For more than a quarter of a century, investigators in Nevada were unable to identify a body found by rock climbers in rural Washoe County—though since people don't tend to bury themselves under piles of rocks, they deduced that she was a homicide victim. With the help of forensic genealogy, authorities finally have a name for the woman found on June 9, 1997, CNN reports. The Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner's Office has identified the woman as Lorena Gayle Mosley, aka Lorena Gayle Sherwood, who was 41 at the time of her death.
No suspect had been identified, and authorities say they were unable to determine a cause of death due to "severe decompositional changes to her body," but the investigation remains open. County authorities say that after Texas-based company Othram compared DNA from the body to profiles uploaded to consumer genealogical databases, investigators followed a lead and were able to obtain old paper fingerprint records that matched fingerprints taken from the body.
Mosley's next of kin was notified and claimed the remains. "This is the first lead in over 20 years on this cold case, made possible through new technology and innovation, and the generosity of donors," Dr. Laura D. Knight, Washoe County's chief medical examiner and coroner, said in a statement. "I am deeply gratified to be able to give Ms. Mosley the dignity of being laid to rest with her name." (More cold cases stories.)
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