Investigators hope sketch provides identity clue

RENO - Nevada investigators are hoping a forensic sketch will help identify skeletal remains found more than a decade ago in the Black Rock Desert.

The remains of the white woman were found in a shallow grave on May 25, 1991, according to detectives with the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

A bracelet engraved with the name "Valerie," and a second, yellow bracelet in the shape of a sea serpent with abalone shell inlay also were found at the site about 100 miles north of Reno, officials said.

A medical examiner determined "Valerie Doe" died of one or more gunshot wounds to the head, investigators said. But anthropologists at California State University, Fullerton had different opinions on her age.

One estimated she was 25-35 years old at the time of her death. Another estimated she was over 40 and possibly in her 50s, authorities said.

A nationwide search of missing person's cases provided no leads.

Now, Barbara Martin, a forensic artist with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office in Michigan, recently completed a sketch of what the woman may have looked like.

Investigators hope someone will recognize the rendering, which was posted on the department's Web site.