JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. – Investigators in Josephine County have positively identified human skeletal remains discovered more than 36 years ago.
The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office said in 1986, a homeowner in the Quartz Creek area found human skeletal remains buried about four-feet deep on their property. It was believed the remains had been in the ground for about 15-25 years.
Due to the condition of the remains and lack of solid evidence, investigators couldn’t identify the person who died and the case went cold.
That all changed in 2018 when Oregon State Police were awarded a grant that allowed for DNA and genetic testing of the remains. The results linked the remains to Elsie Baker, who went missing under suspicious circumstances in 1959.
In 2022, investigators were able to track down a surviving relative of Baker and, using DNA and kinship analysis, positively identified the remains as Elsie Baker.
No further information about how the investigation is moving forward was provided by JCSO.
You can read JCSO’s entire press release about the case here: https://www.flashalert.net/id/JosephineSheriff?alert=1
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.