In the late 1960s, the tragic disappearance of a Portland, Oregon, teenager named Sandra Young left her loved ones and law enforcement baffled. Sandra, a student at Grant High School in Portland, vanished without a trace around the year 1968 or 1969. Decades passed, and no sign of Sandra was ever found, leaving her family and friends in a state of profound sadness and uncertainty.
Fast forward to 1970 when a Boy Scout troop leader stumbled upon human remains buried in a shallow grave on Sauvie Island, Oregon. The discovery left investigators with more questions than answers as the victim’s identity remained elusive. The body bore signs of foul play, and despite their best efforts, investigators were unable to identify the deceased individual.
Years went by, but advances in forensic technology eventually proved instrumental in shedding light on this long-forgotten case. In January 2023, a significant breakthrough occurred when someone uploaded their DNA results to a genealogy database known as GEDMatch. This individual was identified as a potential distant relative of the unidentified girl’s remains, according to Oregon State Police.
Working closely with family members, investigators managed to obtain additional DNA samples and develop extensive family trees. These efforts eventually led them to the identification of Sandra Young. Born on June 25, 1951, she was last seen in Portland, and her remains were discovered more than ten miles north of the city on the far north end of Sauvie Island.
The identification of Sandra marked a poignant moment for her loved ones, who were finally able to lay her story to rest and find some measure of closure. The case represented yet another example of investigative genetic genealogy’s role in solving cold cases and identifying the remains of individuals lost to history for decades.
Dr. Nici Vance, the Director of Forensic Services at Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, expressed her gratitude for this collaborative effort. “Sandra Young has now regained her identity after 54 years,” she said. “Her story represents a remarkable amount of diligence and collaboration between family members, detectives, Oregon State Medical Examiner staff, and our contract laboratory Parabon Nanolabs.”
Although investigators had managed to predict the victim’s gender based on the remains over the years, it wasn’t until 2021 that they were able to generate facial reconstruction technology to depict what Sandra might have looked like. This technological advancement was another testament to the innovative ways forensic science could help bring closure to families of missing individuals and provide answers for cases that had long gone cold.
The Portland Police Bureau was urged to conduct further investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding Sandra’s death, providing a glimmer of hope for her loved ones who had waited for answers for over five decades.
