Remains found in 1986 identified as woman missing 45 years, California DA says

A road crew doing survey work discovered an unidentified woman’s remains down an embankment on Highway 74 near Lake Elsinore in 1986, California authorities said.

Thirty-six years later, investigators know her name.

DNA testing on the woman’s skull identified her as Linda LeBeau, 27, of Tustin, who was reported missing by her boyfriend in 1977, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office reported in a news release.

She had been shot in the head, officials said. The investigation into her death remains open and Tustin police continue to follow up leads.

LeBeau was identified by a familial DNA match using a database of missing unidentified people, the release said.

Investigators on a Riverside County regional cold case team exhumed her remains along with those in other cold cases and sent the skull for DNA testing in August, leading to the match, officials said.

Lake Elsinore and Tustin are southeast of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published January 23, 2022 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Remains found in 1986 identified as woman missing 45 years, California DA says."