Michelle Louise Collier, 15, identified 48 years after Kern County vineyard remains discovered in June 1978.
Kern County Sheriff’s detectives have identified a young woman whose body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in an Arvin vineyard in 1978 — nearly five decades after she became known only as Jane Doe, announcing at a press conference Tuesday that the victim is 15-year-old Michelle Louise Collier of Fresno.
Her body was originally discovered by a tractor driver cultivating a grape vineyard in South Wheeler Ridge Road in Arvin.
She was initially buried at the Arvin Cemetery in November 1978 after she was unable to be identified at the time.
The case went cold after the remains could not be identified through the available technology of the time, which was primarily fingerprints and dental records, and by 2007, it was discovered that DNA samples had not been collected, leading to exhumation of the body to obtain the sample.
The collected DNA sample was then sent to the California Department of Justice but no match was made because there was no family DNA in existing databases — that was until a match was made following a consumer DNA test taken by Collier’s family.
Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) combines advanced DNA testing with family tree research.
Working with the California Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and private forensic lab Othram, detectives were finally able to confirm Collier’s identity.
“Today we can say that Jane Doe has been identified as Michelle Collier and provides awaited answers to a family that has lived for decades without knowing what happened to their loved one,”
said KCSO Homicide Detective Ashley Thompson.
Thompson said the genealogy work led them directly to Collier’s family, with the match being fairly close that they were able to pretty much identify her siblings right away, and they were able to get in contact with the next of kin being the mother.
“This family had no had no nothing, really, for almost 50 years. And to give them news of even that we found her was was a little bit of hope for them,”
Thompson said.
Cynthia Dunbar, Michelle’s older sister, spoke out during the press conference, saying that although Michelle — who she called “Shelley” — was missing for more than 40 years, it was only recently the family knew where their sister and daughter was.
“She disappeared 48 years ago, and it was only recently that we knew where she was. At least with this information, my family has some closure,”
Dunbar said.
“Due to the detective’s dedication, perseverance and attention to detail, we can bring our sister home and have a proper burial,”
Dunbar said the shock of finding out she lost Michelle to a homicide is “overwhelming” to her entire family — especially to their 85-year-old mother, Maria.
“I would like to thank the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, Detectives Sakamoto, and Thompson from the side division, the coroner’s office, Regina Roso, and all others who helped in identifying our sister Shelley’s remains,”
Dunbar said.
Dunbar also credited the genealogy database that made the identification possible, saying DNA submitted to the genealogy database helped identify Shelly’s remains and enabled their sister Shelly to come home, and that her family is grateful to her.
The family left no question about their resolve.
“Your cowardice act affected our entire family, but make no mistake. Law enforcement will find you and hold you accountable. whether you are already incarcerated or dead, you will be found,”
Dunbar said during the press conference, speaking to the person who murdered Collier.
Detective Thompson emphasized that the announcement marks a significant milestone but their work is not over, noting that identifying Michelle is an important step but the circumstances surrounding her death remains unknown.
In the viral moment that spread across law enforcement and missing persons networks, the 1978 discovery of skeletal remains in Kern County had sparked decades of investigation.
On June 21, 1978, skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in a shallow grave uncovered during cultivation of a vineyard near Arvin in Kern County, California, with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division responding and beginning to collect evidence and investigating, determining that the remains likely belonged to a young female between the ages of 13 and 24 years old.
Officials say fingerprint and dental record comparisons failed, and DNA technology did not yet exist.
Her case wasn’t revisited until August 2007 when her body was exhumed from the Arvin Cemetery to obtain DNA from the remains to reopen the case, after which an anthropologist with California State University Bakersfield conducted an in-depth examination, which found her to be between 15 and 24 years old.
Thompson said that taking consumer DNA tests is no longer used to just build family trees, but that it can also be a “profound act of love” and “vital lifeline” in investigations, like Collier’s.
How Collier ended up in Arvin, who killed her, and what the cause of death was remain key unanswered questions.
No one has been arrested in connection with her death.
The homicide investigation remains active.