ID of Ord Bend Park remains eludes police

Local law enforcement officials remain stumped over the identity of a woman whose skeletal remains were found July 27 in Ord Bend Park.

Fliers have been issued throughout the state in a effort to match Jane Doe with a known missing person, but so far, nothing has "panned out," Glenn County sheriff's lead Det. Greg Felton said Tuesday.

"We've had a few agencies call regarding their own missing persons, but they did not match either the age or the race of the victim," Felton said.

The remains, which were discovered by a county employee and inmate worker during a cleanup operation, is that of a Caucasian woman between the ages of 35 and 45, according to a forensic anthropologist.

The woman had been dead for several months, officials said.

The same Chico State University forensic experts who are helping in this case are also helping the Butte County Sheriff's Department dig for the body of a 15-year-old Oroville girl who has been missing since 1973.

Based on a tip, the forensic team is looking for the girl's body near the foundation of a home that burned decades ago on Larkin and Lattin roads in East Biggs.

"Everyone is spread pretty thin," Felton said.

Felton said he will also have to wait for results of a DNA test performed on the woman's remains, and hopes it will match someone in the national DNA data base.

Meanwhile, the death of Jane Doe is being investigated as a homicide, he said.

Felton said he hopes someone recognizes the very distinct jewelry found on the body, which was photographed and sent around the state.

The jewelry includes an ankle bracelet with various charms, a silver bracelet with a large multi-colored stone, one gold earring and seven rings.

Some of the jewelry was still attached to remains, although the majority was recovered during the processing of the scene, said Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones.

The cause of the woman's death is still unknown, Felton said, but they hope to piece together Jane Doe's final days and discover who might have killed her and dumped her body over the fence on the east side of the park.

CONTACT Susan Meeker at 934-6800 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.