“Teenager from Ohio Identified as Victim Found Dead Near Las Vegas Strip in 1979”

Accident – death – Obituary News : LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a remarkable breakthrough, authorities have finally identified the body of a teenager from Ohio who went missing in 1979. The body was discovered in an open field near the bustling intersection of the Las Vegas Strip, and for the past 44 years, the young woman was known only as “Sahara Sue Doe” due to the location where she was found. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced on Tuesday that the victim has been identified as 19-year-old Gwenn Marie Story, thanks to advancements in DNA testing.

The body was found on the night of August 14, 1979, by a man who was walking through a vacant lot near the northern edge of the Las Vegas Strip. The young woman had wavy hair and her fingernails and toenails were painted red. Today, the Strat Hotel stands tall at the intersection, which is also home to the Sahara hotel-casino.

Authorities believe that the victim had died within 24 hours prior to the discovery. An autopsy revealed that she had been the victim of a homicide, but her identity remained a mystery until last September when the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department partnered with a private DNA testing laboratory. Through their collaboration, a comprehensive DNA profile was built for the woman, leading to possible relatives who provided DNA samples confirming that “Sahara Sue Doe” was indeed Gwenn Marie Story.

Story’s family shared with the police that she had left her home in Cincinnati during the summer of 1979 in search of her father in California. She was accompanied by two male friends on her journey, and tragically, her family never heard from her again. When the two friends returned to the Cincinnati area in August of the same year, they informed Story’s family that they had left her in Las Vegas. This revelation has now shifted the focus of the investigation towards these two friends and how Story ended up dead near the Las Vegas Strip.

This breakthrough in Story’s case highlights the advancements in genetic testing that have brought about more identifications and arrests in long-unsolved cases, ranging from missing persons and homicide investigations to sexual assault cases. Othram, the forensic genealogy analysis firm that played a crucial role in this identification, has also assisted Nevada State Police earlier this year in identifying another victim who remained nameless for 45 years. The remains of Florence Charleston were found in a garment bag in a remote area of northern Nevada in October 1978, less than a year before Story’s body was discovered in Las Vegas. Charleston, too, had gone missing from Ohio.

The identification of Gwenn Marie Story after all these years brings a sense of closure to her family and paves the way for further investigation into the circumstances surrounding her untimely demise. As advancements in DNA testing continue to evolve, more unsolved cases may find resolution, bringing justice to the victims and their loved ones..