Remains identified as Washington woman who disappeared in 1987

YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. — Human remains discovered 13 years ago have been identified as a Yakama Nation woman who had been missing since 1987.

Daisy Mae Heath-Tallman grew up in White Swan, Wash., an unincorporated community located on the Yakama Indian Reservation about 65 miles from Ellensburg.

Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice said the remains of Heath-Tallman were discovered just west of White Swan on Nov. 26, 2008.

Curtice said additional DNA testing on the remains was finished in 2022 and officially identified them to be that of the missing woman.

Heath-Tallman’s cause of death is still listed as undetermined.

Heath-Tallman was 29 when she was reported missing from the lower Yakima Valley on Oct. 29, 1987.

Authorities reported that her backpack and keys were found near Soda Springs, just northwest of White Swan.

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