King County Sheriff's Exhumes Victim from 1969 Homicide in Carnation

Cold case detectives from the King County Sheriff's Office have exhumed the so-far unidentified remains of a homicide victim who died in 1969. They hope to first find out who the woman was, then find her killer.

The exhumation was done under a court order on Friday, August 5, according to Sgt. John Urquhart, spokesman for King County Sheriff’s Office. In August of 1969 the remains were given an indigent burial in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, 700 West Raye St., Seattle.

The victim was found on June 5, 1969 one mile west of the Tolt River Bridge in eastern King County, near the town of Carnation.  The heavily decomposed body was on a dirt road that is now 290th Ave NE.  The body was dubbed the “Tolt Hill Jane Doe.”

At the time the Medical Examiner’s Office described the woman as Caucasian, 23 to 25 years-old, 5’1” to 5’2” tall, 105-115 lbs, with dark hair. She died from a few weeks to as much as six months before she was found.

She has never been identified and the case is under investigation as a homicide.

In addition, a portion of a skull from another victim, likely a young adult female, was found in 2006 about three city blocks from where the 1969 body was found. The remains had been exposed to the elements for a significant period of time. That victim has never been identified either, and detectives wonder if the two cases are linked.  

Detectives exhumed the remains of the Tolt Hill victim to obtain DNA that can be entered into the DNA database at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, and then into the FBI’s CODIS system. 

The University of North Texas center works with law enforcement agencies to identify human remains, such as in this case.

The center, in collaboration with local law enforcement, also allows families with missing loved ones the opportunity to submit reference samples for DNA testing that could be matched with samples on file or that may come into the center at a later date.

Family members should contact the police agency that conducted the original investigation. That agency will determine if DNA collection is appropriate in a particular case.

If anyone has information on this cold case, they are asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours).

The Sheriff's Office has around 190 cold case homicides or missing persons that are likely homicides. Some cases date back to the early 1950’s.