Pennsylvania Missing Persons

Unidentified Female
Found December 29, 2008 in North Mahoning Township, Indiana County

Vital Statistics

Race/Ethnicity: believed to be black or hispanic
Estimated Age: 30s or 40s
Estimated Height: 5'1"
Clothing: Elastic-banded shorts, similar to running shorts, size unknown, possibly gray in color.
Dentals: Available.  A partial upper denture was found with the remains. Dental information has been entered in NCIC and NDIR (National Dental Image Repository).
DNA: samples submitted, tests not complete
State of Remains: skeletal - most of the bones were found except for bones of the hands/feet.
Cause of Death: Single gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Case Details

On Monday, December 29, 2008, a worker for Holt Drilling Company was preparing to drill a well on private property in a secluded area off of Leisure Run Road in North Mahoning Twp when he stumbled upon a human skull about 10 feet from the drill site.

Investigators recovered the skull, jaw bone, several long bones and some vertebrae along with a partial upper denture in December 2008.  In April 2009, most of the rest of the skeleton was found 20 yards away from the initial discovery. The torso was in a black plastic bag just under the surface of the ground, but it did not appear that she had been buried.

 The remains were determined to be a female adult, probably African American.  A single bullet wound was found in the back of the woman's skull.  There is evidence of post-mortem saw marks on the long bones.  She may have been dumped at the site between 5 and 15 years ago.

If you have any information about this case, please contact:

Indiana County Coroner's Office
Michael A Baker
724-349-4511

or

Pennsylvania State Police
Troop C - Punxsutawney Barracks
814-938-0510

Sources
NamUs
KDKA
Indiana Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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