In this episode, we explore two haunting cold cases from the Pacific Northwest—one still unsolved, and another finally closed after nearly 50 years through the power of forensic genealogy.

Case 1: Elma 1988 Jane Doe On October 24, 1988, skeletal remains were found off a remote logging road near Elma, WA. The woman had been killed by a gunshot to the head, likely between 1982 and 1988. She was about 28 years old, 5 feet tall, and possibly of Native American or Southeast Asian descent. Her jaw had been broken near the time of death.

She was fully clothed in a men’s blue Loren Scott shirt, black Venezia pants, a floral blouse, slip-on shoes (worn only briefly), a pearl ring (Avon, Winter 1981), and a gold earring with five blue sapphires. A woman’s inside-out shirt was nearby. The scene suggested she was killed where she ...