Partial skeletal remains found along a shoreline in Benicia more than four decades ago have now been identified as a Tracy woman who was believed to have drowned when a boat she was on sank in 1981.
According to a release from the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the remains were found along the south shore of Simmons Island near the Rich Duck Club in Benicia on May 14, 1983. At the time, investigators thought they were bones from an adult male and despite investigations the remains were “ultimately laid to rest without being identified,” the sheriff’s press release states.
Related Articles
Further proceedings ordered for man charged in 1987 kidnapping and killing of a Bay Area boy
Body found in Northern California canal in 1981 identified as man with East Bay ties
San Jose cold-case investigation links 1997 baseball bat killing to deceased man
July trial set for Bay Area man accused of killing missing wife on Valentine’s Day 2023
Killer in 1976 Santa Cruz County cold case identified through DNA evidence
Then, in July 2023, as part of the Doe Cold Case Project, the remains were exhumed and the case re-opened. “New DNA testing revealed that the remains were female, not male as previously believed, and the decedent was reclassified as Jane Doe #5 (1983),” investigators explained. “Over the next 15 months, the dedication of our coroner Investigators and forensic staff led to numerous leads and continued investigation.”
Now, after more than 40 years, using advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy and forensic odontology, the sheriff says the remains have been positively identified as then 39-year-old Patricia Ann Hertel of Tracy.
Hertel was last known to be aboard a fishing boat in Suisun Bay on Aug. 8, 1981. The boat, carrying Hertel and her boyfriend, failed to return after bad weather hit that evening and a search was launched, the sheriff’s office release states. “The body of Hertel’s boyfriend was recovered several days later, and the vessel was found sunk in Suisun Bay. However, Hertel was never located and was presumed drowned.”
Although Hertel’s remains have been identified, her missing persons case remains active, as only partial skeletal remains were recovered, the sheriff’s release explains.
The Solano County Coroner’s Office extended its thanks speficially to Othram Inc., Forensic Odontologist Dr. Duane Spencer, and the California Department of Justice “for their invaluable assistance in identifying” the remains and also extended thanks to Hertel’s family members for support during the investigation, saying they hope the identification “brings them a measure of closure.”