Partially Buried Teen Found More Than 50 Years Ago In Riverside County Now Has A Name

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Advanced forensic genetic genealogy has enabled investigators to identify the remains of a teenage girl found buried in a Riverside County desert town more than 50 years ago, authorities announced Tuesday.

Now investigators are seeking information about who killed her.

The partially buried body of 19-year-old Rebecca Jean McMahan was discovered in the open desert, near Desert Hot Springs, on Jan. 19, 1974. Investigators have learned that she also went by the names Becky McMahan and Becky Solis.

Despite decades-long efforts comparing fingerprints and dental records, investigators had been unable to put a name to her or generate new leads, leaving the case cold.

In 2024, however, the Regional Cold Case Homicide Team re-examined the case using modern DNA technology. The Riverside County coroner’s office sent bone samples to OTHRAM Labs, a private forensic laboratory, which successfully developed a DNA profile.

Investigators uploaded the profile to a direct-to-consumer ancestry database, where a genetic genealogist identified a potential close relative living in California. After the family member voluntarily provided a DNA sample, the California Department of Justice's Missing and Unidentified Persons Section confirmed the match.

McMahan was last seen on June 11, 1973, in Bell Gardens, where she mentioned she was traveling to Palm Springs for vacation. Her family formally reported her missing on July 3, 1973.

Between 1969 and 1973, McMahan lived in Bellingham, Washington, as well as the California cities of Bell, Cudahy, and Commerce. She was described as a white female, 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing between 120 and 145 pounds, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a tattoo of "SS" on her ankle and a butterfly tattoo on the right side of her chest.

Authorities are now seeking the public's help to solve her homicide. Anyone with information regarding McMahan or the circumstances surrounding her death is urged to contact Investigator Ebony Caviness at 951-955-0257 or email coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.