Gwenn Marie Story (February 23, 1960 – August 14, 1979) was a 19-year-old American woman who was murdered in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, on August 14, 1979. Her body remained unidentified for 44 years before being identified via DNA analysis and genetic genealogy in December 2023. Prior to her 2023 identification, Story was nicknamed "Sahara Sue" and "Jane Las Vegas Doe" because her body was found near the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, at the intersection of Sahara and Las Vegas Boulevard. Developments indicated she may have used the name "Shawna" or "Shauna" when she was alive, though this proved unfounded. Story was also known by the fact that she was wearing a complete upper denture despite her young age, but the lower denture was missing.

Discovery

Story's body was found lying face down in a parking lot on August 14, 1979. It was estimated that she had died three to four hours before being found. She had been stabbed several times in the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

. It was reported that Story was seen with a white man before the discovery of her body.

Description

Story was a white woman with brown eyes and wavy light brown hair. She was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 100 – 105 pounds. Her age was estimated to be between 15 and 30. She had no teeth but wore at least one denture, as the

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...

ry piece was discovered in her mouth after the body was located. The mandibular piece was not recovered. The nails on her feet and hands had been

manicure A manicure is a mostly cosmetic beauty treatment for the fingernails and hands performed at home or in a nail salon. A manicure usually consists of filing and shaping the ''free edge'' of nails, pushing and clipping (with a cuticle pusher ...

d and painted with red polish. Sahara Sue Reconstruction 005d

She was wearing a shirt and hip-hugger

jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

. Her shirt was blue and made of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

, with a tie near the waist area. It had red embroidered designs and sequins. Her shoes were not found and it was evident that the killer had removed some of her clothing.

Jewelry

On her right hand, she had a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

made of white metal without any stone. She was wearing two pendant necklaces made of white metal. One pendant had a leaf design and a round

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of yea ...

stone. The other was made of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

and was

heart-shaped The heart symbol is an ideograph used to express the idea of the "heart" in its metaphorical or symbolic sense. Represented by an anatomically inaccurate shape, the heart symbol is often used to represent the center of emotion, including affect ...

with a rose design. She was not wearing

earring An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations an ...

s, and her ears had not been

pierced Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn, or where an implant could be inserted. The word ''piercing'' can refer to ...

Investigation

Fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

s were taken from Story's body and entered into national databases, but no match was found. Her body was exhumed in 2003 to obtain DNA but no match was found. In 2011, her DNA was tested to see if she was a match to Deborah Rae Meyer, who had vanished in August 1974. They both had dentures and shared similarities, but DNA testing proved they were not the same person and Meyer remains missing. Through these forms of

body identification Body identification is a subfield of forensic science that uses a variety of scientific and non-scientific methods to identify a body. Forensic purposes are served by rigorous scientific forensic identification techniques, but these are generally ...

, at least seven missing people were ruled out as possible identities for Story. Pictures of her face were released to public websites, and multiple reconstructions of her face also exist. In 2016, investigation yielded several major developments in the victim's case. Forensic palynology on her clothing indicated she had spent time in Napa Valley or Central Valley of California sometime before her murder. Another potential lead suggested that Story may have had ties to a trailer park in the area. Further investigation indicated she might have used the name "Shawna" or "Shauna" and may have been employed at a Holiday Inn or another motel on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Identification

In September 2022, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department submitted forensic evidence to

Othram Inc Othram (also Othram Inc.) is an American corporation specializing in forensic genealogy to resolve unsolved murders, disappearances, and identification of unidentified decedents or murder victims (colloquially known as John Does and Jane Does). ...

. Othram scientists successfully extracted DNA and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a DNA profile for the woman. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop investigative leads that were returned to investigators. Las Vegas police investigators continued their investigation using these leads. On December 19, 2023, Sahara Sue was formally identified as Story. During the course of the investigation, investigators were told by Story's family that she left her hometown of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in the summer of 1979 with 2 male friends. She was traveling to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in search of her biological father. Story never made contact with her family again after this time period. Her two friends returned to Cincinnati in August of 1979 and told Story's family that they left her in Las Vegas. Investigators are currently seeking more information on Story's two friends.

References

External links

* * *
DNASolves Article pertaining to the identification of Sahara Sue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story, Gwenn 1960 births 1970s missing person cases 1979 deaths 1979 in Nevada 1979 murders in the United States Child murder in the United States Deaths by stabbing in Nevada Female murder victims Forensic palynology Formerly missing people Missing person cases in Nevada People from Las Vegas People murdered in Nevada Unidentified murder victims in Nevada Unsolved murders in the United States Women in Nevada