In 1975, 13-year-old Laura O’Malley, went missing from her neighborhood in Queens, New York. For years, her family searched for her. Her siblings — two sisters and one brother — even passed her picture around in Manhattan, believing that she might have ended up there. But decades later, O’Malley’s remains have been found across the country in California.
While her name and story was not immediately known, advancements in DNA testing gradually revealed pieces of her identity.
O’Malley’s remains were discovered decades ago.
On March 22, 1995, almost 20 years after her disappearance, partial skeletal remains were discovered in a riverbed in Santa Cruz County, California, DNA Solves reports.
Initially, investigators believed the bones were of historical origin. When scientists conducted radiocarbon dating testing on the skeleton, they determined that they belonged to a female. In 2019, they tested the remains again. They learned the girl had been born between 1964 and 1967 and had died between 1977 and 1984. They then worked on identifying the young person.
Authorities kept testing.
In 2022 and 2023, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office used additional genetic information to locate family members, the sheriff’s office reported in a Facebook post. The work helped investigators determine that the remains belonged to O’Malley. The teenager went missing from New York in August 1975. Her family had not seen or heard from her since. Authorities have not been able to determine when, why, or how she ended up in California.
There were reportedly problems at home.
According to a 1978 article published in the New York Daily News, O’Malley and her siblings all left their home in Long Beach, Long Island, because they could not get along with their stepfather. While her sisters and brother eventually returned to their home, O’Malley did not. She reportedly wrote her mother a note stating that she would not return as long as her stepfather was living there, The Independent reports.
The investigation continues.
A year after O’Malley’s disappearance, her mother separated from her stepfather. Sadly, she evidently never learned of the dissolution of their relationship. The sheriff’s office said it is “deeply grateful” to have “provided long-awaited answers to Laura’s family.”
Authorities are now investigating the nature of O’Malley’s death and are urging anyone with any information to contact them at 831-471-1121.
