Missing California teen’s body identified nearly 5 years later in Arizona, sheriff says
A missing California teen has been identified nearly five years after her remains were discovered in Arizona, officials said.
Kimberly Rena Jones, 18, from San Bernardino was first reported missing in 2017, but her unidentified remains were discovered in Arizona the prior year, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Jones was found dead in the White Hills area in northwestern Arizona off U.S. 93 in 2016, officials said. The town is about an hour southeast of Las Vegas.
An identification or cause of death couldn’t be made for her body because of decomposition, officials said. Instead, a composite sketch was created and shared with the public.
But no one responded.
The characteristics depicted from her drawing were also compared to those in a national database of missing persons, but no matches were made either.
In 2020, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office took over the cold case and worked to identify her body using a new DNA technique.
A funeral service had already been held for her remains so officials exhumed her grave for the collection of DNA. Then officials identified potential relatives through a full genome sample linked to her DNA.
In July, she was identified.
Her cause of death remains undetermined and anyone with information about her case can call the Mohave County special investigations unit 928-753-0753 ext. 4408 or 1-800-522-4312.
