HOUSTON, Texas – The remains of a Houston-area teenager who disappeared more than six years ago after becoming a victim of human trafficking have been identified.
The Attorney General’s Office said that advanced DNA testing confirmed the remains belong to Kristen Galvan, who was 15 years old when she disappeared from Montgomery County in January 2020.
The identification was made through the Attorney General’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit, which reopened the case using forensic genetic genealogy.
In November 2022, the Missouri City Police Department requested assistance from Texas’s Cold Case Unit after unidentified human remains, recovered on Jan. 29, 2020, were not identified through traditional DNA testing.
An autopsy and anthropological examination determined the remains were a girl between the ages of 13 and 18 and appeared to be the victim of a homicide. However, the condition of the remains prevented investigators from developing a standard DNA profile, prompting the need for more advanced testing.
The Attorney General’s Office worked with the University of North Texas to use advanced DNA testing, which gave investigators their first clues about the girl’s identity. Because the victim was a child, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) also joined the investigation.
The Doe Network also assisted by researching unidentified remains databases, helping investigators determine that the victim could be Galvan.