Digital Tech Creates Image of 1981 WA Potential Crime Victim

It's called forensic genealogy technology, and it could help revolutionize crime solving.

Thurston County releases image of a woman found in 1981

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office (Olympia) has released an image of a woman they are trying to identify.

It's remarkable in that her image was assembled using some of the latest digital technology. It's referred to as forensic genealogy, or tech.

The picture came from a digital company that was able to recreate what she was believed to have looked like.  The TCSO says in 1981 Deputies found a human skull near a location called Reservation Road in the Nisqually Valley, a few miles east of Olympia and near the Nisqually Indian Community.

However, they had little to no other information to go off of.  The case soon went cold, but many years later, the digital tech was able to create what they believe was the person.

The TCSO says the company who performed the testing and recreation said she was likely of a white female, of Jewish/Hungarian descent and between 20-30 years old at her time of death.  They believe she died sometime between 1966 and 1979.

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That year span is large, but the details they were able to provide from just the skull are remarkable.  Officials say information like this will greatly help them track down missing persons or crime victims. They're urging area citizens who may think they recognize this person in the image to contact Thurston County cold cases at TCSOColdCase@co.thurston.wa.us.