Skull found in NorCal identified as missing Napa mother

(KRON) — A skull found along a canal in Redding, Calif., in 2013 was identified using advanced DNA technology and a family tree DNA database, law enforcement officials announced Monday.

The skull was determined to be remains of Velma Louise Silva Lee, a mother who went missing from her Napa home more than two decades ago, according to the Shasta County Coroner’s Office.

On March 11, 2013, a crew was cleaning up Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation District canal behind a California Department of Fish and Wildlife building in Redding when they found a human skull under blackberry bushes, according to DNASolves.com.

The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “Forensic anthropologists from California State University, Chico’s Human Identification Lab conducted a nearly complete recovery of the remains, along with several items of clothing and personal effects.”

Investigators determined that the person was a middle-aged white woman. She was added to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and her identity remained a mystery.

In 2023, the Shasta County coroner partnered with Othram, a laboratory specializing in forensic genetic genealogy, to pursue advanced DNA analysis. Othram generated a DNA profile that was uploaded into the FamilyTreeDNA database. “Results compared to genetic profiles of numerous family lineages indicated the distinct possibility the remains were Ms. Velma Lee, a woman who had never been reported missing and did not appear in any missing persons databases,” SCSO wrote.

On July 23, 2025, investigators found Lee’s half-sister and a niece, who provided names of Lee’s biological children.

Two days later, a detective from the Redding Police Department found her son. The son explained that after many years without contact, a private investigator was hired to search for his missing mother. When the private investigator was unable to provide proof of life after 2004, the family assumed she had passed away, and she was declared legally deceased.

The son was shocked to learn that his mother’s body may have been found in Redding, the sheriff’s office said. He provided police with an oral swab for a direct DNA comparison. The swab was submitted to Othram for confirmatory testing.

On September 15, Othram issued a report officially identifying the decedent as Velma Louise Silva Lee of Napa, California. She was born in 1936, according to DNASolves.

Her family is now planning to “finally lay Velma to rest” with a proper burial.

The sheriff’s office wrote, “Every person is entitled to their name and identity. Restoring a name to the unidentified is a matter of dignity, justice, and human rights. This identification not only brings long-awaited answers to Velma’s family but also reaffirms the commitment of our local and interstate forensic and investigative professionals to ensuring that no one remains nameless.”

Law enforcement officials did not say if Lee’s cause of death was ever determined.