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3w ago

Long-Unidentified 1981 Jane Doe Is Named as Thelma Gaston

The identification came through new DNA sequencing, grant-funded reexamination, forensic genetic genealogy, dental comparisons, returning a name to a four-decade-old unidentified victim.

This 2019 file photo shows a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy in Moreno Valley, California. (Photo by Gina Ferazzi/Los AngelesTimes via Getty Images)
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An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows A guard walks outside the California Institution for Men in Chino, California, on May 24, 2011

Overview

  • Investigators announced in mid-July 2026 that remains found near Sugar Loaf Mountain in Riverside County on Nov. 28, 1981 were positively identified as Thelma Gaston.
  • The match resulted from work funded by the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Grant, an exhumation in November 2024, and Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing and genetic genealogy by Othram completed in May 2026.
  • Archival records show Gaston disappeared June 28, 1981 after leaving a note about looking for a cat and was long thought to be the victim of a Los Angeles County homicide.
  • Law enforcement originally identified and prosecutors later convicted Lawrence Remsen in the early 1980s for Gaston’s killing; he is serving a life sentence and was denied parole in July 2025.
  • The case highlights how funding, interagency cooperation, and advanced DNA methods can name long-unidentified victims and bring closure to families even when criminal prosecutions are already resolved.