DNA testing solves decades-long mystery of missing Bay Area woman

"In March 2013, brush cutting workers found the skull among blackberry bushes while working in Redding, near the the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District Canal and the Locust Street Bridge, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office. Redding police, sheriff's deputies and forensic anthropologists from California State University Chico's human identification lab responded and searched the surrounding area for days, locating most of the person's remains, several items of clothing and some personal items."

"The county coroner's office determined the skeletal remains belonged to a white woman likely between 4-foot, 10-inches to 5-foot, 4-inches tall and was between 35 to 70 years old, according to Texas-based lab Othram, which later assisted with DNA testing. Investigators determined thick brush had likely hid the woman's body for many years. Authorities submitted a DNA sample to the California Department of Justice, which did not yield any results for more than a decade."

"In 2023, the coroner's office partnered with Othram, which specializes in genealogical matching, to take a fresh look at the case. The lab created a comprehensive DNA profile for the woman, compared it to possible family lineage and found that a possible match was Velma Louise Silvia Lee, a Napa woman born in 1936 who had never been reported missing, the sheriff's office said."

In March 2013, brush cutting workers found a skull among blackberry bushes in Redding near the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District Canal and the Locust Street Bridge. Police, sheriff's deputies and forensic anthropologists searched the area and located most of the remains, clothing and personal items. The coroner determined the skeletal remains belonged to a white woman about 4-foot, 10-inches to 5-foot, 4-inches tall and between 35 and 70 years old. A DNA sample submitted to the California Department of Justice produced no matches for more than a decade. In 2023 the coroner partnered with Othram to create a comprehensive DNA profile and apply genealogical matching, producing a possible match to Velma Louise Silvia Lee, born in 1936. Family records showed a private investigator last traced her whereabouts to about 2004 and she was later declared legally dead. A familial DNA comparison confirmed the identification, and Othram officially identified the remains as Lee on Sept. 15.

Read at www.pressdemocrat.com