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Portland, Oregon — After nearly five decades of uncertainty, a Seattle woman has finally learned the fate of her long-lost sister. Marion Vinetta Nagle McWhorter, who disappeared in 1974, was identified through DNA as the “Swamp Mountain Jane Doe,” a cold case involving remains found in the Oregon Cascades in 1976.
Valerie Nagle, McWhorter’s younger sister, expressed surprise and relief at the news. “I was really glad they found me through DNA,” said Nagle, who was only 11 when her sister vanished.
The sisters, part of an Alaska Native family, were separated when McWhorter left California for a planned trip to Seattle and Alaska. She last contacted family from a Tigard, Oregon shopping mall, requesting a ride from an aunt who ultimately wasn’t able to meet her.
McWhorter, then 21, mentioned a man in a white pickup truck offering her a ride. Nearly two decades later, the aunt shared this detail with Nagle, prompting an intensified search through missing persons databases.
McWhorter’s remains were discovered in 1976 by a moss hunter who stumbled upon a skull and immediately alerted authorities. Along with the skeletal remains, investigators recovered personal items including a shoe, a leather coat, a beaded belt, rings, and jeans. While Nagle’s parents made efforts to locate their daughter, information was scarce.
The identification was a result of persistent investigative work and advancements in DNA technology. A bone sample from McWhorter’s remains was sent to the University of North Texas in 2010, and a profile was created in the national missing persons database.
A more extensive DNA profile was created in 2020. Nagle submitted her DNA to a genealogy company in 2023, hoping for a breakthrough.
It came in April 2025 when a relative’s DNA profile, uploaded to another genealogy database, provided the crucial link to Nagle.
State authorities emphasized the importance of never giving up on identifying missing persons, highlighting the significance of this discovery for McWhorter’s family. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the circumstances surrounding McWhorter’s death, while for Nagle, a long and painful chapter finally comes to a close.