A family finally has some answers after a 13-year-old girl disappeared from her New York home 50 years ago.
Laura O’Malley, who was raised in Queens, was first reported missing in New York in August 1975, according to a press release posted by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook on Tuesday, March 25. Her family never heard from her again.
The teen girl’s remains were identified after they were discovered in a riverbed in Santa Cruz, Calif. in 1995, according to the sheriff’s office. The case was re-examined in 2019, leading to the 13-year-old girl’s identification with the help of Othram, a company that specializes in forensic DNA analysis.
The sheriff’s office noted that the circumstances surrounding O’Malley’s death are still under investigation. How O’Malley arrived in California is unknown.
While questions remain, authorities tell PEOPLE that her family is grateful for the closure.
“They have been incredibly supportive and thankful during this entire process and we’re incredibly grateful for that, too,” Ashley Keehn, a public information officer for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, tells PEOPLE. “Being able to bring them that small piece of closure that they might not have gotten otherwise if we didn’t re-look at this case.”
An article published in the New York Daily News in May 1978, reviewed by PEOPLE, reported that O’Malley had left her home because she didn’t get along with her stepfather. After her mother and stepfather separated, the family urged O’Malley to return home, according to the paper.
“Missing persons detectives concerned about the vulnerability of a young girl on her own in this city have pursued countless leads but have turned up no hard information about where she may be,” the article said. “Meanwhile Laura’s sisters continue to circulate her picture and appeal to all who knew her to carry on the search.”
When asked about the paper’s claims, Keehn said the reason for O’Malley’s disappearance and how she died is still under investigation.
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