REDDING, Calif. – On Wednesday, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the human remains that were located by a vehicle in Shasta County belong to a missing Chico woman.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office says that in March of 2025, a vehicle that was associated with a missing persons investigation from Butte County was discovered in a remote area of northeastern Shasta County.
Human remains were located by Search and Rescue teams near where the vehicle and been found.
Authorities say that attempts to identify the human remains through the use of rapid DNA testing was unsuccessful.
In August 2025, the remains were sent by authorities to the California Department of Justice Laboratory for further analysis.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office says that in December of 2025, the Shasta County Coroner’s Office was notified by the California Department of Justice that one set of the remains could be identified.
The California Department of Justice was able to confirm that the one set of remains was positively identified as belonging to 85-year-old Dolores Sakamoto of Chico.
Authorities say that Sakamoto is one of the two missing women from Chico. No updates have been provided for Vivian Luna, Sakamoto’s daughter, who was also missing.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office says that further testing is still in progress by the Chico State Anthropology Department.
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They both are believed to be in a black 1996 Lexus ES300 with a license plate number of 6KSP061, the CHP said.Â
Action News Now is continuing to learn more about two missing senior citizens from Chico.
Authorities say that the vehicle belonging to 84-year-old Dolores Sakamoto and her daughter 64-year-old Vivian Luna was found in a remote area off Interstate 5 in March.
Vivian Luna and Dolores Sakamoto disappeared from Chico in July 2024.