Placer County deputies need your help after hikers found a woman's remains in Applegate in 1985.
On January 6, 1985, two local men were hunting near Boole Road in Applegate. While chasing one of their dogs that had run off into the dense manzanita, they located skeletal human remains.Â
Placer County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and collected the remains. Due to the condition of the remains, the cause of death and the identity of the person could not be determined. The remains were sent to the Chico State anthropology lab to help with identification.
The Chico State anthropology department determined that the remains were female, and a facial reconstruction was created and released to the press. The remains were compared to other missing persons cases throughout the state, but they were not identified. The remains were sent to the Department Of Justice Lab in Richmond in 2005 for DNA analysis and familial comparison. No familial DNA match was located. Othram Inc., a lab that specializes in genetic genealogy, did further lab work on the remains and was able to develop a profile that could be used for genetic genealogy.
Othram Inc. developed a family tree, which was provided to Placer County Sheriff Detectives. The family tree indicated that there was a living relative to the unidentified remains. Placer County detectives worked with the Woodburn Police Department in Oregon to obtain a reference sample from the potential sibling. The reference sample was sent to the Department of Justice in Richmond and compared to the DNA extracted from the human remains.
Authorities say the DNA matched a sister in the family - the woman who went missing from Sacramento and was last seen approximately in 1980. The remains were identified as Patricia Ann Rose.
Detectives interviewed the sister and the child of Patricia Ann Rose after her identity was confirmed. Relatives told detectives that Patricia Ann Rose also used the first names "Torrie" and "Patti". Rose also used the last names "Bowden" and "Anderson".
Patricia Rose was estranged from her husband, John Bowden, at the time of her disappearance. Patricia Rose was last seen approximately in 1980. Patricia’s 18-month-old son was found alone in a hotel room where she was staying in Sacramento, and Rose was not heard from again.
Deputies say the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and death are suspicious, and detectives are seeking the public’s help for any possible information regarding Patricia’s death or disappearance. Email PCSOTipLine@placer.ca.gov
(Placer County Sheriff's Office contributed to this report.)
