The Albuquerque Police Department has identified a woman nearly 35 years after her disappearance. The woman, who has been known as “Becca Doe” for the last 35 years, was identified by APD as Becca Mallekoote through a collaborative effort involving forensic genealogy and extensive multi-agency cooperation. According to APD, Mallekoote was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1973, and today would have been her 54th birthday. Police say she was 18 at the time of her death. Police began their investigation on June 6, 1991, when staff at the Super 8 Motel on 2500 University NE discovered a woman’s body in a hotel room after she overstayed her reservation. The woman was found dead inside the bathtub of a hotel room with a suitcase full of clothing and $500. Police say she had no identification at her time of death, and her death was ruled a suicide by the OMI. In December, an OMI investigator contacted Ramapo College in New Jersey to conduct a genealogy investigation. By January 2026, investigative leads pointed towards a half-brother and stepfather in California. The FBI and APD were able to work closely together to identify the stepfather in Ventura, California, who confirmed he had last seen Becca in 1991 when she left the Los Angeles area. Detectives followed this lead and were able to locate the half-brother, who provided a DNA sample to police and confirmed that Becca was the man’s half-sister with 100 percent confidence.”Becca’s identity was discovered through collaboration between multiple agencies and advancing technology,” Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner, says. “With this kind of partnership and a new frontier of forensic genealogy, I’m optimistic that we will be able to provide more answers to more families who mysteriously lost a loved one.
The Albuquerque Police Department has identified a woman nearly 35 years after her disappearance.
The woman, who has been known as “Becca Doe” for the last 35 years, was identified by APD as Becca Mallekoote through a collaborative effort involving forensic genealogy and extensive multi-agency cooperation.
According to APD, Mallekoote was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1973, and today would have been her 54th birthday. Police say she was 18 at the time of her death.
Police began their investigation on June 6, 1991, when staff at the Super 8 Motel on 2500 University NE discovered a woman’s body in a hotel room after she overstayed her reservation.
The woman was found dead inside the bathtub of a hotel room with a suitcase full of clothing and $500. Police say she had no identification at her time of death, and her death was ruled a suicide by the OMI.
In December, an OMI investigator contacted Ramapo College in New Jersey to conduct a genealogy investigation. By January 2026, investigative leads pointed towards a half-brother and stepfather in California.
The FBI and APD were able to work closely together to identify the stepfather in Ventura, California, who confirmed he had last seen Becca in 1991 when she left the Los Angeles area.
Detectives followed this lead and were able to locate the half-brother, who provided a DNA sample to police and confirmed that Becca was the man’s half-sister with 100 percent confidence.
“Becca’s identity was discovered through collaboration between multiple agencies and advancing technology,” Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner, says. “With this kind of partnership and a new frontier of forensic genealogy, I’m optimistic that we will be able to provide more answers to more families who mysteriously lost a loved one.
