DNA testing reveals clues about unidentified woman found dead in El Cajon

Authorities have reached out to the public for help finding answers about the mysterious death — believed to be a murder — of an unidentified woman whose body turned up in a patch of brush in El Cajon nearly three decades ago.

The woman may have been in her 30s when she was found dead on Aug. 13, 1998, on Avocado Avenue south of Chase Avenue, according to police. On the body were a silver herringbone bracelet, black shoes and a blue T-shirt bearing the words “Woodruff Warriors 20 Year Reunion 1971-1991.”

She was a brunette who had stood about 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed roughly 110 pounds, the El Cajon Police Department reported. DNA testing has revealed that the woman had ancestral roots in Michoacán, Mexico, and a possible relative in the San Diego area, according to police. She had brown hair and signs of at least one prior pregnancy.

Police, who have released a rendering of what the woman is believed to have looked like when she was alive, have not disclosed why investigators think the woman fell victim to homicide.

Anyone who might be able to help detectives identify the woman and determine the circumstances of her death is asked to contact the police’s Cold Case Unit at 619-593-5774 or coldcaseunit@elcajon.gov.