BENICIA, CA – In a major development announced on National DNA Day, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that remains discovered in 1983 near the Rich Duck Club on Simmons Island in Benicia have been identified as Patricia Ann Hertel of Tracy, CA.
Initially believed to be a male, the remains were exhumed in July 2023 as part of the Doe Cold Case Project and determined to be female.
Using advanced DNA technology and forensic genealogy, investigators identified Hertel, who vanished in 1981 while aboard a fishing vessel in Suisun Bay.…