California detectives trying to find solutions in a chilly case from 1971 caught a break this month after DNA from a cranium discovered on the aspect of the street in 1986 was linked to a girl who went lacking 52 years in the past.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Workplace mentioned Donna Lass was reported as a lacking particular person in 1971 by the South Lake Tahoe Police Division.
On the time, all investigative leads from the case had been exhausted, and the case sat unresolved.
Then in 1986, members of the Placer County Sheriff’s Workplace found a cranium off of Freeway 20 close to Interstate 80, although there was no different proof discovered close by.
COLD CASES CRACKED IN 2023: UNSOLVED MYSTERIES THAT FOUND RESOLUTION THIS YEAR
Donna Lass went lacking in 1971 and thru latest DNA developments, a cranium discovered on the aspect of the street in California in 1986 was recognized as belonging to her. (Placer County Sheriffs Workplace)
The cranium was handed over to the county coroner’s workplace to be preserved till additional developments in forensics may probably assist determine the stays.
The sheriff’s workplace mentioned it just lately created a chilly case group with the Placer County District Legal professional’s workplace, dedicating further sources to assist carry unsolved missing persons and suspicious loss of life instances to an in depth.
The brand new group despatched the cranium to the California Division of Justice with hopes that developments in DNA expertise may assist determine its supply.
DNA helped crack the 1971 disappearance of Donna Lass. Her cranium was just lately positively recognized by the expertise, however it’s nonetheless unclear how she died. (iStock)
In line with the sheriff’s workplace, the California Division of Justice Bureau of Forensic Companies matched DNA taken from the cranium with the DNA of a member of Lass’s household, which was obtained by the South Lake Tahoe Police Division through the lacking particular person’s case investigation.
The match allowed investigators to determine the cranium because the stays of Lass.
Final week, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department notified Lass’s household that she had been discovered.
BRYAN KOHBERGER CASE MOVES TOWARD TRIAL AS DEMOLITION OF HORROR HOUSE RAISES CONCERNS
“We are extremely grateful that this team effort was able to bring closure to the Lass family and are hopeful that cold case detectives can continue to make advances in these cases,” the sheriff’s workplace mentioned in a press launch.
Though Lass has been discovered, the case stays open as investigators vow to research future leads on the matter. It’s nonetheless unclear how Lass died.
Anybody with details about the case is inspired to contact the South Lake Tahoe Police Division Detective Division at [email protected].
