Maria Faye Mendez vanished in August 1984. The Odessa, Texas, mother-of-three was reported missing after she never came home.
Detectives with the Odessa Police Department canvassed the 39-year-old’s neighborhood — but her disappearance quickly became cold.
Six years later, a skull was found 45 minutes away in Crane County. However, at the time, investigators could not match the remains to anyone.
In 2013, the Crane County Sheriff’s Office and Odessa Police Department submitted the remains for DNA testing and anthropological research — but again — no match.
It wasn’t until 2022 when the Odessa Police Department received samples of DNA from a relative of Mendez that they were able to test the sample to the remains. In January 2023, lab technicians and scientists from the University of North Texas Center for Human Identifications confirmed the skull found in Crane County was in fact Mendez’s.
“This case has spanned decades and many agencies have been involved over the years,” the Odessa Police Department said in a press release. “If it were not for the help of Ms. Mendez’s family, the Texas Rangers, and the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, there would still be no answers.”
[callout-content]Police are now classifying this missing person’s case as an active homicide investigation.
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Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Odessa police at 432-335-3333 or Odessa Crime Stoppers at 432-333-TIPS.
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