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Woman found in a canvas sack in 1971 ID’d through community-funded DNA testing

Arizona law enforcement was finally able to identify a woman found dead in 1971 after community members rallied to help fund a vital DNA test.

The Mojave County Sheriff’s Office was notified on January 23, 1971 that human remains had been found in a desert area near US Route 93 on Hackberry Road. The corpse was placed in a white cotton canvas bag bearing the words “Deer-Pak Ames Harris Neville Co.”Printed in green, the authorities Facebook post on tuesday.

Investigators at the time were unable to identify the woman. Until Monday, 52 years after her death, the sheriff’s office was unable to ascertain her name, Colleen Audrey Rice.

According to the sheriff’s office, in October 2021, the agency’s special investigative team worked with an artist to sketch what Rice might have looked like. They released the sketches to the public in the hope that someone would have the information.

Last year, the agency began working with forensic genealogy firm Osram, stating that “advanced DNA testing and forensic-grade genome sequencing could provide insight into the identity of this woman and the circumstances surrounding her untimely death.” to determine if it will help,” the sheriff said. the office said.

Authorities donated $1,000 to the DNA test and asked the public to help with the remaining $65,000. Funds were raised within 5 days.

Colleen Audrey Rice (Mojave County Sheriff’s Office)

“On January 23, 2023, the victim discovered her voice. Using forensic genetic genealogy, the victim was identified as Colleen Audrey Rice,” the sheriff’s office said. . “Her relatives’ DNA testing confirmed this after countless searches through her family tree and contact with distant family relatives.”

During the investigation, detectives learned that Rice was born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1931 and attended Portsmouth High School. They were also able to identify her parents as James C. Rice and Flossie Truitt. She would have been around 39 when she died.

Arizona authorities said Rice was estranged from her family at some point.

Posts published in DNASolves.com Detectives said they pursued a number of leads to identify Rice.In the early stages of the investigation, detectives sent her fingerprints to the FBI office in Washington, D.C., and sent them to hotels and businesses in the area where her body was found. I visited They also investigated missing person reports filed throughout Arizona and neighboring states of California, Utah and Nevada.

Othram Inc., which uses the database DNASolves, said it was “thrilled” that Rice was finally identified.

The Mojave County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation into a possible suspect is ongoing.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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