Emigrant Gap Jane Doe Identified

Nearly five decades after a woman’s body appeared in a snowbank, authorities have identified her as Melinda “Pip” Beardsley, a mother who had been missing since the mid-1970s.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced the identification in partnership with Moxxy Forensic Investigations and the Reno Police Department, marking a breakthrough in a case that began on Dec. 17, 1977. The woman, long known only as the “Emigrant Gap Jane Doe”, was found deceased and later determined to have been strangled.

Despite extensive efforts over the years, investigators were unable to identify her for decades.

In 1978 and 2006, the Sheriff’s Office distributed approximately 300 copies of the victim’s fingerprints and identifying information to law enforcement agencies across the United States and Canada, as well as the FBI, yielding no matches.

Investigators revisited the case as forensic technology advanced. In 2011, authorities exhumed her remains in hopes of developing new leads. A partial DNA profile was obtained in 2018, with additional testing conducted in 2019, though the results were not sufficient for investigative genetic genealogy at the time.

Progress came when additional DNA testing produced a usable profile in 2024 and 2025. The Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Investigations team then partnered with Moxxy Forensic Investigations, a nonprofit specializing in genetic genealogy and missing persons cases.

The partnership started after Beardsley’s family contacted The Doe Network, which in turn connected them with Moxxy’s Missing Persons Task Force. Researchers with Moxxy identified a potential link between Beardsley and the unidentified woman found in Emigrant Gap.

Working alongside the Reno Police Department, investigators ensured Beardsley was listed as a missing person, allowing for DNA comparisons.

In February 2026, DNA testing confirmed that the Emigrant Gap Jane Doe was Melinda “Pip” Beardsley.

Beardsley was born in Michigan in 1946. She was known by her nickname “Pip,” and was living in the Nevada area at the time of her disappearance.

Officials say the identification brings long-awaited answers to her family. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating Beardsley’s death as a homicide.

Anyone with information related to the case is encouraged to contact the Placer County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Tip Line at (530) 889-7830.