- The missing teen, Gwenn Marie Story of Colerain Township, was identified through DNA with the help of Othram Labs
- Authorities said she was murdered and her remains were found on August 14, 1979
- Her killer(s) have not yet been caught and investigators from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are urging anyone to contact them
A 19-year-old murder victim who went missing in 1979 and went by the name “Sahara Sue Desert” has been identified through DNA after 44 years, authorities said.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department made an announcement Tuesday confirming the woman's identity as Gwenn Marie Story of Colerain Township.
Story had traveled from her home in Cincinnati, Ohio, to California with two of her male roommates to search for her biological father, but was later found dead in Sin City.
Her remains were found on August 14, 1979 near the Las Vegas strip, the former location of the Hotel El Rancho, but her killer was never caught.
The Texas-based company Othram Labs, which works with the LVMP on cold cases, used familial DNA to identify the teen. She was officially identified last month.
Police are are continuing to investigate the case and are urging “anyone with information about the young woman or the two men she traveled to Las Vegas with to contact them.”
Gwenn Marie Story was identified as the 19-year-old murder victim known as 'Sahara Sue Doe' before her name was revealed
Police released a composite sketch of the man shortly after Story's body was discovered.
According to investigators, the two men the teen had been traveling with returned to their Ohio home after Story's murder.
Terry Miller, an investigator with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said 8 New now Investigators indicate that the two men she was with are likely still alive.
Witnesses at the time of her disappearance said they saw Story enter a liquor store near the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara with a man about an hour before she was killed.
According to a clerk at the liquor store, the man was described as 6 feet tall, thin and with a mustache that was a different color than the color of his hair.
Police released a composite sketch of the man shortly after Story's body was discovered.
Miller said it remains unclear whether the man Story entered the store with was one of the two traveling companions from Ohio.
When asked by the news station if she thinks “one of those men killed Gwenn?”
Miller replied, “I don't know until I can interview them, and there's no name on it either.
She said they are “in the very beginning stages of this investigation into the murder portion of it.”
Las Vegas police posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, in hopes of generating new leads in the case.
After the young woman's name was publicly released, Story's family issued a statement in the decades-long case, expressing gratitude for the tenacity of investigators.
“Finally, after 44 years of not knowing what happened to our sister Gwenn Story, we have news that she has been identified,” they said.
“We are looking for closure on this case. Our family just wants some answers, we would really appreciate the help.
“Our family would also like to thank all of the detectives who worked on this case over the years at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.”
They added, “If it weren't for you, we'd still be wondering where Gwenn is.”
Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 702-385-5555 or at https://crimestoppersofnv.com/report-a-crime.
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