CA CA - Redding, WhtFem, 35-70, UP125610, skeletal, found along canal in blackberry bushes, deformity of toe, Mar'13

[heartanium]

NAMUS UP125610 (2013)
Unidentified Female
Location Found: Redding, Shasta County, California
Date Found: March 11, 2013

Race: White/Caucasian
PMI: Unknown
Estimated year of Death: 1999-2013
Estimated Age: 35-70 Years
Height: 4' 10"-5' 4"(58-64 inches) , Estimated
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Clothing: Unknown
Other: Possible infection or loss of left, fifth toe
Circumstances: A set of skeletal remains was located in brush near a canal in Redding, CA by a CalFire work crew who were cutting back brush in the area. A moderately complete set of remains were located, excluding the left humerus, left radius, left ulna, both femora, both tibiae, the left fibula, and a few of the smaller elements.

Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton
Inventory of Remains: One or more limbs not recovered

Agency Info:
ME/C Case Number: C13-0238

Shasta County Sheriff- Coroner Division - (530) 245-6149
Agency Case Number: C13-0238

Redding Police Department - (530) 225-4200
Agency Case Number: 13-16356

0 Exclusions

Case Media:

"Police Investigate discovery of skull," Redding Searchlight, March 12, 2013, pg 8.

"The skull was found in the area where the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District (ACID) canal runs under Locust Street, just west of Athens Avenue."

Espino, Jenny "Again, human remains found," Record Searchlight, March 13, 2013, pg 9, 10.

"the skull...was found at the ACID canal in the 600 block of Locust Street."

"the skull was found among some blackberry bushes."

"Because of the thickness of the brush on the west side of the canal, where the skull was found by the Sugar Pine Conservation Camp crew, authorities aid it was possible it had been there for a long period of time."

"The skull appeared intact."

"The site [these bones] were found are known transient areas, though police noted there was no evidence of a homeless encampment."

 

[SimsGuy67]

Two missing women from Shasta County in the PMI fit the general description.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

I'm not sure if the circumstances of either case fit with this one though.

 

[HmmMysterious]

Mary Helm, MP3913, had diabetes. Diabetes can lead to amputation of the toes though her case doesn't mention that. She disappeared about 3 hours away.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

A bit of a wild card. Sue Vagles told her son that she was living somewhere in California, but she never contacted him again. This could mean she was a transient.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[iulia]

Her NamUs page has been removed.

 

[dotr]

After 12 Years, Shasta County Jane Doe (2013) is Identified

Shasta County Coroner's Office and Othram Team to Identify a 2013 Jane Doe

dnasolves.com

''In March 2013, the skeletal remains of an unknown individual were found in Redding, California. Partial skeletal remains were found among blackberry bushes near the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District Canal by a crew of brush cutting workers. Law enforcement, including the Redding Police Department and the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, responded to the scene and launched a days-long search to investigate the area, but did not find any information that could identify the person.

After a thorough investigation, the Shasta County Coroner's Office determined that the skeletal remains belonged to a woman who was likely 4'10" to 5'4" tall and between the ages of 35 and 70 years old. Investigators could not determine when the woman died or how long the remains had been there, but estimated the remains had been hidden by the thick brush for several years. News reports at the time noted that the area was not a homeless encampment, but was frequented by transients and the remains of two other people had been found in the same area during the same time frame.

Despite a lengthy investigation, the woman remained unidentified for more than a dozen years. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP125610''.

''Velma Lee was born in 1936 and, according to her family, had not been heard from for many years. A private investigator searched for Velma Lee. In 2003-2004, after unable to find proof of life, Velma Lee was declared legally deceased. Lee's family has been officially notified of her identification, and can finally provide a proper burial for Velma.''

 

[dotr]

Skull found in 2013 near A.C.I.D. canal in Redding identified as Napa woman

The Shasta County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) announced on Friday that a skull, discovered in 2013 near the Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation District canal...

krcrtv.com

''On July 23, 2025, contact was made with her much younger half-sister and other relatives, confirming her identity. Then, on July 25, 2025, officials said a detective from the Redding Police Department contacted Lee's son, who explained that after many years without contact, a private investigator was hired to search for Velma. When the private investigator was unable to provide proof of life from 2003 to 2004, the family assumed she had passed away, and she was later declared legally deceased. Despite the shock of learning that his mother’s remains may have been located in Redding, the decedent’s son provided an oral swab for direct DNA comparison with the decedent. The Redding Police Department then submitted that family reference buccal swab to Othram for confirmatory testing. On Sept. 15, 2025, Othram officially identified the remains as Velma Lee.''