BELLINGHAM, Wash. — More than 50 years after a young woman’s body was found partially buried in the California desert near Palm Springs, Riverside County investigators say they have finally identified her.
The body of an unidentified woman was located Jan. 19, 1974, in the open desert of Desert Hot Springs, California.
Despite years of work that included fingerprint and dental record comparisons, investigators were unable to identify the victim and developed no new investigative leads.
In 2024, the Regional Cold Case Homicide Team re-examined the case using advances in forensic science, including forensic investigative genetic genealogy. Bone samples were collected by the Riverside County Coroner’s Office and sent to Othram Labs, a private forensic laboratory, for DNA analysis. Investigators said the victim’s DNA profile was developed and uploaded to a direct-to-consumer ancestry database.
A genealogist assigned to the cold case team identified a potential match to a close relative in California. Investigators contacted the family member, who voluntarily provided DNA samples for comparison. Authorities said the DNA comparison, along with confirmation from the California Department of Justice Missing and Unidentified Persons Section, allowed the team to identify the victim as Rebecca Jean McMahan, also known as Becky McMahan and Becky Solis.
Rebecca was 19 when she was reported missing by her family on July 3, 1973. She was last seen June 11, 1973, in Bell Gardens, California, and had mentioned traveling to Palm Springs for vacation, investigators said.
From 1969 to 1973, Rebecca is known to have lived in Bellingham, Washington; Bell, California; Cudahy, California; and Commerce, California. She was described as a white female with long brown hair and hazel eyes, about 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 120 to 145 pounds. Investigators said she had an “SS” tattoo on her ankle and a butterfly tattoo on the right side of her chest.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about Rebecca or the circumstances surrounding her death to contact the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team. Tips can be reported to Investigator Ebony Caviness at 951-955-0257 or by email at coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.
The team also encouraged people to consider submitting their DNA to reputable ancestry databases such as FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch, saying voluntary submissions can help identify unknown victims and advance cold case investigations by establishing familial connections.