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Remains identified as Oregon teen Sandra Young over half a century after she went missing
Officials in Oregon have identified the remains of a body found more than half a century ago as belonging to a Portland high school student who had not been seen since the late 1960s.
The remains were identified as those of Sandra Young, who was a student at Portland’s Grant High School, according to a news release from the Oregon State Police.
Oregon State Police via KOIN-TV
The remains themselves were found in 1970, officials said, buried in a shallow grave and discovered by a Boy Scout troop leader. The remains were “fully skeletonized” by that point, and were found alongside a black curly wig. Investigators also determined there had been foul play because of trauma to the body, police said. DNA only confirmed that the remains were those of a woman.
DNA results from the body were uploaded into CODIS, a nationwide DNA database, but no genetic matches were found, and a profile created on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System did not lead to any information or matching missing persons. It wasn’t until 2018, when the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner’s office received a grant to perform “innovative DNA techniques on unsolved, unidentified skeletal remains cases” that more progress was made.
At the time, an additional bone sample was submitted for DNA extraction, and the state police worked with Parabon NanoLabs to study the remains with DNA phenotyping and investigative genetic genealogy. The lab was able to create what they called a DNA Snapshot Report, which used genetic material to determine physical characteristics. The report predicted that the person would be of West African, South African and Northern European descent, with brown to dark brown skin, brown eyes and black hair. However, the investigative genetic genealogy report that followed the profile had a “lack of promising leads,” police said, and “additional follow-up was slow.”
In 2021, the lab performed new analysis and took a “deeper genetic dive” into the young woman’s history, allowing researchers to create a prediction of facial characteristics.
“To see her face come to life through DNA phenotyping was striking,” said Dr. Nici Vance, the human identification program coordinator at the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, in the news release.
Police said that in January 2023, an individual uploaded their DNA into GEDMatch, an open-source genetic genealogy database. The site immediately recognized that person as a “potential distant family member” of the unidentified remains. More family members were encouraged to upload their DNA to the site, allowing a “more complete picture of heritage” to be created.
In July 2023, an additional Parabon NanoLabs report created family trees and linked descendents together. Speaking with family members allowed investigators to learn that Young had disappeared around the same time the remains were found.
The Portland police were brought into the case because Young had last been seen in the city, and Portland Police Bureau detective Heidi Helwig spoke with Young’s sister to confirm that the remains belonged to Young. The interviews also revealed that the family had lost another daughter to gun violence in the 1970s.
The remains were positively identified as Young’s by the state chief medical examiner, and an investigation into Young’s death is ongoing.
“Sandra Young has now regained her identity after 54 years,” said Vance. “Her story represents a remarkable amount of diligence and collaboration between family members, detectives, Oregon State Medical Examiner staff, and our contract laboratory Parabon Nanolabs. This is yet another example of the innovative ways the ME’s Office and investigative genetic genealogy can help Oregonians find closure. This technology gives investigators the powerful ability to assist all Oregon agencies with the resolution of their cold case mysteries.”
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The remains of a World War II airman were identified 80 years after his plane was shot down during a bombing mission in Germany, military officials said this week.
In the spring of 1944, U.S. Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sanford G. Roy, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was assigned to the 732nd Bombardment Squadron in the European Theater, according to a news release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Roy and several other airmen were aboard the B-24H Liberator “Little Joe” on a bombing mission to Brunswick, Germany on April 8. The plane was shot down by German forces and other airmen flying near the aircraft did not report seeing any crew members exiting “Little Joe” before it crashed. His name was engraved on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery.
Though military members saw the incident, the crash site could not be located during the war. The remains of Roy and eight other crew members were listed as unaccounted for after the war. In 1946, the American Graves Registration Command began investigating bomber losses like the one that Roy died in in the region. Those efforts still failed to find any crash or burial sites associated with the crew of Little Joe.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
An independent research group finally shed new insight into the crash in 2015. The Missing Allied Air Crew Research Team contacted historians from the DPAA to inform them of a possible crash site near Wistedt, Germany. The DPAA conducted interviews with local residents, which led to the realization that there had been two crash sites, but only one had been examined and had remains recovered from it during the war.
DPAA investigators found the second crash site and recovered various pieces of wreckage and possible human remains. Those remains were transferred to the DPAA’s laboratory, but no identifications could be made. Between 2021 and 2023, the agency conducted more research at the crash site, including excavation and recovery of more remains. By the end of November 2023, all evidence from the crash site had been transferred to the DPAA laboratory.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Scientists used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as DNA analysis, to identify the remains. One set of remains from the crash site were identified as those of Staff Sergeant Ralph L. Mourer. Another set of remains was identified as Roy’s.
Roy’s surviving family has been informed of his identification. He will be buried in his hometown on April 8, 2025, the 81st anniversary of his loss. A rosette has been carved next to his name on the Walls of the Missing to indicate that he has been identified.
Discount hunters searching for Black Friday deals have officially kicked off the holiday shopping season. Consumers are forecasted to break spending records in 2024, with the average person expected to spend a little over $1,000, up 14% from last year, according to data from RetailMeNot.
“Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the two biggest shopping days of the year,” Salesforce director of consumer insights Caila Schwartz told “CBS Mornings.” “And actually, we’re seeing that Black Friday is the top digital shopping day. So no longer Cyber Monday, but Black Friday.”
Changes in shopping habits aren’t exclusive to the digital marketplace’s takeover of Black Friday. Both digitally and at brick-and-mortar stores, holiday discounts are being offered earlier. Placer.ai, a company that tracks foot traffic, said October in-store visits for shopping centers, superstores and other popular retailers were up 3.4% compared to stats from before the pandemic in 2019.
Ethan Chernofsky, senior vice president of marketing for Placer.ai, said the role of the store has changed.
“It is not just about what I can convince a consumer to buy within the four walls of the store,” Chernofsky told “CBS Mornings.” “Even if they just go into the store to try on the product and then make the purchase online, that’s fantastic. And it’s really important for retailers to be focused on the larger picture.”
With that in mind, Kohl’s put on a Black Friday sweepstakes for the first 200 shoppers at each of its locations and J.C. Penney did a snow globe giveaway in stores while supplies lasted. Target, meanwhile, is offering two exclusive releases in stores only for Black Friday: Taylor Swift’s official “Eras” tour book and her “Tortured Poets Department” album with four bonus songs.
But what’s on peoples’ lists this year? Deloitte Consumer Insights and the National Retail Federation say 54% of shoppers are looking for clothes, 44% are stuffing stockings with gift cards and 36% are putting toys under their Christmas trees.
Steep discounts will also be seen on electronics and other tech products. And 4 in 10 shoppers are planning to gift loved ones an experience like a cruise.
Tips for holiday shopping
For consumers like Jessica Holley, an Arkansas mother of three, finding ways to make her dollar go further is paramount on Black Friday.
“Budgeting is very important to me,” Holley said. “Being a stay-at-home mom, having little children, I feel like if I can save money, that’s more money in our pocket. That’s able to stretch further.”
To ensure you’re making the most of the lowest prices of the year, search for additional coupons and price history online, leverage cash back through apps or your credit card rewards and remember, you can price match at many stores throughout the holiday season.
“Retailers are gonna be pulling out all the tricks to get people to shop and spend more because they have fewer days to capture consumer dollars,” Independent shopping expert Andrea Woroch said.
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Katherine Carver on her new book, “Abandoned: Chronicling the Journey of Once-Forsaken Dogs”
Remains of WWII airman from Tennessee identified 80 years after plane shot down