Oregon identifies 1976 remains as missing sister 49 years after disappearance

Oregon State Police said the remains found near a mountain creek in the Central Cascades in 1976 have been identified as Marion Vinetta Nagle McWhorter, Valerie Nagle’s older sister who disappeared in 1974.

McWhorter, who was 21 when she was last seen at a Tigard shopping mall, disappeared while planning to travel from California through Oregon to Seattle and eventually Alaska. She had called an aunt who lived near the Tigard mall for a ride in October 1974, and the aunt did not meet up with her. In the years that followed, Valerie Nagle began researching unidentified-person cases online and submitted DNA to genealogy databases to search for a link to her sister. In June, Oregon authorities reached out to Nagle to discuss comparing her DNA with a cold case known as Swamp Mountain Jane Doe, a step that set the investigation toward a resolution.

State police described the breakthrough as the result of a multi-year DNA and genealogical effort. In 2010, a bone sample from McWhorter’s remains was sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, and a profile was created for NamUs, the national missing persons database. A second bone sample was submitted in 2020 to extract DNA and produce a more complete genetic profile.

In 2023, Nagle performed a DNA test with Ancestry, hoping for a lead. The pivotal development occurred in April when a first cousin once removed uploaded their genetic profile to FamilyTreeDNA, allowing genealogists to refine McWhorter’s family tree and identify a surviving relative who could help confirm the identity, Oregon State Police spokesperson Jolene Kelley said in an email.

This case was cold for 49 years, a span that meant families lived without knowing what happened to their missing loved one, said State Forensic Anthropologist Hailey Collord-Stalder. Investigators with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to determine the circumstances of McWhorter’s death, according to state police.

For Valerie Nagle, the identification marks a conclusion to a long search. She said she never forgot about her sister and expressed relief that the family can now have some closure.