An Ohio woman whose remains were found in a garment bag in a remote area of Nevada in 1978 was identified Wednesday, closing the 45-year cold case, The Associated Press (AP) reported Thursday.
Florence Charleston moved to Portland, Oregon, in her late 60s, apparently with a new boyfriend, sometime in the early 1970s, but was never heard from again, according to The AP. Officers found her heavily decomposed remains mixed up with women’s clothing in a garment bag in a shallow grave in Imlay, Nevada, on Wednesday, the outlet reported. Autopsy results and subsequent investigative efforts could not yield more information than that the remains were those of a middle-aged woman. (RELATED: Man Disappears En Route To Pick Up In-Laws At The Airport. 42 Years Later Police Say They Know What Happened)
Remains found in garment bag 45 years ago in rural Nevada ID’d as Ohio woman https://t.co/9OcC5L1spu
— WXII 12 News (@WXII) June 15, 2023
Police teamed up with Othram Inc., a company that uses cutting-edge genomic science and forensic technology to solve cold cases, in March 2022. They eventually developed “a comprehensive DNA profile for the unidentified woman” and identified two of her nieces still living in Ohio, according to The AP.
Diane Liggitt, one of Charleston’s nieces and a young adult at the time of Charleston’s death, reacted by saying that she had longstanding questions about whether her aunt was safe and happy, The AP reported.
“It turns out she was dead,” Liggitt said.