PLACER COUNTY – On February 10, 2025, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced the identity of human remains found in 1990 as Wendy Abrams-Nishikai. Abrams-Nishikai was last seen on October 31st, 1989, at the age of 21. Her remains were discovered off an embankment on Yankee Jims Road in Colfax, and had remained unidentified for more than three decades.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office was unable to identify the body using the technology available at the time. Despite extensive efforts, the case went unsolved until the formation of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Investigations team in 2023.

The Cold Case Investigations team, which includes investigators from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and the Placer County District Attorney’s Office, reopened the case with a focus on utilizing advancements in technology and forensic genealogy. In 2024, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Laboratory in Richmond successfully identified a likely next of kin through DNA analysis, linking the remains to a relative of a woman reported missing in 1989 from Berkeley.

The Sheriff’s Cold Case Investigations team worked to obtain additional DNA samples from family members for further comparison. In January 2025, the remains were officially identified as Wendy Abrams-Nishikai. Her death is still under investigation.

“Law enforcement investigators have an amazing resource in the California Department of Justice.  Criminalists in labs throughout the state assist with investigations, that sometimes, only science and new technology can help solve.  We are grateful for their service,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.