Courtesy of Metro Police
Gwenn Marie Story, seen in a photo provided by Metro Police, has been identified through DNA as the victim in a 1979 cold case in Las Vegas.
Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023 | 7:03 p.m.
Metro Police have identified a woman found dead over four decades ago in a Las Vegas field, the department announced today in a news release.
The remains were identified as Gwenn Marie Story, a 19-year-old woman originally from the Cincinnati area.
Story’s remains were discovered the night of Aug. 14, 1979, when a man stumbled onto the body while walking through an open field near Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.
The Clark County Coroner’s office at the time ruled the woman’s death to be a homicide.
Police were unable to find identification for the body, and she was given the name of Sahara Sue Doe at the time.
No suspect was ever found, and the case was assigned to Metro’s Cold Case Section.
In September 2022, investigators were able to identify and contact possible family members who gave DNA samples for comparison.
On Nov. 15, 2023, detectives were notified that the remains had been positively identified as Story, the release stated.
According to family members, Story had left the Cincinnati area in the summer of 1979 and was traveling to California in an effort to locate her biological father. She had left home with two male friends, who returned to Ohio in August 1979. The male friends told her family members they had left her in the Las Vegas area.
Her family said they never heard from Story after she had left Cincinnati.
Metro Police requests that anyone with information about Story or the two males she traveled to Las Vegas with to call the Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or by email at [email protected]. Those who wish to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555 or online at www.crimestoppersofnv.com
