Faces May Finally Solve Cold Case Mysteries

STAFFORD — A hunter found a bag in the woods containing the remains of a woman in the area of Witches Pond. That was 1998 and the woman’s identity is still a mystery.

It’s one of three cold cases in Stafford County that may finally be solved with new facial models.

Virginia’s Chief Medical Examiner unveiled eight facial models of bodies found, but never identified. There are 283 unidentified people in Virginia, with some remains dating back to the 1960s, according to Chief Medical Examiner William Gormley.

“We hope that by presenting the facial approximations to the public someone will recognize one of these individuals as their long lost loved one,” he said.

The other cases in Stafford include a woman’s body found in the median strip of Interstate 95 in February 1991. Months earlier, a teen boy’s body was found in a farmer’s field in the county.

Forensic anthropologists and artists with the FBI’s Forensic Anthropology Services and Forensic Imaging Unit constructed the facial approximations.

• C1991-16641, NamUs #6661: Stafford County – On February 3, 1991, the remains of a possibly mixed ancestry (black and white) Hispanic female were found along the medium strip of Interstate 95 in Stafford County. She is believed to have been 25-35 years of age.

• C1990-16318, NamUs #2229: Stafford County – On September 25, 1990, the remains of an adolescent white male were found in a farmer’s field in Stafford County. He is believed to have been 15-18 years of age.

• C1998-29162, NamUs #6150: Stafford County – on November 7, 1998, hunters found a bag in the woods in Stafford County containing the remains of a white female. She is believed to have been 28-45 years of age.

Photographs of the facial approximations have been entered into the case files of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems

All of the facial approximations are online at the Virginia Department of Health.

Anyone with information is asked to call the OCME Central District at 804-786-3174.