1992 Arizona Desert Remains Identified as Missing Teenager

Advancements in DNA testing and forensic genealogy analysis solve a 31-year-old cold case.

Decomposed remains found in Arizona in 1992 have been identified as those of 15-year-old Melody Harrison, who disappeared in June 1992.
Advancements in DNA testing allowed the Apache Junction Police Department to make the identification 31 years after Harrison's disappearance.
The case, which had gone cold, was revived in 2008 by Apache Junction police investigator Stephanie Bourgeois, but initial DNA testing was unsuccessful.
In 2018, Bourgeois hired the DNA Doe Project, a research group specializing in forensic genealogy analysis, which used DNA from the remains to build a comprehensive profile, leading them to possible relatives.
A second DNA test confirmed that the remains, known for decades as 'Apache Junction Jane Doe', were indeed those of Harrison.