Authorities ID NorCal Jane Doe After Nearly 50 Years

PLACER COUNTY, CA — Authorities have identified the body of a woman who was found dead along a snowbank in Northern California nearly 50 years ago.

The woman once known only as "Emigrant Gap Jane Doe" has been identified as Medlina "Pip" Beardsley, a mother from Michigan who had been living in Nevada at the time, according to the Placer County Sheriff's Office.

"This identification hopefully provides long-awaited answers to Beardsley’s family, but the work is not done," deputies said. "The Placer County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating the homicide of Melinda Beardsley."

Beardsley had been reported missing just a few years before her body was found along a snowbank in the Emigrant Gap area of Placer County on Dec. 17, 1977, police said. She had been strangled to death.

Investigators worked extensively throughout the years to try to identify Beardsley, including distributing 300 copies of the victim’s fingerprints and identifying information to law enforcement agencies across the United States and Canada, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, deputies said.

Further tests throughout the years failed, until last year when the Placer County Sheriff’s Office began working in coordination with Moxxy Forensic Investigations, a nonprofit organization that assists law enforcement agencies with investigative genetic genealogy and missing persons research.

Thanks to the partnership, deputies were able to identify a possible connection between Beardsley and Emigrant Gap Jane Doe.

Authorities were able to track down Beardsley's family and conducted a DNA comparison test. Last month, the testing confirmed that Emigrant Gap Jane Doe was Beardsley, deputies said.

"Advancements in DNA technology are making it possible to solve cases that once seemed impossible," deputies said. "The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to identifying unknown victims and bringing answers to families."