Laura Fosmire

Statesman Journal

The Polk County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in identifying a woman whose skeletal remains were found in rural Polk County in 1996.

On Sept. 1, 1996, the remains of a female were found scattered in the hills overlooking the Mill Creek area near Buell. Buell is about 12 miles northwest of Rickreall off Highway 22.

Polk County Detective John Williams said that just past Mill Creek Park on Mill Creek Road, there is a logging that now is closed off by a gate. But in 1996 there was likely no gate. The woman's body was found about a mile up that road.

Due to the suspicious circumstances found at the scene, the sheriff's office deemed the case a homicide investigation.

But after combing through reports of missing people from 1995 to 1996 in Polk County and throughout the state, investigators found no leads as to the woman's identity.

Earlier this year, the case was formally turned over to the sheriff's Cold Case Team, which is made up of five volunteers, Williams said.

With the help of the Oregon State Medical Examiner, officials have new information about what the woman looked like and are asking for the public's help in identifying her.

The medical examiner has determined the bones belonged to a Caucasian female who was likely 45 years or older at the time of her death. She was likely between five feet and 5-feet-6-inches tall with a slight build and possible curving of the spine. She probably had black or gray hair and most likely had a complete upper denture.

The medical examiner found a surgical incision in the forehead that was likely related to a sinus surgery that was years before her death, that may or may not have left a visible scar.

The body had reportedly been in the Mill Creek area anywhere from a few months to a year. Police believe she disappeared somewhere between the fall of 1995 and the summer of 1996. It's possible she lived in another state.

Reporter Joce DeWitt contributed to this report.