‘Valentine Sally’: Body found in Arizona in 1982 identified as missing Missouri teen
02/23/2021 12:34 pm PST
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (TCD) --
A girl dubbed “Valentine Sally,” who was found dead on an Arizona roadway on February 14, 1982, was positively identified this week.
On Valentine’s Day in 1982, an Arizona Dept. of Public Safety officer helping a driver on Interstate 40 about 30 miles west of Flagstaff found the girl’s body. The body was found under a tree about 25 feet north of westbound lanes of Interstate 40 in Williams. It was believed she had been dead for about two weeks, NCMEC reports. She was found wearing a sweater and jeans.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the identity of the girl Monday as Carolyn Eaton, who was 17 years old when she was reported missing from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1981.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office worked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the National Missing and Unidentified Person System (NamUs), and the Arizona Dept. of Public Safety. A specialized private company was used to analyze familial DNA in online databases for genetic comparison, according to the sheriff’s office. The company identified a relative through the process.
Coconino County Sheriff’s detectives worked with St. Louis County Police Dept. Missing Persons detectives and the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Dept. when contacting the family in Missouri.
Sheriff’s detectives traveled to the St. Louis area to interview members of the Eaton family after the DNA sample match. Family members told detectives a sibling, identified as 17-year-old Carolyn Eaton, had run away from home around Christmas in 1981. Detectives collected DNA samples from the relatives, which also matched “Valentine Sally’s” DNA profile.
Detectives are now working on leads that have been developed to identify possible suspects, the sheriff’s department said. Her cause of death was undetermined, but Eaton’s death is classified as a homicide, and the investigation continues.
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