Friday, the Louisiana State Police (LSP) announced the identity of the skeletal remains found in Evangeline Parish in 2018 as those belonging to Erica Nicole Hunt, who went missing in Opelousas, Louisiana in 2016.
In May 2019, LSP contacted the DNA Doe Project (DDP) to request assistance. After numerous attempts to obtain usable DNA, DDP commenced genetic genealogy research in November 2020 to find the identity of Evangeline Parish Jane Doe.
Hunt was born on July 10, 1996 in Louisiana. She was 20 years old when she vanished from Boudin-Opelousas on the evening of July 3, 2016. On July 6, 2016, Hunt's family reported her missing to the Opelousas Police. Her partially buried skeletal remains were discovered in a field near Ville Platte, Louisiana on Dec. 30, 2018. The case is being handled as a homicide.
LSP is asking anyone with information about the crime to contact St. Landry Crime Stoppers at 948-8477 (TIPS), online at stlandrycrimestoppers.com, or via Facebook by leaving a WEBTIP. Tips may also be submitted via text message by texting TIPS625 plus the tip to CRIMES (274637). The Louisiana State Police online reporting system is also available to the public through a convenient and secure reporting form that is submitted to the appropriate investigators. Citizens can access the form by visiting www.lsp.org and clicking the Suspicious Activity link.
Atypically, a single DDP volunteer spent approximately 49 hours researching the case. As she wrapped up the research, she said: “Being able to work on Erica’s case and to help restore her identity to her was an absolute honor. She will never again be known as just Evangeline Parish Jane Doe; she is Erica Nicole Hunt.”
DDP wishes to acknowledge the contributions of those groups and individuals who helped solve this case: Louisiana State Police Investigator Anthony Pardo and Lt. Brad Guidroz, who entrusted the case to DDP and provided invaluable assistance; DNA Solutions and Astrea Forensics for extraction; HudsonAlpha Discovery for sequencing; Kevin Lord of Saber Investigations for bioinformatics; and GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA for providing their databases.
Republished courtesy of DDP. Photo credit: Compiled by Jack Friess, DNA Doe Project.