DNA analysis has identified a woman whose body was found at the base of a cliff in the Bay Area nearly 60 years ago, authorities said.
The woman’s decomposed remains were found Feb. 3, 1967, at the base of a cliff on Highway 1 near Jenner, about 80 miles north of San Francisco, according to a news release from the County Sheriff’s Office. Sonoma County. Multiple fractures to her skull and ribs were determined to be the cause of death, but it is unclear how she sustained these injuries.
Efforts to identify him were unsuccessful. She was eventually listed as Jane Doe and was buried at the Sonoma County Cemetery a short time later, authorities said.
DNA analysis made it possible to identify a woman whose body was found at the foot of a cliff in the Bay Area almost 60 years ago: it is Lillian Marie Cardenas, born in 1928 and having lived for the last time in San Francisco.
(Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department)
In 2009, the woman’s body was exhumed with the help of San Francisco State University anthropology professor Mark Griffin, authorities said. His death was then ruled a homicide.
In 2023, Othram Inc., a forensic genetic analysis company, analyzed her DNA and identified her as Lillian Marie Cardenas, authorities said. The investigation revealed that Cardenas was born in 1928 and last lived in San Francisco; she was separated from her family members before her death.
But many questions remain. Anyone with information on the life or death of Cardenas is encouraged to contact the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Cold Case Unit at (707) 565-2727 or by email at sheriff-coldcase@sonoma-county. org.
California Daily Newspapers
