DNA analysis has helped identify a woman whose body was found at the bottom of a Bay Area cliff nearly 60 years ago, authorities said.
The woman's decomposed remains were found on February 3, 1967, at the base of a cliff on Highway 1 near Jenner, about 80 miles north of San Francisco, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Office. of Sonoma County. Multiple skull and rib fractures were determined to be the cause of her death, but it is unknown how she sustained those injuries.
Efforts to identify her were unsuccessful. She was eventually listed as a Jane Doe and shortly afterward she was buried in the Sonoma County Cemetery, authorities said.
DNA analysis has helped identify a woman whose body was found at the bottom of a Bay Area cliff nearly 60 years ago as Lillian Marie Cardenas, who was born in 1928 and last lived in San Francisco.
(Sonoma County Sheriff's Department)
In 2009, the woman's body was exhumed with the help of anthropology professor Mark Griffin of San Francisco State University, authorities said. Her death was later determined to be a homicide.
In 2023, Othram Inc., a forensic genetic analysis company, analyzed her DNA and identified her as Lillian Marie Cardenas, authorities said. The investigation found that Cárdenas was born in 1928 and last lived in San Francisco; she was separated from members of her family before her death.
But many questions remain. Anyone with information regarding Cardenas' life or death is asked to contact the Sonoma County Sheriff's Cold Case Unit at (707) 565-2727 or email [email protected].
