KERN COUNTY, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Nearly 50 years after an unidentified juvenile’s body was found in a vineyard near Arvin, Kern County investigators have finally put a name to the victim, Michelle Louise Collier of Fresno.<\/p>\n
The remains were discovered in June 1978 in a vineyard near South Wheeler Ridge Road. With no way to identify her, the homicide investigation went cold, and she became known simply as Jane Doe.<\/p>\n
A 1978 Kern County juvenile, Jane Doe, was identified as Michelle Collier of Fresno. (Photo: KCSO)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
At the time, investigators had to rely on fingerprints and dental records. Fingerprints didn’t lead to an identification, and there were no dental records available for comparison.<\/p>\n
As forensic technology improved over the years, detectives kept working the case. In 2007, investigators exhumed the remains after realizing no DNA sample had been collected in 1978. The DNA was entered into state databases, but without a family match, the case remained unsolved.<\/p>\n
That changed with the use of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG), which combines advanced DNA testing with family tree research. Working with the California Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and forensic lab Othram, investigators were finally able to identify the victim as Michelle Louise Collier of Fresno.<\/p>\n
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood talks about the case finally being solved after nearly 50 years.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The identification gives Collier’s family answers after nearly five decades of not knowing what happened to their loved one. The homicide investigation remains active.<\/p>\n
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office says the case highlights how advances in DNA technology and genetic genealogy are helping solve decades-old cold cases that once seemed impossible to crack.<\/p>\n
Investigators also encouraged families with missing loved ones to consider submitting consumer DNA and opting in to law enforcement matching, saying the technology has become a valuable tool for identifying Jane and John Does and helping bring long-unsolved cases to a close.<\/p>\n
Michelle’s case remains open, and the Kern County Sheriff\u2019s Office is asking for anyone with information to come forward. <\/p>\n
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Kern County Sheriff\u2019s Office at (661)861-3110 or Kern Secret Witness at (661)322-4040.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KERN COUNTY, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Nearly 50 years after an unidentified juvenile’s body was found in a vineyard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-415823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415823","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=415823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}