The DNA Doe Project (DDP) is pleased to announce the successful identification of Robin Fay Hedrick, formerly known as Pine Flat Jane Doe 1993.
On Aug. 8, 1993, two men were hiking along a creek bed in a remote area off of Pine Flat Road in Healdsburg, California, when they discovered the skeletonized remains of a woman. The case went cold when investigators were unable to match the remains to missing persons reports, and it would remain cold until the Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office brought it to the DNA Doe Project in 2022.
Born on Sept. 15, 1953, Robin Fay Hedrick’s identity remained a mystery until recent breakthroughs in investigative genetic genealogy provided the missing pieces to this puzzling case.
Once the DDP team started digging, they were able to restore Hedrick’s name in roughly three days given the close relationships they uncovered through GEDmatch.
“My team was honored to collaborate with the Sonoma County Sheriff's office to restore Robin’s name and return her to her family. We were aided in the efforts of her DNA relatives who had uploaded their DNA to the database we can use to give Jane Does their identities - GEDmatch,” said team leader Gwen Knapp. “We hope her family can have closure knowing what happened to their loved one.”
The investigation into the circumstances of Robin’s death is ongoing. The public is encouraged to contact the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department if they have any information about her life or her suspicious death. Tips can be submitted to the Cold Case Unit at (707) 565-2727 or [email protected].
The DNA Doe Project is grateful to the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: the Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, who entrusted the case to the DNA Doe Project; Astrea Forensics for extraction of DNA and whole-genome sequencing; Kevin Lord for bioinformatics; GEDmatch Pro and FTDNA for providing their databases; and DDP’s dedicated teams of volunteer investigative genetic genealogists who work tirelessly to bring all our Jane and John Does home.
Republished courtesy of DDP.