“Teenager Gwenn Marie Story Identified as Victim Found Dead Near Las Vegas Strip in 1979: Authorities”

Accident – death – Obituary News : LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced on Tuesday that a body discovered in an open field in 1979 near a bustling intersection of the Las Vegas Strip has been identified as Gwenn Marie Story, a teenager from Ohio who had left home that year in search of her biological father. For over four decades, she was known only as “Sahara Sue Doe,” named after the intersection where she was found. The identification was made possible through advancements in DNA testing.

On the night of August 14, 1979, a man stumbled upon the body while walking through a vacant lot near the northern edge of the Las Vegas Strip. The victim, later identified as Gwenn Marie Story, had wavy hair, and her fingernails and toenails were painted red. Authorities believe she had died within 24 hours prior to the discovery. An autopsy revealed that she had been the victim of a homicide.

The location where the body was found has since undergone significant changes, with the nearby Strat Hotel now dominating the intersection that once featured the Sahara hotel-casino. However, despite the passage of time, investigators were unable to identify the victim until September of last year when they partnered with a private DNA testing laboratory.

Othram, a forensic genealogy analysis company, played a crucial role in the identification process. Their scientists constructed a comprehensive DNA profile for the woman, which led authorities to possible relatives. DNA samples provided by these relatives confirmed that “Sahara Sue Doe” was indeed Gwenn Marie Story, the missing Ohio teenager.

According to Story’s relatives, she had left home in Cincinnati during the summer of 1979 in search of her father in California. She embarked on her journey accompanied by two male friends. Unfortunately, the family never heard from Story again. When the two friends returned to the Cincinnati area in August of that year, they informed Story’s family that they had left her in Las Vegas.

With the identification of Gwenn Marie Story, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is now shifting its focus to investigating the circumstances surrounding her death and the possible involvement of her two male companions.

The breakthrough in Story’s case highlights the advancements in genetic testing, which have led to the resolution of numerous long-unsolved cases, including missing persons, homicides, and sexual assault cases. Earlier this year, Othram assisted the Nevada State Police in identifying another nameless victim, Florence Charleston, whose heavily decayed remains were discovered in a garment bag in a remote area of northern Nevada in October 1978. Charleston, like Story, had also gone missing from Ohio.

The use of DNA testing and forensic genealogy analysis continues to provide hope for families of missing persons and aid law enforcement agencies in solving cold cases. As technology advances, it is expected that more unidentified victims will be given their names back, allowing for justice to be served..