30-04-2025
Remains Found on Island Identified as Woman Who Disappeared After Boating Accident Over 40 Years Ago
A California woman's remains have been identified more than four decades after some of her bones were found on the south shore of Simmons Island, authorities said.
The identification of Patricia Ann Hertel's remains, which was announced in a press release by the Solano County Sheriff's Office on Friday, April 25, brings some resolution to her family's years-long search for answers.
On Aug. 8, 1981, Hertel, then 39, went out on a fishing boat with her boyfriend in Suisun Bay when they encountered bad weather. When they didn't return, authorities launched a search, discovering her boyfriend's body and the sunken vessel several days later. Hertel was never found and authorities presumed she had drowned.
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Almost two years later, on May 14, 1983, partial skeletal remains were found on the island near a private duck hunting club, which is more than 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.
Investigators initially believed the remains belonged to an adult male, but despite continued efforts to determine "the identity and circumstances surrounding the death, the decedent was ultimately laid to rest without being identified."
Forty years later, in July 2023, the body was exhumed as part of the Doe Cold Case Project and the case was reopened.
This time, a DNA test proved that the remains were actually female, which then led to a 15-month long investigation into the deceased's identity. Through forensic genetic genealogy, additional DNA testing and other advanced methodologies, the Solano County Coroner's Office was finally able to solve the decades-old mystery and determine the remains belonged to Hertel.
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'We offer our deepest condolences for their loss,' the sheriff's office said of Hertel's family members, who helped in the investigation. 'We hope this identification brings them a measure of closure.'
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While Hertel's remains have been identified, the sheriff's office said that her missing persons case remains open as not all of her remains have been recovered.
Authorities did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for additional comment.
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