The Lost and the Found

https://www.abqjournal.com/74483/do...gators-hope-sketch-helps-identify-victim.html


Dona Ana County Investigators Hope Sketch Helps Identify Victim

By Ashley Meeks / Las Cruces Sun-News
Published: Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 10:00am



LAS CRUCES — A new composite sketch of an unidentified girl whose remains were found in the desert north of Las Cruces nearly 27 years ago has renewed hope among investigators that the victim may finally be identified, according to the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office.



Rabbit hunters stumbled upon the shallow grave of human remains on March 10, 1985, at a location off Interstate 25 near Upham. Through autopsy, the New Mexico Office of the Medical Examiner determined the body was that of a white female, between 16 and 19 years old, with a slight build and blonde or light brown hair, who had likely been buried three to six months prior to being discovered.

In recent years, several local cold cases have been solved: Ronald Ralph King was sentenced this year to 12 years in prison for killing 24-year-old Heather Lynn Eiche in 2001. King admitted to the killing in 2009. And in 2007, after DNA from a burglary matched him to the crime, Gabriel Avila was sentenced to 69 years in prison for the 2003 killing of New Mexico State University student Katie Sepich, who had been ****, strangled and partially burned near the old city dump.

In the “Jane Doe” case, a clay reconstruction was initially created using the skeletal remains of her face, including a lower human jaw bone. Images of that reconstruction were made public, but did not result in any solid leads. But recently, an in-house sketch artist at the Office of the Medical Examiner created a newer, hand-drawn image of the girl, and while it’s not an exact likeness, Cold Case Investigator Ben Venable says it’s a significant step forward.

“There are several possibilities that could explain why we haven’t been able to match this girl with other missing people matching her description,” Venable said. “But this person was someone’s child, and somewhere, a family deserves to have closure.”

The case is one of several dozen murders, suspicious deaths and missing persons cases — including the still-unsolved 1896 disappearance of Albert and Henry Fountain — that the sheriff’s Cold Case Unit is currently working to solve.

Authorities have not released how the teen was killed or what condition her body is in because the case is still open, but Venable, who has been close to the missing teen’s case since 1987, says based on the clothes she was wearing, she was likely not a transient.

“We have compared all reported missing persons of similar description, but would like to encourage anyone with knowledge of a missing person matching this description to contact us,” Venable said. “There is always the possibility that a missing person has not been reported up until now.”

Anyone who might recognize the person in the sketch or has information on where her family may be located is asked to call the Dona Ana County sheriff’s Cold Case Unit at 575-525-1911.

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