OC Sheriff's Looking For Help In Lake Forest Cold Case

LAKE FOREST, CA — Authorities are asking the public's help in identifying a woman whose remains were found in 1983 in what is now Lake Forest.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department released a "forensic rendering" Thursday of what the woman may have looked like when she died.

The rendering depicts the woman with long, curly hair and a pink-colored top that the sheriff's department said she might've been wearing. The rendering also includes a detailed sketch of a gold tooth crown the woman had, the sheriff's department said.

Authorities said the woman was "18 to 24 years old, Black or possibly mixed-race, about 5'3" to 5'6", with a slight build."

The woman's remains were discovered in April 1983 after children came across her skull in a drainage tunnel near Canada and Old Trabuco roads in what is now Lake Forest, the sheriff's department said. An excavation of the area followed, and authorities found 70 percent of the woman's remains.

The woman's official cause of death is undetermined, but the sheriff's department said homicide is suspected.

Anyone who recognizes the woman or has information on her death can contact Investigator Bob Taft at 714-647-7045 or email the sheriff's cold case department.

Anonymous tips are accepted by OC Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227.