“(Michelle) disappeared 48\u00a0years ago, and it was only\u00a0recently\u00a0that we knew where she was,” Collier’s older sister, Cynthia Dunbar, said during a July 28 news conference<\/a>. “At least with this information, my\u00a0family\u00a0has some closure.”<\/p>\n Kern County Sheriff’s Office Detective Ashley Thompson called the identification “a significant milestone” but investigators are still seeking answers about how Collier died.<\/p>\n “Identifying Michelle is an important step, but the circumstances surrounding her death remain unknown,” Thompson said at the news conference.<\/p>\n Michelle Collier, 15, has been identified nearly 50 years after her remains were found in a shallow grave in a Kern County vineyard.<\/p>\n Human remains found in California vineyard<\/p>\n The investigation began in June 1978 when a tractor driver discovered human remains buried in a shallow grave in an Arvin-area vineyard and alerted local authorities.<\/p>\n Investigators determined the remains were those of a teenage or young adult female who appeared to have been dead for several months<\/a>. She was “found wearing two white metal necklaces around her neck (one with a round religious medallion),” according to the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n The remains were taken to the Kern County Coroner’s Office, where an autopsy was conducted, the sheriff’s office said. Though the pathologist could not determine a cause of death, the death was ruled a homicide.<\/p>\n Investigators obtained fingerprints and dental radiographs but were unable to identify the victim, according to the sheriff’s office. After months without answers, she was buried as a Jane Doe at Arvin Cemetery in November 1978.<\/p>\n Cold cases: Why some cold cases break open decades later<\/a><\/p>\n Case reopened decades later\u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly 30 years later, investigators reopened the case and exhumed the remains from Arvin Cemetery in August 2007 in hopes of identifying the victim through DNA testing, according to the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n In February\u00a02008, a California State University, Bakersfield, anthropologist determined the Jane Doe was between 15 and 24 years old when she died, the sheriff’s office said. DNA samples were submitted to the California Department of Justice and compared with missing-person cases involving females with similar characteristics, but no matches were found.<\/p>\n Despite additional efforts to identify Jane Doe, including comparing dental records and fingerprints and entering her information into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System<\/a>, investigators were unable to determine her identity. Her remains were later reinterred.<\/p>\n Additional work began in 2015 after Project ALERT, a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) program that uses retired law enforcement officers to review unresolved cases, contacted the sheriff’s office.<\/p>\n As part of the review, investigators examined “numerous missing person cases,” authorities said. A forensic artist with the NCMEC also created a facial reconstruction of Jane Doe, which was distributed online and through social media<\/a>, according to\u00a0the\u00a0sheriff’s\u00a0office.<\/p>\n Forensic odontologists reviewed the victim’s dental records, authorities said. While they were able to eliminate one possible match, no new leads emerged.<\/p>\n Authorities\u00a0continued\u00a0to try\u00a0to\u00a0identify\u00a0Jane Doe,\u00a0including sharing a flyer for the unidentified victim<\/a> on social media ahead of a missing persons awareness event in 2019. Still, no one could put a name to the Jane Doe.<\/p>\n Genetic genealogy breakthrough<\/p>\n In March\u00a02025, investigators set their sights on\u00a0a new technology\u00a0in hopes of\u00a0identifying\u00a0Jane Doe:\u00a0forensic investigative genetic genealogy.\u00a0<\/p>\n “(Forensic investigative genetic genealogy) is a powerful investigative tool that combines advanced DNA analysis with traditional genealogical research,”\u00a0Thompson\u00a0said. “It has helped generate new leads in cases that had long-reached investigative dead ends and opened doors that were not available decades ago.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The sheriff’s office partnered with forensic DNA company Othram and had\u00a0the\u00a0California Department of Justice send\u00a0a bone sample for testing. Scientists developed a DNA profile<\/a> from the bone and used genealogy databases to search for potential relatives, according to the company.<\/p>\n In August 2025, Othram notified investigators that genetic genealogy\u00a0had\u00a0identified\u00a0potential relatives of Jane Doe.\u00a0Investigators contacted several possible relatives, including a woman believed to be the victim’s mother, who\u00a0submitted\u00a0a DNA sample for testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n In October 2025, testing confirmed that the victim was the woman’s daughter, Collier, who Thompson said went missing in February 1978. According to Dunbar, the breakthrough was made possible because her half-brother and a cousin submitted their DNA to a genealogy database.<\/p>\n Authorities formally notified Collier’s family of her identification in April. Her remains were later disinterred and returned to her surviving siblings in July.<\/p>\n “To our sister, Michelle,\u00a0you didn’t deserve to die this way, Shelley,” Dunbar said. “Barely\u00a015\u00a0years old, still a child, with\u00a0your whole life ahead of\u00a0you.\u00a0I’m\u00a0sorry\u00a0that we\u00a0didn’t\u00a0protect\u00a0you, but\u00a0you’re\u00a0with Daddy\u00a0now in heaven, just as\u00a0you always wanted. We love\u00a0you, Shelley.”\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Michelle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/usa_today_news_641\/2dfb37838840af87d0979b07e3927137.jpeg\"\/)
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