In august 1976, Illya Wilkins – an elderly woman with memory problems – disappeared from “Baunach’s Home for the Aged” in Sandy, Ore.
This month, her remains were finally identified, according to the Oregon State Police.
Wilkins was born in in July 1887. Her remains were first discovered just about five years after she disappeared, on Aug. 21, 1981. Private property owners found a partial human skill just outside of Sandy, in Clackamas County. At that time, an examination only revealed that the skull was likely from a female of advanced age.
Although searches were performed to locate Wilkins after her disappearance, she was never found, and the remains were thought to be hers.
“In 2010, Oregon State Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Nici Vance re-analyzed the remains and submitted a sample from the skull to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification and entered the unidentified profile into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System – NamUs,” Oregon State Police said. “The sample was processed and yielded a forensic DNA profile for comparison and upload into CODIS. Unfortunately, no genetic associations to missing persons or family reference standards in the CODIS database were established.”
Then, a new break in the case happened last July thanks to investigative genetic genealogy. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office submitted an additional bone sample from the skull to Othram Inc., a private DNA lab that specializes in advanced forensic DNA testing.
According to the state police, Othram “uses an in-house whole genome sequencing technique that can provide genetic information and possible familial associations even with a low-yield sample.”
Following Othram’s analysis, DNA profile obtained from the bone sample was uploaded into the FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch databases. Through these databases, the DNA profile was compared to “genetic profiles of numerous family lineages indicated the distinct possibility the remains were, in fact, Ms. Illya ‘Ella’ Wilkins,” said police.
Once the findings were in, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office missing person detectives contacted Wilkins grandchild, who still lives in Oregon, and collected a DNA sample to confirm.
“Analysis revealed a 100% probability that the remains of the unidentified female were genetically associated with the grandchild,” police said. Oregon Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Sean Hurst positively identified the remains April 4 and released them to her surviving family.
“This case is a great example of the power of DNA confirmation testing, and the legitimacy these methods have in resolving unidentified human remains cases,” according to the Oregon State Police.
More than 600,000 people go missing in the U.S. year, per the Bureau of Justice Assistance. A Census of Medical Examiner and Coroners’ Offices conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered each year by medical examiner and coroner offices and that around 1,000 remain unidentified after one year – many are believed to be undocumented immigrants.
“It is our distinct honor to provide the family of Illya ‘Ella’ Wilkins some resolution by returning her to her next of kin,” said Dr. Vance. “Dignity is recovered when remains are no longer anonymous, and Ella Wilkins is now accounted for. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office will continue our commitment to solve these mystery cases and assist families, no matter how unsolvable they may seem.”
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