PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon State Police say the remains of a teenage boy found more than 50 years ago have been identified through advanced DNA technology as that of a missing young woman from Portland.
Police said in a news release Thursday that the remains are those of Sandra Young, a high school student who disappeared in 1968 or 1969.
“Sandra Young has regained her identity for the first time in 54 years,” Dr. Niki Vance, Human Identification Program Coordinator for the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office, said in a news release, adding that family members, law enforcement and the medical examiner's office He noted the diligence and cooperation between them. Staff and her DNA company Parabon NanoLabs.
“This is yet another example of the innovative ways the ME's Office and Investigative Genealogy can help Oregonians find closure,” Vance said.
A Boy Scout troop leader discovered the body on February 23, 1970. Police said Young's remains were discovered on Saubee Island in the Columbia River, about 10 miles north of Portland.
Investigators thought the trauma to her body indicated foul play, but they still don't know what happened to her.
In 2004, Young's body, along with more than 100 other unidentified bodies, was transferred to the state medical examiner's facility outside Portland, police said.
DNA samples taken from Young's body were uploaded to a computer software program database of DNA profiles at the time, but no genetic link was found.
A grant awarded to the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner's Office in 2018 enabled more extensive DNA testing, and in 2021, DNA company Parabon Nanolabs was able to predict Young's facial features.
In 2023, a person who uploaded his DNA to the genetic genealogy database GEDMatch was identified as a possible distant relative of Young. Then, as others uploaded their girlfriend's DNA, more matches were found and a family tree was created.
These family members suggested that Young went missing around the time the body was discovered.
Young's sister uploaded a DNA sample and consulted with Portland police detectives, who determined that genetic evidence confirmed the body was Young's, police said.
Police say genetic genealogy case investigations and confirmatory tests have shown successful results, but each case can cost up to $10,000.
