Overview
- Riverside County authorities said state crime lab testing confirmed the victim as Victoria Jean Hargrove of Opelika, Alabama.
- Her body was found in 1980 down a ravine off Highway 74 near Palm Desert, not long after she was reported missing in Alabama.
- The cold case team in 2024 exhumed the remains and sent bone and tissue to Othram Labs for DNA analysis.
- A DNA profile uploaded to a consumer ancestry site pointed to a close relative in Alabama, and family DNA then confirmed the identification.
- Investigators are asking for tips about her disappearance, travel to California, and the homicide, with contacts at 951-955-0070 or coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.