A Caltrans highway worker doing routine maintenance off Bessemer Mine Road in Lucerne Valley on November 2, 2001, noticed something jutting out of the sand: a human foot. What he'd stumbled onto was a shallow desert grave holding the body of a woman who, nearly a quarter-century later, still has no name.
A Body Wrapped in Plastic, Bound in Duct Tape
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff
, the woman was determined to be a murder victim on the day she was discovered near Bessemer Mine Road and State Route 247. Official forensic records reviewed by
NamUs
show she had been wrapped in plastic, bound with duct tape, and died from a severe blow to her body, with the case formally ruled a homicide. The Homicide Detail took over the investigation.
Investigators believe she died months before she was found, and usable fingerprints were unavailable. The site is near Bessemer Mine Road and State Route 247, as Victor Valley News Group reported.
What She Looked Like, What She Wore
The sheriff's office describes the victim as a white or Hispanic female standing about 5 feet tall and weighing roughly 100 pounds, with brown or reddish-brown hair. NamUs records list her estimated age as between 18 and 38. She had acrylic fingernails painted with red and yellow flames, a detail investigators hope might jog someone's memory.
She was found wearing a white sleeveless shirt and blue jean shorts with a stitched design across the bottom, per the sheriff's office. NamUs adds more specificity to that clothing: a white size-small “No Boundaries” brand sleeveless t-shirt, and denim shorts made by “ZANA DI” featuring dark embroidered stitching along the legs. She also wore a navy-blue swimsuit top, a gold waist chain with a gold heart pendant, and a silver GV II branded wristwatch, according to the sheriff's department's post.
DNA and Dental Records Remain on File
The case file lists DNA and dental records with fillings as available. Those records remain relevant to comparisons with missing-person cases.
The case falls under the sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division, whose Cold Case Team began in 2008. That unit has since solved 46 cold case murder investigations dating back as far as 1981, using DNA and a variety of investigative means, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Renewed Appeal as 25th Anniversary Approaches
Detectives renewed their public appeal for information as the unsolved murder nears its 25-year mark, Victor Valley News Group reported. Investigators have not identified the woman, and resolving her identity remains the critical first step toward any suspect leads or answers about why her body ended up in such an isolated stretch of desert.
The case is cataloged under local case number DR# 070103696, coroner case 01-7311 (Jane Doe #13-01), and federal NamUs case number UP2484. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's Homicide Detail. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through We-Tip at 844-909-3006 or online through the sheriff's tip site.
