Las Vegas police say they have identified the victim of a 1979 homicide.
Gwenn Marie Story was found dead by a man walking through an open field at Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard about 9 p.m. on Aug. 14, 1979. Her death was ruled a homicide, but nothing led to her identification at the time.
In 2022, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police cold case team requested a forensic genetic genealogy investigation from Othram. That led to possible family members who gave DNA samples for comparison.
In November, Othram notified police that they identified "Sahara Sue Doe" as Story.
Through family, police learned that at age 19, Story left Cincinnati, Ohio. She was traveling with two male friends to California to find her biological father. The friends told police they left her in Las Vegas. Her family said they never heard from her again.
But the case is still open. Anyone with information about Story, or the two males she traveled to Las Vegas with, is urged to contact the Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521, or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com.
