SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego nurse whose remains were found nearly 40 years ago near Lake Mead has finally been identified, and her case is now considered a homicide.
Carol Ann Riley, who worked at the Scripps Clinic, disappeared in 1986 after canceling a date. Her Pontiac was found abandoned in Mission Valley, but her whereabouts remained unknown until recently.
"She was never heard from again," said Lori Miller, an investigator for the Mohave Sheriff's Office.
The breakthrough came last month when dental records confirmed Riley was a Jane Doe whose remains were found near Lake Mead approximately one year after she disappeared.
"She was found off the road leading into Lake Mead," said Miller.
For years, the sheriff's office tried to identify the remains without success.
"We have been trying since about 2020 to identify who she was through forensic genetic genealogy," Miller said.
Despite failed attempts, investigators never gave up. They now believe Riley was the victim of Robert Weeks, the man she had canceled a date with back in 1986.
Investigators say Weeks is also believed to be responsible for three other disappearances after discovering his ex-wife, a business associate, andi another woman he dated all vanished. He was convicted of two of their murders despite their bodies never being found. Weeks was never charged for Riley's death or the death of his business associate.
Weeks died in prison in 1996.
"Our sign says justice for the forgotten, and that's what this poor woman has been since 1987, and this is what we try to do, give them a name, we never stop," Miller said.
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