Remains found over 50 years ago identified through DNA technology as Oregon teen
PORTLAND, Ore. — The remains of a teenager found more than 50 years ago have been identified through advanced DNA technology as a young woman who went missing in Portland, Oregon State Police said.
The remains are those of Sandra Young, a high school student who disappeared in 1968 or 1969, police said in a news release Thursday.
“Sandra Young has now regained her identity after 54 years,” said Dr. Nici Vance, Human Identification Program Coordinator at the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, said in the news release, noting the dedication and collaboration between family members, law enforcement, medical examiner staff and DNA company Parabon NanoLabs.
“This is another example of the innovative ways the ME Office and Genetic Genealogy Research can help Oregonians find a solution,” Vance said.
A Boy Scout troop leader found the remains on Feb. 23, 1970. Police say Young’s skeleton was found on Sauvie Island in the Columbia River, about 10 miles north of Portland.
Investigators believed trauma to her body indicated foul play, but what happened to her is still unknown.
In 2004, Young’s remains were taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in suburban Portland, along with more than 100 additional sets of unidentified remains, police said.
A DNA sample from Young’s remains was uploaded to a computer software program database of DNA profiles at the time, but no genetic associations were found.
A grant awarded to the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner’s Office in 2018 allowed for more extensive DNA testing, and DNA company Parabon NanoLabs was able to generate a prediction of Young’s facial features in 2021.
In 2023, someone who uploaded his DNA to the genetic genealogy database GEDMatch was recognized as a potential distant relative of Young. As others then uploaded their DNA, more matches were found and family trees were developed.
Those family members indicated Young was missing around the time the remains were found.
After Young’s sister uploaded a DNA sample and spoke with a Portland police detective, genetic evidence confirmed the remains were Young’s, police said.
Genetic genealogy research and confirmation testing have produced successful results, but can cost up to $10,000 per case, police said.