• Patricia Agnes Gildawie disappeared on Feb. 8, 1975, in Fairfax, Virginia.
• Her remains were found behind an apartment complex by a construction crew in 2001.
• A medical examiner said the woman had died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Police in Virginia used DNA testing to identify a 17-year-old girl who went missing nearly 50 years ago, a scientific tool that has helped law enforcement solve dozens of cold case murders in recent years.

Patricia Agnes Gildawie, also known as “Choubi,” went missing on February 8, 1975, in Fairfax, Virginia, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. In September 2001, a construction crew discovered her remains and some clothing behind an apartment complex in McLean.

According to the release, an initial review concluded that the skeletal remains “were like that of an African American female in her late teens to early 20s.” According to the medical examiner, the woman died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Cold case investigators collaborated with Othram, a Texas-based firm that specialises in using forensic genealogy to solve cold case murders and disappearances. Authorities were able to locate Gildawie’s half-sister, Veronique Duperly, using advanced DNA testing.

Authorities also discovered that Gildawie was dating an older man at the time of her disappearance. Although police have not been able to identify him, they do know he worked at an upholstery store in Vienna.

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Duperly stated that the last time she saw her sister, she was driving a white Cadillac Eldorado with a red interior loaned to her by Gildawie’s boyfriend. Duperly stated that her sister had bruises as well.

Duperly told the news station that she had “bruises on her upper arms, shoulders, and the back of her legs.” “‘Well, why are you so black and blue?’ I asked. ‘I fall a lot,’ she admitted. ‘No, you don’t,’ I said.”

“Identifying this young woman resolves a mystery that has been unfolding for more than 47 years,” said Ed O’Carroll, Bureau Commander of Major Crimes and Cyber and Forensics, in a statement.

“Our community can take solace in the fact that our detectives never stop working on these cases. Advances in technology have enabled my Cold Case detectives to pursue new leads and provide some relief to families who have long been plagued by the unknown.”

Gildawie was born in France and immigrated to the United States when she was eight months old, according to Fairfax police. She relocated to Fairfax in the early 1970s.

Detectives are still looking into the case and have asked anyone with information to contact Fairfax County Crime Solvers.

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