Remains of a Portland teenager identified after 54 years

By Noor Shami

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    CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Oregon (KPTV) — Oregon State Police said the remains of an unidentified teenager has been named Thursday after 54 years.

Sandra Young went missing from the Portland metro area more than five decades ago. Young was a Grant High School student that was no where to be found since 1968 or 1969. On Feb. 23, 1970, the remains of a fully skeletonized young woman were found buried in a shallow grave at the far north end of Sauvie Island in Columbia County by a Boy Scout troop. Investigators recovered the remains and the remnants of a black curly wig.

Investigators believed the trauma to the body indicated foul play. The body was moved to the state medical examiner facility in Clackamas County in 2004 with more than 100 additional sets of unidentified remains. After years of research, no genetic associations were discovered.

In 2018, the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner’s Office was awarded a grant to perform innovative DNA studies on skeletal remains. A bone sample was submitted and resulted in list of physical features.

With the help of the Portland Police Bureau, investigations led to the confirmation that the remains belong to Sandra “Sandy” Young who was born on June 25, 1951.

A Human Identification Program Coordinator at the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s office, Dr. Nici Vance, said Young has now regained her identify 54 years later.

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