Cold Case Solved, Woman Recovered from Snake River Identified
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)-Eight years ago the body of a woman was recovered from the Snake River below Twin Falls and had not been identified until now thanks to group that uses DNA evidence to solve cold cases. The Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that the body recovered in September of 2014 has been identified as that of a San Diego, California woman. The death was ruled a suicide by the Twin Falls County Coroner in April of 2020. Her family has since been informed. The Sheriff's Office said the woman's body was found by a kayaker below the bridge and recovered by Twin Falls County Search and Rescue. She was buried at Sunset Memorial Park in a small ceremony by law enforcement, the coroner's office and community members. Deputies spent the next two years trying to identify the woman, checking local hotels, restaurants, bus stops, reaching out to area media, and came up with no leads. The case became inactive in August of 2020 then in late 2021, The Idaho Cold Case Adavanced DNA Methods Working Group (ICCADM) reached out to the sheriff's office to restart the investigation and try and identify the woman by submitting DNA samples taken before her burial to the Othram, Inc. of Woodland Texas. The tests were able to provide a connection to possible relatives which resulted in a positive identification by the Idaho State Police Forensic Services Lab in late September. “I’m thankful for the hard work and diligence of our investigative team throughout this time, and for the assistance and collaboration of the ICCADM in solving this case, and being able to help bring closure to her family,” said Sheriff Tom Carter in a statement. The sheriff's office said the ICCADM is a collaboration between Idaho prosecutor offices, multiple law enforcement agencies, and the Boise State University Criminal Justice Department. This case is the second the working group has been able to identify a victim. ICCADM was formed in 2020 as a source for Idaho law enforcement to help investigate unsolved sexual assaults, murders, and identify remains.