Arizona officials are hoping new renderings will help identify the victim in a 1989 cold case.
On Nov. 24, 1989, human remains were found off Interstate 40 near the Hualapai Mountains. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office determined the remains were a partially decomposed white woman.
On Dec. 2 of that same year, a detective also found what is believed to be a fragment of a handmade white blouse with a blue and purple floral pattern near a tree.
The victim was described as 5-foot-5, about 115 pounds, and between 25 and 30 years old.
In 2016, her DNA profile was entered into CODIS, the FBI-run database that stores DNA profiles to help law enforcement solve crimes. In 2021, investigators learned it had been entered and contacted a forensic lab in Texas to develop a profile for public genealogy databases GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA, which are used with law enforcement.
Officials said the victim was 96% Ashkenazi Jewish, which made tracing her ancestry and locating relatives especially difficult.
This year, investigators partnered with a New Jersey public college that houses the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center in hopes the IGG team can identify her. A forensic artist also created a rendering of what she may have looked like based on skeletal remains, the blouse fragment, and earrings she was wearing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Special Investigation Unit at 928-753-073, extension 4044, and reference DR#89-4531.
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