One detective, Bill Eppell, told the local Maryland media gathered in the police station in that seashore town that a $1,000 reward was being offered for information leading to the identification of a young murder victim who worked in Ocean City from 1979-82. 

 Although the victim has been named Princess Doe shortly after her battered body was found dumped in a ravine in Blairstown, N.J,. in July 1982, the detectives never used that term. Through the years, the case has received international coverage, including a 20-minute spot on an HBO crime special in 1983. 

 Detective Eppell, according to the Ocean City Today weekly newspaper, was paraphrased as saying "investigators believe she was in Ocean City during the years 1979 to 1982. They believe she worked in housekeeping at the Harrison Hall (hotel) during the summers of 1980 and 1981 and might have stayed in the North Division Street Area near the foot of the Route 50 bridge.'' 

 The article also said that when the detectives from New Jersey were tracking down leads in July canvassing Ocean City hotels, they found six people who had information about the victim. 

 But in an interview last week, Eppell's boss, Warren Prosecutor John J. O'Reilly, said his office has not determined yet that the victim, believed to be between 14 and 18 years old, was living in Ocean City, Md. He said his office has not ruled it out either. 

 O'Reilly said the reporter who wrote the story "misconstrued what the detective said'' when she wrote her story. He would not comment further on specific information on this aspect of the case, nor would he say what evidence led his detectives to Ocean City. 

 Detective Eppell, who is on vacation, was not available for comment last week, and his partner on this case, Detective Susan Bloodgood, said office policy dictates all information would have to come from Prosecutor O'Reilly. 

 Jay Hancock, public relations officer for the 100-officer Ocean City Police Department, said the New Jersey reward is still being offered. As of Thanksgiving, he said three or four tips have been forwarded to Warren County. He did not know if any of the tips were helpful to New Jersey authorities. 

 Other than assisting Warren County detectives when asked, his department does not have an active role in the Princess Doe case since the girl was murdered in New Jersey, Hancock said. 

 "From what I recall, they were pretty sure the girl who had worked down here was the same girl who was found in New Jersey,'' Hancock said. 

The girl's identity — a key to finding her killer — has eluded authorities for more than 15 years. 

 Hancock said Harrison Hall, where the teen is believed to have worked, is a large hotel on the boardwalk, and North Division Street where she is suspected of living has more modest rental properties that appeal to seasonal workers. 

If authorities are closer to learning who the girl was, they are not saying. 

 O'Reilly said he did not know if the murder victim's identity would ever be learned, but he said his office would follow up on every viable lead. 

 "It's very painstaking work, there's no question about that. But sometimes you do get lucky,'' he said.