Mojave County, Arizona – When a dismembered and bagged body was found in the desert in January 1971, Arizona officials enlisted the help of genetic genealogists to identify the woman.
The body of Colleen Audrey Rice, 39, from Ohio, was found on January 23, 1971, in the desert 30 miles southeast of Kingman. A Mojave County Sheriff’s Office official said:A contemporary newspaper account indicates that it was three hunters who stumbled upon the horrifying find.
“The victim was kept in a canvas bag tied at the top with a white cotton rope.” officials said in a news release“The bag was a loosely woven white cotton bag with the words ‘Deer-Park Ames Harris Neville Co.’ printed in green.”
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The woman, whose body was too decomposed to be recognized by the naked eye, was between 35 and 40 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall, and weighed between 125 and 140 pounds. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), she had a bit of gray in her curly dark brown hair.
She wore a multicolored long-sleeved blouse, a black cardigan, and stretchy burnt-orange trousers. She wore black leather ankles on her boots and no jewelry on her.
Her NamUs files show she had a long scar on her abdomen, and in a 1971 San Bernardino County Sun news article, pathologists believed the woman had given birth three times, including one by caesarean section. He said that he was
However, officials at Osram, a Texas-based forensic laboratory that helped identify Rice, said little was known about Rice’s relationship or whereabouts after he left home.
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“She married William Davis in Ohio in 1946.” An OSRAM news release stated“She was estranged from her family, so little is known about her life or how she came to live in Arizona.
“It is unknown if she had any children as no records were found.”
Attempting to identify Rice and find her killer in 1971, authorities had little to do. An artist at the Northern Arizona Museum sketched what the murdered woman would look like, based on the skull features.
A public appeal to help identify the woman in the sketch went nowhere.
In 2022, Mojave County cold case investigators partnered with Osram to determine whether advanced DNA testing and the company’s patented genome sequencing technology could lead to a woman’s identity. The sheriff’s office offered her $1,000 for the effort.
Othram crowdfunded the remaining $6,500 in five days, officials said. The trial started late last year.
Once the DNA profile was established, genealogists began to create a family tree of the unidentified woman, which led to distant relatives. .
This test proved that Rice was the woman found in the desert 52 years ago.
Authorities released the identity on the anniversary of the date Rice was found.
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According to a Sheriff’s Office news release, “an investigation into the suspect and/or suspects involved in her death is ongoing.” I am asking for help.”
If you have information about Colleen Rice’s life or death, please contact the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office at extension 928-753-0753. Tips can also be called toll-free at 1-800-522-4312 (see DR# 71-0383).
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