{"id":252589,"date":"2026-04-05T06:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252589\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T06:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:19:10","slug":"body-of-opelika-woman-missing-since-1980-identified-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252589\/","title":{"rendered":"Body of Opelika woman missing since 1980 identified in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"23hargrovevictoriamap040426\"<\/a><\/p>\n

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (WAKA) \u2013 DNA has identified a body found in Riverside County, California, as that of a woman who vanished from Opelika in 1980, but many questions remain.<\/p>\n

The mystery started when 29-year-old Victoria Jean Hargrove went missing from her home in Opelika on January 28, 1980. Her family reported her disappearance to law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, on February 18, 1980, motorists discovered the body of a woman approximately 35 feet down a ravine off Highway 74, south of Cahuilla, California, in an unincorporated area near Palm Desert. At the time, investigators described the victim as a white female between 20 and 25 years old, approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 115 pounds, with brown hair.<\/p>\n

Despite extensive efforts, including fingerprint and dental record comparisons, investigators were unable to identify the victim. A photograph taken during the autopsy was released to the public in hopes of generating leads, but no viable information was received, and the case eventually went cold.<\/p>\n

The case was reviewed again in 2008 and 2009, but no new leads were developed.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the Riverside County Coroner\u2019s Office, in conjunction with Regional Cold Case Homicide Team (RCCHT), re-examined the case using advances in forensic science, including forensic investigative genetic genealogy. On December 4, 2024, the victim\u2019s remains were exhumed. Bone and tissue samples were collected and sent to OTHRAM Labs<\/a>, a private forensic laboratory, for DNA analysis.<\/p>\n

In January 2026, a DNA profile was developed and uploaded to a direct-to-consumer ancestry database. A genealogist assigned to RCCHT identified a potential match to a close relative in Alabama. Investigators contacted family members, who voluntarily provided DNA samples for comparison.<\/p>\n

Finally, on March 20, 2026, the California Department of Justice Crime Laboratory officially confirmed the identity of the victim as Victoria Jean Hargrove.<\/p>\n

But questions remain.<\/p>\n

Investigators want to know more about Hargrove\u2019s disappearance in 1980, the circumstances surrounding her death, and what may have brought her to California.<\/p>\n

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team is asking the community to contact investigators with any information about the homicide or the victim that could assist with this investigation. Any leads, no matter how insignificant they may seem, can be reported to the Supervising Investigator Billy Hester (951)955-0070, or by emailing coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Information from the office of the District Attorney, Riverside County, California\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (WAKA) \u2013 DNA has identified a body found in Riverside County, California, as that of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-252589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}