Virginia police have identified the remains of a body found in a drainage ditch 21 years ago in Fairfax County as Patricia Agnes Gildawie, a young woman who has been missing for more than 47 years.
Also known as “Choubi,” Gildawie was last seen on February 8, 1975, when she was 17 years old, the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release Monday.
Authorities said Gildawie’s skeletal remains were found by a construction crew on September 27, 2001. Initially, investigators believed the victim was an African American female in her late teens to early 20s who died from a gunshot wound to the head.
This year, cold case detectives worked with forensic experts from Othram Inc., a Texas-based laboratory that provides law enforcement with advanced DNA testing and forensic-grade genome sequencing. This testing found a half-sister who led to identifying Gildawie as the victim and shared her story.