Human remains found 35 years ago identified as missing Berkeley woman
Placer County remains ID'd as that of Berkeley woman who disappeared in 1989
The remains of Wendy Abrams-Nishikai, who was 21 when she went missing in 1989 in Berkeley, have been positively identified through genetic geneaology.
Placer County remains IDd as that of Berkeley woman who disappeared in 1989
The remains of Wendy Abrams-Nishikai, who was 21 when she went missing in 1989 in Berkeley, have been positively identified through genetic geneaology.
COLFAX, Calif. - Investigators have identified human remains discovered over 30 years ago off an embankment in Placer County as those of a missing Berkeley woman.
Who was she?
What we know:
The Placer County Sheriff's Office identified the remains as Wendy Abrams-Nishikai, who was 21 and from Berkeley when she went missing. She left behind a young daughter.
Halloween 1989
Dig deeper:
Abrams-Nishikai was last seen on Halloween in 1989 and was reported missing in Berkeley. Her remains were found in 1990 near an embankment on Yankee Jims Road in Colfax.
The remains and the missing person's case went unidentified and unsolved for three decades, authorities said. The case was reopened when the Placer County Sheriff's Office formed a Cold Case Unit in 2024. Through advancements in forensic genealogy, investigators identified a likely next of kin.
Additional DNA samples from other family members helped investigators positively identify the remains as those of Abrams-Nishikai.
The circumstances surrounding her death are still under investigation.
"It's not the news that any family every wants to receive, but after 35 years I can only imagine that it does bring some sense of peace," said sheriff's spokeswoman Elise Soviar.
Investigators are still searching for her killer, she said.
"We do believe that there is somebody out there responsible for her death," Soviar said.
Maria Recht and Aimee Sessions met their friend as teenagers in Berkeley. They went to Berkeley Junior High together and hung out in the city for years.
"Heartbreaking that my friend had to endure - don't know what she endured," Recht said.
Recht wants her friend to be remembered for the light she brought to their lives.
"She was talkative and always happy; a busybody, always had something to say," she said.
Abrams-Nishikai's older brother, Dale Abrams said, "For me, it's the unfolding of 35 years of suspended grief."
He asked anyone with information "to help us understand why she lost her life way too soon and why her daughter lost her mother way too soon."
Sessions agreed, saying, "Do the right thing. Unburden yourself, you know, step forward, tell the truth. Bring justice."
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: The Placer County Sheriff's Office