Nearly Half a Century Later Oregon Detectives Finally Solve the Mystery of the Wolf Creek Remains

The skeletal remains found in the Wolf Creek area near Swamp Mountain in Linn County 49 years ago have been identified as those of Marion Vinetta Nagle McWhorter (21), last seen alive in a Tigard shopping mall in 1974.

Moss Hunter Found a Skull With Intact Teeth in the Wolf Creek Area Near Swamp Mountain

A skull with several teeth intact was found on July 24,1976, by a moss hunter, who accompanied members of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office back to the site where additional skeletal remains were uncovered.

At the site, investigators also found a frayed fringed leather coat, a pair of degraded Levi jeans, a leather belt with Native American-style bead work, a clog-style shoe, and two metal rings. All the items were kept as evidence.

The remains were examined by a pathologist and an odontologist at the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office. Although a dental examination noted several restorations, findings remained undetermined due to the limited number of items recovered.

Thirty-four years later, in 2010, the Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History completed an anthropology report in which a biological profile estimated that she was a white female, under 35 years, at the time of her death. Later that year, a bone sample was submitted to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, and a NamUs profile was created.

The Case Received Consistent Attention from 2011 to 2025

Although the case received consistent attention from the State Medical Examiner’s Office from 2011 to 2025,  with DNA results uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), no genetic associations could be found. During that time, the NamUs system was regularly checked for new cases that might match the decedent.

In 2011, a forensic artist with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office created a potential forensic rendering of the decedent’s face, based on cranial features. A clay model featuring different hairstyles and colors was created to help establish a recognizable image.

In 2020, the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office was awarded a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant to perform advanced DNA techniques on unsolved unidentified skeletal remains cases.

This case was recognized as one that could potentially be solved through DNA phenotyping and investigative genetic genealogy. An additional bone sample was submitted for DNA extraction, and in November 2020, a unique genetic marker profile was successfully produced and analyzed.

A DNA Snapshot Report, which utilizes genetic material to determine eye color, hair color, skin tone, and ancestry, was completed, stating that the individual was of European and Indigenous North American descent, with unfreckled fair skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. However, despite a rendering of her facial characteristics used as her NamUs profile picture and a subsequent genetic genealogy report completed in 2023, no promising leads were generated.

A Breakthrough Occurred When Her Genetic Profile Was Uploaded to a Family Tree DNA Database

But a breakthrough occurred in April 2025, after McWhorter’s genetic profile was uploaded to the Family Tree DNA database, providing genealogists with a closer look at the woman’s family tree.

McWhorter had one surviving family member, a younger sister living in Seattle, who provided an oral swab for DNA comparison. Genetic evidence confirmed that the decedent was Marion Vinetta Nagle McWhorter, born on January 7, 1953.

The circumstances of her death are under investigation by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.