COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two months ago, the Maury County Sheriff's Department identified human remains found in 2020.
The victim has been identified as Amanda Newcomb, says the sheriff's department in a release Monday.
Newcomb's remains were found in a wooded area near Hood Road in November 2020. They were collected by investigators and sent to the medical examiner's office for testing.
Investigators with the sheriff's department ruled out missing females from across the state during this testing process based on a potential timeline and profile of the previously unidentified woman provided by anthropologists.
The sheriff's department began working with a private lab in Texas in November 2021 for genealogy processing. A year later, the department received information that listed possible ancestors of the unidentified woman from several generations prior.
Investigators contacted living descendants of the unidentified woman based on the genealogy report and constructed a family tree, says the sheriff's department.
After finding the closest biological relative based on their findings and taking a DNA sample for lab testing, investigators received a positive ID confirmation on January 26.
The sheriff's department says no cause of death for Newcomb could be determined.
Maury County investigators ask that anyone with information about Newcomb, knew her or had contact with her prior to her death call the sheriff's office at one of the following numbers:
Dispatch: 931-388-5151
Lt. Roscoe Voss: 931-375-6601 / Email: rvoss@maurycounty-tn.gov
Sheriff Bucky Rowland: 931-375-8601
