More than two decades after human remains were found, they’ve been identified as a mother of four, Nevada cops say. Using DNA testing, detectives identified the remains found on Jan. 11, 2001, as Virgia Mae Jackson, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a Jan. 23 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

While searching the area in 2001, investigators found additional human remains, according to Othram Inc., the forensic genetic genealogy company that helped identify the remains. Investigators determined the “person had been buried in a shallow grave alongside burnt pieces of wood, bushes, and several large pieces of concrete or rocks,” Othram said. The woman’s death was ruled a homicide, according to police. At the time, the woman could not be identified, and her case was entered in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, according to Othram. For more than two decades, the woman’s case remained cold. Then, in 2021, police partnered with Othram and submitted DNA evidence for testing, Othram said. There, the company said its scientists created a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown woman to be used in forensic genetic genealogy. Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.

Using new leads from Othram, police pushed the case forward and found potential relatives of the woman, according to Othram. A possible relative provided a DNA sample, and it was compared with that of the unknown woman’s, Othram said. Through this testing, the woman was identified as Jackson, Othram said. Jackson moved from San Antonio, Texas, to Las Vegas to start a new life with her four children in the mid-1990s, according to police. She was last known to be living at an address in 1999 or 2000 that was about 6 miles from where her body was found, police said. She “was never reported missing,” police said. Anyone with information about Jackson is asked to contact police at 702-828-3521.