Body found in creekbed 30 years ago identified as missing California woman, cops say

A body found in a creekbed 30 years ago has been identified through DNA testing as a missing Vallejo woman, California authorities reported.

Robin Fay Hedrick, who was born in 1953, was last seen alive in Vallejo in February 1992, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 13 news release.

Her skeletal remains were found in a creekbed near Healdsburg, about 60 miles northwest of Vallejo, on Aug. 9, 1993, sheriff’s officials said.

But the advanced decomposition of her body left her identity a mystery for decades, officials said.

In 2022, the coroner’s office submitted her DNA to the DNA Doe Project, which identified a match that led detectives to her son, the department said. His DNA confirmed her identity in October.

Very little is known about Hedrick before her disappearance, officials said.

Investigators ask anyone with information to contact 707-565-2727 or sheriff-coldcases@sonoma-county.org.

The DNA Doe Project, based in Sebastopol, California, is a nonprofit agency that identifies unknown remains through genetic genealogy. It was founded in 2017.

Vallejo is about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco.

This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 11:05 AM with the headline "Body found in creekbed 30 years ago identified as missing California woman, cops say."