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I was shown a photo of the skull and a few bones of this UID, along with a tuft of hair that was found with the bones.
The NamUs casefile indicates gender undetermined, but based on the appearance of the skull (gracile with sharp edges of the upper borders of the orbits, vertical forehead, and lack of a brow-ridge), it appears to me to be female. Add in that the tuft of hair appears at least several inches long and wavy (or loosely curly), and all of the rule-outs on the NamUs rule-out list are female, I am going with the presumption that this is a female.
(They were unable to get a STR (i.e., nucDNA) sample from these remains. They only have mtDNA. So I am speculating that this might be the reason for not specifying a gender).
I created a facial reconstruction based on the shape of this skull, and my presumption that this is a female. As is usually the case with skeletal reconstructions, this is a representation more of her facial shape than it is of her overall "look".
NamUs UP # 2557 https://identifyus.org/en/cases/2557
Unidentified White Female
Found November 22, 1989 at Cadiz Dry Lake, San Bernardino County CA
Vital Statistics
Condition of Remains
Circumstancess
Identifiers
The NamUs casefile indicates gender undetermined, but based on the appearance of the skull (gracile with sharp edges of the upper borders of the orbits, vertical forehead, and lack of a brow-ridge), it appears to me to be female. Add in that the tuft of hair appears at least several inches long and wavy (or loosely curly), and all of the rule-outs on the NamUs rule-out list are female, I am going with the presumption that this is a female.
(They were unable to get a STR (i.e., nucDNA) sample from these remains. They only have mtDNA. So I am speculating that this might be the reason for not specifying a gender).
I created a facial reconstruction based on the shape of this skull, and my presumption that this is a female. As is usually the case with skeletal reconstructions, this is a representation more of her facial shape than it is of her overall "look".
NamUs UP # 2557 https://identifyus.org/en/cases/2557
Unidentified White Female
Found November 22, 1989 at Cadiz Dry Lake, San Bernardino County CA
Vital Statistics
* Age: 25-45
* Height: 64" (5 feet 4 inches)
* Weight: Undetermined
* Hair Color: Brown
* Height: 64" (5 feet 4 inches)
* Weight: Undetermined
* Hair Color: Brown
Condition of Remains
* Probable Year of Death: 1988-1989
* Est. Postmortem Interval: Years
* Comments: Not recognizable - Partial remains with soft tissues - Partial skeletal remians scattered on surface of dry desert lake.
* Est. Postmortem Interval: Years
* Comments: Not recognizable - Partial remains with soft tissues - Partial skeletal remians scattered on surface of dry desert lake.
Circumstancess
* Comments: Partial skeletal remains were found in the desert east of Twenty-Nine Palms. Designated "Undetermined Doe #09-89." Death was estimated to have occurred between a year and two years prior to discovery. Identity may only be established by dental X-rays or DNA.
Identifiers
* Dental: Available
* Fingerprints: Not Available
Upper (R to L, 01-16) N N F F N N N N N N N N N F N N
Lower (R to L, 32-17) N F A N N N N N N N N N N A F N
* DNA: Autopsy samples submitted for DNA 05/02/06. CA lab has been unable to obtain an STR profile. Mitochondrial was obtained. Lower (R to L, 32-17) N F A N N N N N N N N N N A F N
* Fingerprints: Not Available