Authorities asked for help to find answers about a cold case, the mysterious death – perhaps murder – of an unidentified woman whose body turned up in a patch of brush in East County.
The woman, who may have been in her 30s, was found dead on Aug. 13, 1998 in the 1300 block of Avocado Avenue in El Cajon, according to El Cajon police.
On the body were a silver herringbone bracelet, black shoes and a blue T-shirt bearing the words “Woodruff Warriors 20 Year Reunion 1971-1991.”
She was a brunette who had stood about 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed roughly 110 pounds, police said, and bore signs of having had at least one prior pregnancy. DNA testing has revealed that the woman had ancestral roots in Michoacan, Mexico, and a possible relative in the San Diego area.
Police, who have released a rendering of what the woman is believed to have looked like, have not disclosed why investigators think the woman may have died by another’s hand.
In asking for help via social media, El Cajon police said on Tuesday that “DNA may hold the key to uncovering the identity of a woman lost to time – and justice … Someone out there knows who she is. More than two decades have passed, but her story is still waiting for an ending.”
They credited “advancements in forensic technology” for being able to determine her possible roots.
Anyone who might be able to help detectives identify the woman and determine the circumstances of her death is asked to contact the El Cajon police Cold Case Unit at 619-593-5774 or coldcaseunit@elcajon.gov.
