In 1970, Donna Lass was last seen in South Lake Tahoe.

After more than 50 years, a woman has been identified in a missing person's case from South Lake Tahoe. 

Police identified the missing woman as Donna Lass.

The Placer County Sheriff's Office announced the developments in the case on Thursday, but there's still plenty of unanswered questions.

In 1970, Lass was last seen in South Lake Tahoe and their police department took the lead into the investigation. Nothing was found in the case at the time. 

However, in 1986, more than a decade later, the Placer County Sheriff's Office found a skull off Highway 20 and Interstate 80.

There was no other evidence with the skull, so the coroner's office held onto it and it was named a Jane Doe investigation.

After more than 50 years, answers for the Lass family have been given.

"I mean it's been a long case," said Chief David Stevenson, South Lake Tahoe Police Department. "It's been a case through generations of detectives at our department."

The Placer County Sheriff's and District Attorney's Office started a cold case team and applied more resources to investigating unsolved missing person's and suspicious death cases.

That team recently sent that skull off for a DNA test.

The California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services was able to match the DNA of the skull with one of Lass's sisters that was obtained from South Lake Tahoe.

"Those two halves came together, and the connection was made," Chief Stevenson said.

Last week, the family of Lass was notified and even though Lass has been missing for decades, the police department said for families in situations like this, they never forget. 

"Everyone wants to know what happened to their loved ones," Chief Stevenson said. "The pain never goes away. The loss never goes away. So, it's certainly important to bring that type of exposure or partial closure to something like this, but it never goes away for the families."

For families who are also waiting for answers, Chief Stevenson said with newer technology, more cold cases can be resolved.

"I think it might give hope to those still waiting out there," he said.

At one point during the investigation, Lass was a suspected victim of the infamous Zodiac killer, but there was no clear evidence to confirm, and the cause of her death is still up in the air. 

"We really don't have any suspects identified at this time, but certainly we will follow up on any leads that come our way," Chief Stevenson.

With the South Lake Tahoe Police Department still investigating the case, they're asking for people with any information to email them at cybertips@cityofslt.us.

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