The partial remains of a homicide victim were found in Yosemite National Park’s Summit Meadow along Glacier Point Road in 1983. Special Agents of the NPS Investigative Services Branch (ISB) worked with multiple laboratories and agencies in an effort to identify the victim.
A forensic anthropology exam and a CT scan of the victim’s skull helped forensic artists create a digital facial reconstruction of what she may have looked like. This facial reconstruction was made from the victim’s skull without the jaw.
Forensic anthropologists believed the victim was at least in her late teens but could have been as old as 30. The suspect in this case, Henry Lee Lucas, was interviewed in the 1980s and died in prison in 2001. He had information about this murder that had not been made public and could only be known by the person who committed the crime. Lucas stated the victim was a female hitchhiker that he picked up on Highway 41 between Fresno, California and Yosemite National Park in the early 1980s.
In the fall of 2020, ISB worked with Marshall University and Parabon Nanolabs to genotype the DNA and get a better profile to include ancestry, origin locations, as well as a better physical description for the unidentified victim. Through this process a more realistic composite photo was produced. ISB and Parabon followed up on leads by identifying potential relatives in the United States.
Culminating decades of work, leveraging new technologies, and bringing closure for a family missing a loved one, this victim of a long-ago homicide has finally been identified. At the request of her family, her identify has not been made public.
Republished courtesy of NPS. Photo: A forensic anthropology exam and CT scan of the victim's skull helped forensic artists create a digital facial reconstruction of what this victim of a long-ago homicide may have looked like. Credit: NPS image.