Can you help? Murdered woman’s remains found near Elma still unidentified after nearly 36 years

GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, Wash. — A murdered woman whose remains were found north of Elma in 1988 has yet to be identified, and investigators are hoping the public can help.

Her remains were found by mushroom hunters who were exploring a wooded area. Police said she was shot in the head.

At that time, investigators determined the victim was in her late 20s, between 4 feet 10 inches and 5 feet 2 inches tall, 100 pounds, and with dark brown hair.

Remnants of clothing found nearby included a white, multi-colored blouse with a floral pattern, a blue shirt, black pants, and new dark blue slip-on shoes. She had been wearing a pearl ring, and sapphire earrings were found with her body.

He remains could have been decaying in the woods for as long as five years.

In 2020, the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office contacted the DNA Doe Project to help identify the woman. Scientists with the project use DNA from remains to look for genetic matches in public databases and build family trees.

If close enough relatives are found among the matches, the technique can target the specific branch of the right family tree and determine a person’s identity.

However, the case turned out to be a difficult one.

“This case is one of our most challenging ever. Our Jane Doe is likely Cambodian, and all of her DNA relative matches are too distant for successful family tree building,” said DNA Doe Project Executive Director of Case Management Jennifer Randolph. “We continually monitor for new, better matches, but it’s slow going because she was likely a recent immigrant or the child of immigrants.”

Genetic genealogists working on police cases have access to two databases where they can upload a DNA profile and look through matches. The databases have about 3 million profiles contributed by the public, but the DNA Doe Project says minority communities and immigrants are hugely underrepresented in the databases, making their cases far more difficult to solve.

“In the meantime, our best hope for returning her name is turning to the community for help in spreading the word about her,” Randolph said. “Someone may recognize her from the reconstruction portrait we commissioned, or they may be able to upload their DNA to GEDmatch.com and FTDNA.com and provide the link to solve this case.”

If you or your relatives immigrated from Southeast Asia and lived in Southwest Washington in the 1980s, the DNA Doe Project team would like to speak with you to discuss how your DNA could help solve the case. Email case-tips@dnadoeproject.org.

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