Police Seek Help Identifying Woman Found 50 Years Ago

Virginia Beach police are asking the public for information after DNA-based predictions produced a composite image of a homicide victim whose remains were found in 1976.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Accidents

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a long bridge span silhouette over a grey-blue bay horizon, with a single vertical pier anchoring the quiet composition. — Virginia Beach police are asking the public to help identify a woman whose remains were found in the bay in 1976, after DNA-based predictions produced a composite image. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The Virginia Beach Police Department requested public help identifying a woman whose remains were discovered on May 30, 1976, in the water near the First Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, and the victim's identity remains unknown.

Why it matters

The victim has gone unidentified for half a century, and new DNA-derived leads may finally establish who she was. The case adds to the more than 15,500 unresolved unidentified persons cases across the United States.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the death a homicide, and police have publicly requested help identifying the victim as of November 4, 2026. The victim's identity remains unknown, and no suspect has been reported in the available information.

The players

Virginia Beach Police Department

The local police agency investigating the 1976 homicide and leading the public appeal for information about the victim's identity.

Parabon NanoLabs

A Virginia-based forensic genetics company that generated the DNA-based trait predictions and composite image used in the investigation.

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

The Virginia state office that reviewed the remains and ruled the woman's death a homicide.

The details

Parabon NanoLabs generated DNA-based predictions for the victim's ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin tone, freckling and facial structure, which were used to produce a composite image. The victim is described as a white female, about 5'6" tall and weighing 135 to 145 pounds, with a five-inch scar on the back of her right thigh and anatomical signs she had given birth at least once.

May 30, 1976: Remains discovered in the water near the First Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Within 48 hours of discovery: Estimated window in which the victim was killed.
November 4, 2026: Virginia Beach Police publicly requested public help identifying the victim.

Cold Case Frontier

Forensic DNA phenotyping, pioneered in commercial forensic labs such as Parabon NanoLabs, is now being applied to remains that have sat unidentified for decades. In the United States, roughly 15,500 unidentified persons cases remain unresolved, and this case shows how trait prediction can be used on remains dating back to 1976.

Residents who recall anything about an unidentified woman in the Chesapeake Bay area around 1976, or who have information about a missing woman of that era, are being asked to contact the Virginia Beach Police Department. Any new identification could also help families of other missing persons from that period learn whether their loved ones match the victim.

The takeaway

Genetic trait prediction can give investigators new leads even on cases decades old, so older unidentified remains may still be resolved. Anyone with a possible match should contact the Virginia Beach Police Department directly.