Mushroom hunters found woman’s remains in 1999, OR cops say. New image may help ID her
More than two decades after mushroom pickers found a woman’s remains in the woods, Oregon police are releasing a new image in hopes of identifying the woman.
Oregon State Police recently partnered with Parabon NanoLabs, which created a new illustration of the woman using her DNA, state police said in a Dec. 17 Facebook post.
“This new illustration … may be the key to unlocking her identity,” police said. “We hope someone may recognize her now.”
Remains found in woods
Mushroom pickers found human skeletal remains in a rural wooded area of Clatsop County off Highway 26 on Nov. 3, 1999, police said.
Officials scoured the area and found additional remains, “including a skull and lower jaw with all the teeth present,” police said.
Through a forensic examination, officials determined the remains belonged to a woman between the ages of 16 and 30 who stood about 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed between 108 and 117 pounds, police said.
Anthropologists also believed the woman “had given birth some time prior,” police said.
While searching “the same wooded area,” investigators also found “white athletic socks, Levi’s blue jeans size 33x34, a medium-sized black leather jacket, and a silver-colored ‘peace symbol’ belt buckle,” according to police.
New image created
Years later, Parabon NanoLabs created the new image of the unknown woman using genetic phenotyping, police said.
DNA phenotyping is a process that uses DNA to predict physical appearance, according to Parabon NanoLabs.
Based on her ancestry, police said investigators determined the woman has “relatives from Western Europe, West Africa and Central America.”
“Everyone deserves the dignity of a name,” police said. “Through our partnership with Parabon NanoLabs, we will continue to search for her family and ultimately identify her.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 800-442-0776 and reference case number SP99433623.
Clatsop County is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Portland.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Mushroom hunters found woman’s remains in 1999, OR cops say. New image may help ID her."
