Orange County Sheriff’s investigators hope an updated artist rendering of a woman whose remains were found in 2014 will help lead them to her identity.
The woman, whose scattered skeletal remains were found in Casper’s Wilderness Park in rural southeast Orange County, was believed to be petite, at least 30 years old and with shoulder-length, wavy dark brown hair with light highlights.
Investigators released a previous artist rendering shortly after Jane Doe’s remains were found in January 2014. The rendering portrayed a Caucasian woman.
With the help of new DNA technology from the woman’s tooth, investigators believe the woman was of Latin American descent.
Investigators are also re-releasing details of the case in hopes it will jog someone’s memory. The woman had a gold dental bridge on the lower left side of the jaw and a broken nose.
“I think it’s interesting someone could be found in 2014 and here we are 10 years later, we still don’t know who she is,” said the lead investigator on the case, Lauren Felix with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
At the time the remains were found, Felix was a deputy, but she always knew she wanted to work in the cold case unit.
“I remember when she was found, I was a deputy working the jails,” said Felix. “This was an area that I personally hike a lot.
But the scattered bones found in and around a shallow grave, and also the clothing found nearby, did not tell the story of someone who was hiking.
Felix says near the remains they found a pink-speckled t-shirt, black leggings, and a green hair scrunchie. They also found a dark blue athletic jacket with a volleyball or water polo logo on the left side of the chest that said ‘Coach Williams.’
Through the past decade, investigators have reached out to every coach Williams they could find but found no answer. They also came up with a skull reconstruction, which did not generate any successful leads.
Her identity and story are both a mystery until someone comes forward.
“I think of their family,” said Felix. “I feel like they’re the ones left behind in all of this because I think there’s nothing worse than having a loved one go missing and never know what happened to them. I do it for them.”