leading to her killer.

The mother of Joyce McLain was on hand Thursday morning with family and friends to oversee the process at a local cemetery in Medway, and state police spokesman Steve McCausland said the unearthed casket was in “remarkable condition.”

“I have more hope right now than I had 28 years ago,” said Pam McLain, the teen’s mother.

The casket containing the girl’s body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta, where an autopsy was planned for Friday by Baden and Lee.

Baden is chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police and host of HBO’s “Autopsy” series. Lee is known for his testimony during the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith, and he played a pivotal role in Maine’s first trial involving DNA.

McLain, a 16-year-old Schenck High School sophomore, disappeared after going jogging the night of Aug. 8, 1980. Her body was found two days later in a power line clearing about 200 feet from the school’s soccer fields.

Several suspects were investigated, but no arrests were made. The investigation remains open.

Before the arrival of Baden and Lee, four state police detectives who led the investigation met in Bangor last week to discuss the case, McCausland said. East Millinocket Police Chief Twig Cramp and his predecessor also attended the meeting.

McCausland described Pamela McLain’s effort to push the investigation forward as “Herculean.” Autopsy expenses will be covered by the approximately $18,000 raised by the Justice For Joyce Committee, a group of concerned citizens.

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