Remains found beside a Texas highway almost 40 years ago have been identified as a mother whose death was a long unsolved mystery
The Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the DNA Doe Project announced on Tuesday that bones found by a highway mowing crew in October 1985 matched Sindy Gina Crow.
They believe Crow, a 27-year-old wife and mother, had been dead for about 14 months when her remains were discovered mysteriously.
The cause of her death is still unknown, but the identification is a major development in the long-standing unsolved case.
‘We were all in tears,’ said Rebecca Somerhalder, an investigative genetic genealogist with the DNA Doe Project, told WFAA.
‘It was quite a moment.’
The organization found that the remains belonged to a white woman aged 20 to 25, 5’5″ to 5’7″ tall, and 110 to 125 pounds. This information was entered into two consumer websites, GEDmatch Pro and FTDNA, and volunteers with the project created a family tree.
In November, the project found a potential lead to identify the remains and gathered DNA from possible family members. The samples were studied at UNT Fort Worth and identified as Crow.
‘After many unsuccessful leads over 38 years, we finally identified the young female,’ said Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith on Tuesday.
‘We believe it is our responsibility to ensure she receives a proper burial.’
Crow’s husband has passed away, and her daughter lives in Alabama. Crow’s last address was in Arlington.
Her father feared she had been killed by a serial killer.
‘He said she hitchhiked all the time, and he felt like Ted Bundy got her,’ said Detective David Turner.
Crow was identified about six months after DNA evidence led to the arrest of a man in the cold case murder, also 40 years ago, of former California beauty queen Noelle Russo.
