More than 30 years after a Takoma Park teenager was reported missing, skeletal remains found in Prince William County in 1982 have been identified as hers, police said.
Officials were notified on May 10 that DNA matched the remains to Cynthia Joan Gastelle, who was 18 when she was reported missing in April 1980.
The remains were found on Bull Run Mountain off of Mountain Road in the Haymarket area on Feb. 12, 1982, Prince William County police said. DNA from the remains were entered into a national database in 2001, and Gastelle’s family members gave DNA samples to police in another jurisdiction in 2011.
Police are investigating Gastelle’s death as a homicide. Anyone with information can anonymously call 866-411-TIPS (8477).
— Naomi Jagoda
