A 30-year-old murder mystery has finally been solved. When a teen's slain remains were found in Houston, Texas back in 1982 police couldn't identify the body. But the Harris County Sheriff's Office had the teen's body exhumed for DNA testing recently, and they were finally able to identify the slain teen as Michelle Garvey -- from New London, Connecticut. Michelle's family now has some closure, though it's sad news for them. But the identification opens up new questions.
Mainly, how did Michelle Garvey wind up all the way in Texas, so far from home? Investigators are trying to figure that out. Garvey was last seen in New London when she was just 14 years old. She's believed to have been trying to run away from home, possibly to New Jersey or North Carolina.
Texas investigators contacted Connecticut state police back in August, apparently following up on a lead during the testing. Now that Michelle's body has been identified her family is having their late daughter sent to Connecticut to for burial -- with heavy hearts, I'm sure. After 30 years they probably had little hope of every seeing their daughter again. But at least now the question of where their daughter went is resolved. She's been dead the whole time, in Texas.
It makes you wonder if there were clues the police missed 30 years ago, clues that might have put them on the trail to Texas. Apparently they had enough to know she was heading south of Connecticut -- but did the trail go cold in North Carolina and/or New Jersey? If they'd had the technology we have now, would they have found her sooner? Who knows. The rest of Michelle's story may remain a mystery.
Do you think Michelle was kidnapped as a runaway?
Image via NamUs