Human remains found in California identified as woman with Memphis ties decades later

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – More than 20 years after human remains were found during construction in Redondo Beach, California, authorities have identified them as belonging to a woman with family in Memphis.

According to the City of Redondo Beach, the remains of Catherine Parker-Johnson were discovered on August 29, 2001. But initially, authorities could not identify her.

The case went cold and wasn’t reopened until January of 2019 with help from the DNA Doe Project, a non-profit organization that works with law enforcement to identify missing people.

It wasn’t until four years later, in March of 2023, that DNA from the human remains was matched with two women living in Memphis. Those women were later determined to be the daughter and sister of Parker-Johnson.

The family said they had last heard from Parker-Johnson when she traveled to Memphis in May of 1981 to see her child.

Authorities said the last record of anyone having contact with Parker-Johnson dates back to August 31, 1981 in Lennox, California.

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