Woman Missing Since 1974 Identified After Remains Found in Oregon Mountains
Tigard, OR – Marion McWhort, who vanished in 1974 at age 21, has been identified after her remains were discovered in Linn County, Oregon, authorities announced. the breakthrough came after a DNA comparison with her sister, valerie Nagle, who submitted her genetic details to a genealogy website in hopes of finding answers about Marion’s disappearance.
McWhort was last seen at a shopping center in Tigard, a suburb of Portland.For decades, her sister Valerie, who was eleven years old when Marion disappeared, tirelessly searched for clues, scouring databases of unidentified individuals. In June of this year, Oregon police contacted Valerie requesting a DNA comparison with remains found near a stream in a mountain range in 1976, known as the “Swamp Mountain Jane Doe” case.
“I was very surprised and happy that they called,” Valerie Nagle told the Associated Press.
DNA testing confirmed the remains were those of Marion McWhort. linn County police are now investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.Forensic anthropologist Hailey Collord-Stalder stated that McWhort “probably did not voluntarily disappear.”
“This was one of our oldest cases where we lacked the identity of remains,” said Collord-Stalder. “I think it shows that no matter how long it will take without us finding the identity of a dead person, we will not give up the attempts to find out who it is.”