The long-running search for Sandra Crispo has reached a heartbreaking conclusion after authorities confirmed that human remains found in Plymouth last year belong to the Hanson mother who vanished in August 2019. Officials announced on May 5, 2026, that DNA testing matched the remains to the 54-year-old, pulling a long-cold missing-person case back into the spotlight.
Discovery and identification
On March 6, 2025, a hunter walking along a deer trail near the breakdown lane between Exits 13 and 14 off Route 3 North in Plymouth reported what he believed were human remains. Troopers later recovered a portion of a skull in the area and brought it to the State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Testing there, with assistance from the FBI, produced a DNA match to Crispo, investigators said, according to WHDH.
Case history and family reaction
Crispo was last seen on Aug. 7, 2019, and was reported missing two days later after family members could not reach her, her daughter told Boston.com in 2020. In the years that followed, relatives and local reporters kept the case in public view while state and county investigators carried out searches, interviews, and forensic follow-ups in an effort to find answers.
What authorities say next
Officials have not released a cause of death and say the investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact Hanson Police or Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, which previously provided tip lines, according to Boston 25. Investigators say they will continue forensic review and follow up on leads as they work to determine what happened to Crispo.
