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Oregon State Police seek help in identifying young girl found dead at Highway 18 rest stop east of Lincoln City

The remains of a girl between ages 6½ and 10 have been discovered along the H.B. Van Duzer Forest State Scenic Corridor in rural Lincoln County, Oregon State Police announced Tuesday.

Detectives are seeking the public’s help identifying the child. Her remains were found in the area of the scenic rest stop along the heavily wooded corridor, which winds through Oregon 18 from northwestern Polk County to Lincoln City.

Authorities say they are unaware of any reports of missing children matching the girl’s description.

The girl was about 3-foot-10 to 4-foot-6-inches tall and her hair was long and either dark brown or black. Her race or ethnic origin has not yet been determined. The results of a DNA analysis are not yet complete, state police said.
The condition of the remains suggests the girl had been dead for at least 30 days before being found Dec. 10. State police have not released the cause or manner of death.
Police had previously announced the discovery of human remains in the corridor but no other details.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says it is working on an estimated 700 cases of unidentified child remains nationally, including nine in Oregon. The most recent case involved a girl or woman between 14 and 25 whose remains were found in Clackamas County in 1991. The oldest case involves a boy between ages 1 and 2 whose remains were found in Ashland in 1963.

“It is very rare to find a child that law enforcement cannot identify very quickly,” said Carol Schweitzer, supervisor of the forensic services unit of the center.

She said instances of unidentified remains of children under age 11 typically don’t have associated missing persons reports.
“When we are talking about children under the age of 11, we find the biggest hurdle to get over is they are not reported missing the majority of the time,” she said. She cited several reasons, such as the potential involvement of the child’s caretakers or custody arrangements where the non-custodial parent may be unaware the child is missing.
“There are a lot of family dynamics that may be involved,” she said.

The Oregon State Police ask anyone with information that might help investigators identify the girl to call 800-442-0776 or *OSP (*677).