Human Remains Found in California Identified as Missing Woman from the 1970s

Authorities have announced that human remains discovered near Lake Tahoe, California, several decades ago have been identified as those of Donna Lass, a woman who went missing in the early 1970s. Donna Lass was 25 years old when she disappeared from the South Lake Tahoe area in September 1970. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department revealed this information in a news release on Wednesday. Despite exhaustive efforts by investigators at the time, the case remained unsolved.

In 1986, a skull was found near Lake Tahoe off of Highway 20 and Interstate 80 by authorities. However, no further evidence was discovered at that time. The Placer County Coroner’s Office preserved the skull for decades. Recently, a cold case team dedicated to investigating unsolved missing persons and suspicious death cases sent the skull for DNA testing. Last week, a match was made.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office stated in a statement on Wednesday that the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services was able to match the DNA from the skull with DNA obtained from a member of Donna Lass’s family by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. This DNA match conclusively identified the skull as the remains of Donna Lass.

The surviving family members of Donna Lass have been notified about the DNA match, and investigators are continuing their efforts to reexamine the case. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office expressed gratitude for the team effort that brought closure to the Lass family and expressed hope that cold case detectives can make further advances in similar cases.

Donna Lass Last Seen with Young, Blonde Man

According to a 1970s newspaper clipping shared by the sheriff’s office, Donna Lass worked as a nurse at a casino in Stateline, Nevada, near South Lake Tahoe when she disappeared. The newspaper reported that she was last seen on September 7, 1970, walking with a young, blonde man near her newly rented apartment. She left behind her car, a substantial wardrobe, and a bank account.

Speculation by amateur sleuths has suggested that Donna Lass may have been a victim of the notorious Zodiac Killer, a serial murderer who operated in Northern California during the late 1960s. The Zodiac Killer gained notoriety for sending cryptic messages to the media, taunting law enforcement and journalists with ciphers and graphic descriptions of his crimes.

The Tahoe Daily Tribune reported that Lass was considered a potential Zodiac Killer victim due to a postcard sent to authorities and a Christmas card sent to her sister after her disappearance. However, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office has clarified that they have not linked Lass’s death to the Zodiac Killer, who remains unidentified and unapprehended for at least five murders attributed to him.

Utilization of DNA Technology

The application of investigative genetic genealogy has played a significant role in solving various high-profile criminal cases by identifying connections between suspects and victims through genetic information. Law enforcement agencies can enter DNA samples into a national database to search for matches, and this technique has been instrumental in solving cases like that of the Golden State Killer in 2018.

The South Lake Tahoe Police stated on Wednesday that they routinely revisit cases previously deemed unsolvable as technology advances. However, the use of DNA profiling has also raised concerns about privacy, as technological improvements have made it easier to develop DNA profiles from smaller biological evidence samples. While criminal databases have safeguards in place, direct-to-consumer companies may not have the same restrictions on user data, potentially compromising privacy.

Nonetheless, DNA evidence has proven crucial in recent years, such as in the Long Island Gilgo Beach murders case, where an architect was charged after detectives matched DNA from discarded pizza he ate to a male hair found on one of the victims’ remains.

Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Kayla Jimenez and Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY