Through the advances in DNA sequencing and technology, investigators have finally identified the remains of a teenager who went missing somewhere between 1968-1969.
After more than five decades of mystery and unanswered questions, the Oregon State Police announced a significant breakthrough in the cold case.
On February 23, 1970, a Boy Scout troop leader on Sauvie Island, Oregon, made a startling discovery. Buried in a shallow grave, the skeletal remains of a teenage girl were found, along with a black curly wig, signaling a grim case of foul play. The identity of the young woman, a mystery that lingered for 54 years, was finally revealed on February 22, 2024, marking a significant breakthrough in a case that has long haunted the community.
In 2004, Sandra Young’s remains were transferred to the state medical examiner’s office as part of an effort to identify over 100 sets of remains. It wasn’t until 2018 that a grant enabled further DNA analysis by Parabon NanoLabs, a company specializing in DNA-based forensics. This analysis, alongside a facial reconstruction created in 2021, paved the way for identifying the young woman.
The key to unlocking Young’s identity came when a relative unknowingly uploaded their DNA to the genealogy database GEDMatch in January of last year. This upload triggered an immediate match, suggesting the donor was a distant relative of Young, whose DNA profile was already on file in databases used by law enforcement to aid in identifying missing persons.
Oregon State Police and a genetic genealogist collaborated to trace Young’s family tree, encouraging potential relatives to submit their DNA. This effort led them to Young’s sister and other family members, who confirmed that Young had disappeared around the time the remains were found on the far north end of Sauvie Island. Young was a student at Grant High School in Portland, less than an hour’s drive south of where her body was discovered. She was between the ages of 16 and 18 at the time of her last sighting in the city.
The state medical examiner’s office employed various DNA techniques over the years in an attempt to identify Young. Predictive analysis indicated that Young had brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair, and was likely of West African, South African, and Northern European descent.
Dr. Nici Vance, Human Identification Program Coordinator at the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, hailed the identification as a testament to the dedication and collaboration among family members, law enforcement, and forensic experts.
The Portland Police Bureau has been urged to further investigate the circumstances surrounding Young’s death, in hopes of bringing closure to a case that has remained unsolved for too long.
This case sheds light on a larger, more systemic issue: the disproportionate number of missing persons cases involving communities of color. According to the Black and Missing Foundation, over a third of the 546,568 people reported missing in the U.S. in 2022 were identified as Black youth and women, a stark contrast to their 13% representation in the overall population. This disparity underscores the urgent need for more equitable attention and resources to be allocated to missing persons cases across all communities.
The resolution of Sandra Young’s case, over half a century later, provides some measure of peace to her family.