BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, California — Authorities have identified human remains discovered in Southern California in 1980 as those of an Opelika woman who disappeared more than four decades ago.
According to the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team, forensic DNA testing and a national database matched Victoria Jean Hargrove, a 29-year-old originally from Opelika.
Cracking the case
The breakthrough came in 2024, when the Riverside County Coroner’s Office and the Regional Cold Case Homicide Team partnered to re-examine the case and utilize advancements in forensic science and genealogy.
After her remains were exhumed on Dec. 4, 2024, investigators partnered with Othram, a The Woodlands, Texas-based forensic genomics laboratory, for DNA analysis.
Using a process called identity inference, Othram scientists developed a DNA extract from evidence collected at the scene and used forensic-grade genome sequencing to build a comprehensive genetic profile from the remains.
Then, in January of this year, a forensic genetic genealogist working with the cold case team developed and uploaded that profile to a consumer ancestry database.
The genealogist later identified a potential match to a close relative living in Alabama, and investigators contacted that family member for a voluntary DNA sample.
That sample ultimately allowed the California Department of Justice laboratory on March 20 to confirm the woman’s identity as Hargrove.
Hargrove’s disappearance
Hargrove’s family initially reported her missing from her Ski Lodge Apartments home on Jan. 28, 1980, just three weeks before hikers discovered her remains in a 35-foot-deep ravine south of Cahuilla, an unincorporated town near Palm Desert, off Highway 74 — 2,065 miles and a 30-hour drive away from home.
At the time of her disappearance, Hargrove, who had recently divorced, told her family she was leaving town and promised to call them once she arrived at her destination.
According to a close friend who wished to remain anonymous out of respect for Hargrove’s family, Hargrove, who graduated from Beauregard High School in 1969, was a humble, loving mother of two who left Opelika only taking minimal belongings with her.
After she failed to call them, her parents officially reported her missing to the Opelika Police Department on Feb. 4, 1980.
An initial investigation revealed Hargrove was possibly dating a former co-worker, who was also reported missing shortly after she disappeared, and was possibly traveling with him in her red 1978 Datsun B210.
Her vehicle was later located abandoned at a hotel in Las Vegas in August of 1980, and witnesses identified the male co-worker as the sole driver in Nevada. Hargrove was not seen with him.
Afterwards, the co-worker gave investigators conflicting statements about how he gained possession of the vehicle and where he was around the time Hargrove disappeared.
Initially, the co-worker denied ever leaving town with Hargrove or possessing her vehicle.
He later claimed Hargrove gave him the vehicle as repayment for a loan, and admitted to driving it west before abandoning it in Las Vegas after realizing he lacked the proper transfer-of-ownership paperwork.
While the co-worker returned to Alabama in August 1980, Hargrove was never seen again.
While authorities at the time could not determine a cause of death, they are investigating it as a homicide. They are also seeking new information about the circumstances surrounding Hargrove’s disappearance, her death and how she ended up in California.
Despite a lengthy initial investigation that included fingerprint and dental record comparisons, and attempts to review the case in both 2008 and 2009, authorities were unable to identify the remains for 46 years.
Hargrove’s unidentified remains became known as “Riverside County Jane Doe (1980),” and the case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as UP7139.
At the time of her death, the remains were described as a 5-foot-4, 115-pound white woman between 20 and 25 years old with short, wavy, light brown hair, hazel eyes and manicured fingernails.
According to local news reports from around the time she disappeared, Hargrove was 5-foot-3 and 105 pounds, closely fitting the victim’s description.
Identifying marks included well-healed scars on her right forearm and upper right arm, and clothing described as a long-sleeved tan velour blouse, royal blue pants and tan sandals were also found in the ravine.
Hargrove’s friend added that while they always believed Hargrove to be deceased, the confirmation was still a sad and tragic conclusion.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Supervising Investigator Billy Hester at (951) 955-0070 or by emailing coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.
Investigators encourage individuals to consider submitting their DNA to reputable ancestry databases, as it can play a vital role in identifying unknown victims and advancing cold case investigations.advancing cold case investigations.
