Sandoval County Sheriff's Office & New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator Team with Othram to Identify a 1999 Jane Doe
dnasolves.com
''On November 16, 1999, the remains of an unidentified woman were discovered by hunters in Sandoval County, New Mexico, located just west of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The Sandoval County Sheriff's Office and the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator responded and began investigating and collecting evidence. Along with skeletal remains, investigators found a blanket and pieces of clothing, but those clues did not help identify the woman. Investigators estimated that the woman was 23 and 60 years old and likely stood 5'1" to 5'6" tall.
Despite years of investigative efforts, with few clues to go on, the woman's identity remained a mystery and she became known as Sandoval County Jane Doe. Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP10294.
In November 2024, the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office working with the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the woman. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the woman. Othram's in-house genealogists used the profile in a forensic genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
These leads reinvigorated the long-unsolved investigation, and providing investigators with new clues about the woman's ancestry and identity. A follow-up investigation ensued, leading to potential relatives of the woman. A reference DNA sample was collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified woman using Othram's KinSNP® rapid relationship testing. This comparison positively identified the woman as 19-year-old Jeanette Maria De La Cruz.
Jeanette De La Cruz, from Albuquerque, NM, was last seen on October 20, 1999. She was reported as missing with details of her disappearance entered in NamUs as MP1127 by the Corrales Police Department. From the start of the investigation in 1999, the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office investigated this case as a possible homicide. After Jeanette De La Cruz was identified, detectives have now concluded that Jeanette De La Cruz died at a private residence. Two men at the residence panicked and took her body to the rural area to bury her. They will not face any charges in the case.''
