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The Texas Department of Public Safety has determined that human remains found nearly a decade ago were those of a 16-year-old Black girl whose mother claimed she last saw her on Valentine’s Day 2000, prompting a homicide investigation announced Monday.
DNA testing “positively identified” the victim as Sylvia Nicole Smith, DPS said in a statement Monday. Her body was discovered in Midland County by workers surveying an oilfield in August 2013.
Initial genetic testing produced no matches through Combined DNA Index Systems. In 2020, Texas Rangers teamed up with Midland County prosecutors to seek further analysis that determined the victim’s skin, hair and eye color.
“A genetic genealogist who examined the DNA assisted with a match that led to a distant relative,” DPS said.
[ Stephen King has never seen a missing Black woman get the coverage Gabby Petito got ]
Investigators proceeded to speak to other people they thought might be related to the then-unidentified girl, which led them to the victim’s mom in Midland, Texas in May. She told them one of her daughters, who turned out to be Smith, had been missing for more than 22 years. Smith’s mom had filed a report on Feb. 18, 2000.
On June 9, using DNA from Smith’s family members, the University of North Texas concluded the body found in 2013 was that of the missing teen. Authorities are asking for help from the public in solving the “likely” homicide victim.
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