Skeletal Remains of Missing 13-Year-Old Girl Identified After 50 Years

Laura O'Malley's remains, found in a California riverbed in 1995, were identified through advanced forensic genealogy, but the circumstances of her death remain unknown.

• Laura O'Malley, a 13-year-old from Queens, New York, went missing in August 1975 after conflicts with her stepfather and was never seen again.
• Partial skeletal remains discovered in a Santa Cruz County riverbed in 1995 were identified as O'Malley's nearly 30 years later using advanced forensic genetic genealogy.
• The identification was made possible through a collaboration between the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and Othram, a forensic DNA analysis company, between 2022 and 2023.
• Authorities have not determined how or when O'Malley arrived in California, nor the circumstances surrounding her death, which remain under investigation.
• O'Malley's family, who searched for her for decades, now has long-awaited answers, though many questions about her disappearance persist.

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