A teenage girl whose body was found buried in a shallow grave beneath a California vineyard nearly half a century ago has finally been identified, reopening a murder mystery that had gone cold for 48 years.Michelle Louise Collier was just 15 years old when she disappeared from Fresno in February 1978.Four months later, a tractor operator cultivating a grape vineyard near Arvin uncovered her skeletal remains buried in a shallow grave, but investigators could not identify the teen, leaving her known only as "Arvin Jane Doe" for nearly five decades.Her older sister, Cynthia Dunbar, said the family spent nearly 50 years wondering what happened before finally learning Michelle had been the unidentified homicide victim all along.GIRL KNOWN AS 'CHELSEA JANE DOE' ID'D 26 YEARS AFTER MUTILATED BODY FOUND HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM HOME STATESchool portrait of Michelle Collier, who was identified nearly 50 years after she was found slain in a California vineyard.(Kern County Sheriff's Office)"She disappeared 48 years ago, and it was only recently that we knew where she was," Dunbar said during an emotional news conference Wednesday.
"At least with this information, my family has some closure."Dunbar also delivered a searing message to the person responsible for her sister’s death.MICHIGAN ATHLETE LURED BY SNAPCHAT MESSAGE BEFORE BEING SHOT, DUMPED IN LAKE WHILE STILL ALIVEMichelle Collier's family speaks during a Kern County Sheriff's Office news conference announcing her identification.(Kern County Sheriff's Office)"The shock of finding out we lost our sister to a homicide is overwhelming to our entire family, especially our 85-year-old mother, Maria," she said."To the person who killed our sister, your cowardice act affected our entire family," Dunbar continued.
"But make no mistake, law enforcement will find you and hold you accountable.Whether you are already incarcerated or dead, you will be found.
May God bless your soul because you're going to hell if you're not there...