DNA technology identifies Jane Doe found in Baca County field in 1988
BACA COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The family of a missing Texas woman finally has some closure after DNA technology identified her remains found in southeastern Colorado in the 1980s.
In June 1988, a farmer reported to the Baca County Sheriff's Office that he had found what he believed to be human remains on his property. This was 20 miles southeast of the Town of Springfield.
Law enforcement responded to the scene, and the then-Baca County coroner confirmed they were human remains and estimated that they had been there between one and three years.
Despite searching for days, they couldn't find anything to identify the remains and determine how the person had died or how they ended up on that farm.
According to the sheriff's office, the National Crime Information looked through dental records and dental impressions to match any missing persons. DNA samples were submitted for analysis, however, DNA technology was just starting at the time. Facial reconstruction was also completed to get an idea of what the person might've looked like.
The BCSO said anthropologists even completed studies to try to find something to identify the deceased woman by. Still, the remains were never identified.
According to the sheriff's office, the remains were named Jane Doe and buried in the Springfield Cemetery. Buried with the body were copies of case information in hopes that there would be a break in the case someday.
Decades later in 2021, an investigation intern with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reached out to Baca County Sheriff's Office and the coroner's office regarding the case. The interns asked if the data can be submitted to NamUs, a national missing and unidentified persons clearinghouse and resource center for missing and unidentified remains.
In July 2021, an investigative genetic genealogy company called, Solved by DNA tried to identify Jane Doe. According to the sheriff's office, the company combined DNA testing of crime scene DNA or DNA from unidentified remains with traditional genealogical research to predict where a suspect or unidentified person may fit in a family tree.
While the sheriff's office found the old DNA records, due to the limitations in technology at the time the remains were found, the records were not adequate to do a familiar study. That meant new DNA samples would be needed.
In December 2021, the remains of Jane Doe were exhumed and investigators obtained new samples to test for DNA. Those samples were given to the CBI for analysis before entering as a DNA profile into NamUs.
In August 2021, Baca County agencies were told there was a potential familial DNA match that had been located. The Baca County Sheriff's Office contacted several possible family members of the match and was able to get them in touch with Solved by DNA. The match agreed to submit DNA for further research by Solved DNA.
By Sept. 26, 2022, NamUs announced a possible family DNA match for Jane Doe had been found. Just a few weeks later on Oct. 6, 2022, Baca County agencies were notified that not only was the familial DNA submitted for analysis by Solved by DNA a match for Jane Doe's family but the profile of the person who submitted her DNA to the McAllen Texas Police Department had also been linked to Jane Doe.
The sample obtained by the McAllen Police Department (MPD) had been submitted in 2004 by a person searching for her missing mother, Nora Elia Castillo. According to the sheriff's office, a missing person case had been filed for Castillo in 1996. However, the reporting party said she had been missing since either 1986 or 1987.
The BCSO said the McAllen Police Department had been told the last contact people had with Castillo was a collect call from somewhere in Colorado sometime in 1986 or 1987.
The sheriff's office said descriptors and evidence provided by the MPD were consistent with evidence Baca County investigators obtained from the Jane Doe case. Eventually, it was confirmed Castillo was Jane Doe.
Since the confirmation, Castillo's family was found and notified of where her remains were buried in Baca County. Her family now has the chance to visit her burial site.
While the remains were finally identified, it's still unknown why Castillo was in Colorado or the circumstances surrounding her death. The sheriff's office asks anyone with information to contact law enforcement, the Baca County Sheriff’s Office at (719) 523-4511 or the McAllen Texas Police Department at (956) 681-2221.
Currently, the Baca County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate this case as a potential homicide.
The sheriff's office thanked multiple cooperating agencies, including the Baca County Coroner’s Office, Michele Kennedy with Solved by DNA, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, McAllen Texas Police Department, NamUs, and the University of North Texas.
