McAllen woman missing for 35 years identified as Jane Doe in Colorado

Colorado and McAllen authorities have identified a McAllen woman who had been missing for nearly 36 years, solving a cold case for a person known only as Jane Doe, until now.

A local farmer in Springfield, Colorado found human remains on his farm back in 1988, the Baca County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado said on Facebook on Sunday.

Those remains have since been identified as Nora Elia Castillo, a McAllen woman who had been missing since 1986 or 1987, after numerous attempts to link her DNA with existing relatives.

But Castillo, however, had not been reported missing until 1996.

“Former Baca County Sheriff Willard Goff and several deputies along with Baca County Coroner, Robert Morrow, responded to the scene and confirmed the presence of human remains estimated to have been there for 1-3 years,” the Baca County Sheriff’s Office statement said about the 1988 case.

At the time, authorities, with the help of the farm operator, searched the area for days in order to screen the soil and search for evidence regarding the person’s identity, their death and how the remains ended up in the farmer’s field.

Plenty effort was made in identifying the person, including creating dental impressions and submitting those records to the National Crime Information Center to try to match them with any missing persons, Baca sheriff’s authorities said.

At the time of the investigation, DNA was only beginning to be used in identifying people, but samples were still taken and submitted for analysis.

Facial reconstruction and an anthropological study were completed, as well as an analysis of the teeth fillings, but even after an extensive investigation, the case turned cold.

The body was given the name Jane Doe and buried in Springfield Cemetery.

In May 2021, Baca County Sheriff’s deputies and the coroner were contacted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations asking permission to submit the data from the 1988 cold case into NamUs, a national missing and unidentified persons clearinghouse and resource center for missing and unidentified remains that was launched in 2007.

Then, in July 2021, the coroner’s office contracted with Solved by DNA, an investigative genetic genealogy company, in attempts to finally identify the 1988 Jane Doe using the old DNA records. But those records were deemed inadequate for the familial study, so new DNA samples were needed.

Castillo’s body was ultimately exhumed and new DNA samples were retrieved, analyzed and entered into NamUs in December 2021.

In August 2021, Solved by DNA notified authorities that their research had led to a person with DNA markers indicating they were family members of Jane Doe.

The family member agreed to submit a DNA sample to Solved by DNA.

In Oct. 6, 2022, NamUS also notified Baca County agencies that the DNA profile of a person who had submitted their DNA through Solved by DNA to McAllen police was linked to the Jane Doe.

According to the statement, Castillo’s daughter submitted the DNA in 2004 as part of the missing persons case that was filed in 1996.

Descriptors and evidence provided by McAllen police were also consistent with Castillo’s identity and investigators ultimately determined the 1988 Jane Doe was Castillo.

Now, after nearly 36 years, Castillo’s family finally knows where she is, but they don’t know why Castillo was in Colorado and what led to her death.

Authorities are asking the public to come forward with any information regarding Castillo by calling the Baca County Sheriff’s Office at (719) 523-4511 or the McAllen Police Department at (956) 681-2221.

“The Baca County Sheriff’s Office will continue to investigate this case as a potential homicide,” the statement said.