OR COLUMBIA COUNTY JANE DOE: F, 17-25, found in Columbia County, OR - 23 Feb 1970 *SANDRA YOUNG*

1270UFOR - Unidentified Female

Date of Discovery: February 23, 1970
Location of Discovery: Columbia County, Oregon
Estimated Date of Death: 1 year prior
State of Remains: Not recognizable - Partial skeletal parts only
Cause of Death: Unknown

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 17-25 years old
Race: Unknown
Gender: Female
Height: 5'3" to 5'7"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown, but a black, extremely curly, short afro-style wig was found with the remains.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers
Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.

Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery
The victim's partially skeletonized remains were located in Columbia County.

The original case file cannot be located.

Investigating Agency(s)
Agency Name: Oregon State Police
Agency Contact Person: Dr. Veronica Vance
Agency Phone Number: 971-673-8220
Agency Case Number: 70-223

NCIC Case Number: N/A
NamUs Case Number: UP #9006

Information Source(s)
NamUs

1270UFOR

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

New images based on DNA, from Parabon, as of February 2021.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

 

[Kimster]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The remains of a teenager found more than 50 years ago have been identified through advanced DNA technology as a young woman who went missing from Portland, Oregon State Police said.


The remains are that of Sandra Young, a high school student who disappeared in 1968 or 1969, police said Thursday in a news release.


“Sandra Young has now regained her identity after 54 years,” Dr. Nici Vance, Human Identification Program Coordinator at the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, said in the news release, noting the diligence and collaboration between family members, law enforcement, medical examiner staff and DNA company Parabon NanoLabs.


“This is yet another example of the innovative ways the ME’s Office and investigative genetic genealogy can help Oregonians find closure,” Vance said.


A Boy Scout troop leader found the remains on Feb. 23, 1970. Police say Young’s skeleton was found on Sauvie Island in the Columbia River, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Portland.


Investigators believed trauma to her body indicated foul play, but what happened to her is still unknown

Remains found over 50 years ago identified through DNA technology as Oregon teen

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The remains of a teenager found more than 50 years ago have been identified through advanced DNA technology as a young woman who went missing from Portland, Oregon State Polic…

www.abc27.com

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/25/1233775869/sandra-young-dna-oregon-missing-persons-case

Decade's old missing person case solved after relative uploads DNA to genealogy site​

About 54 years ago, a boy scout troop leader in Sauvie Island, Oregon stumbled upon a shallow grave. In the buried dirt seemed to be some forgotten clothing. In reality, it was the remains of a teenage girl.

Her entire body, in skeletal form, was discovered underneath the grave, as well as pieces from a black curly wig, according to Oregon State Police. At the time, investigators said the body showed clear signs of foul play.

For decades, the identity of the young woman remained a mystery — until Thursday.

State authorities identified the woman as Sandra Young, a teenager from Portland who went missing between 1968 and 1969. Her identity was discovered through advanced DNA technology, which has helped solve stubborn cold cases in recent years.

The case's breakthrough came last year in January, when a person uploaded their DNA to the genealogy database, GEDMatch, and the tool immediately determined that the DNA donor was a distant family member of Young. According to Oregon State Police, Young's DNA was already in databases used by law enforcement to help identify missing persons.

From there, a genetic genealogist working with local law enforcement helped track down other possible relatives and encouraged them to provide their DNA. That work eventually led to Young's sister and other family members who confirmed that Young went missing around the same time that a body was discovered in the far north end of Sauvie Island.

Young went to Grant High School in Portland, which is less than an hour's drive south of Sauvie Island. She was between 16 and 18 when she was last seen in the city.


But in a interview with a Portland TV station KOIN 6, Young's nephew, Lorikko Burkett Gibbs, said there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

"I know it's still being investigated, but I think there needs to be more investigation about this," Gibbs said. "The person who did this needs to pay for what they've done."