Monterey County Sheriff’s Office partners with Texas DNA lab to identify woman’s remains

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Othram, a Texas-based DNA lab, announced it is helping the Monterey County Sheriff-Coroner Office to identify an unknown woman whose remains were found in 2013.

The lab said on April 17, 2023, several fishermen were walking to their car after fishing on the beach in Moss Landing when they discovered a human jawbone with two teeth on it. The mandible was later determined to be from an unknown female, according to the Othram.

Traditional DNA testing was used to develop a profile, which was uploaded the national DNA databased known as CODIS in an attempt to find a match; she became known as Monterey County Jane Doe after none were found, according to the lab.

“We want to hopefully get answers for this person’s family and give them some closure,” said
Jeffrey Squires, a detective with the sheriff’s office. “It’s also the next step in trying to
figure out what exactly happened to this woman.”

Othram explained in order to continue the investigation, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, assisted by the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Forensic Services, has teamed with Othram to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the woman.

“Once we have a lead, there will be a confirmatory test because we will be able to contact the
unidentified woman’s family with law enforcement and ask them if they're missing someone,”
said Kristen Mittelman, Chief Development Officer at Othram. “That means the person can have
a death certificate and a proper burial–that’s the important thing.”

A crowdfunding campaign has also been launched to pay for the lab work and genetic
genealogy to determine the woman’s identity, according to Othram.

Squires noted that it is the duty of the sheriff’s office to determine the identity of
human remains found in Monterey County.