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Body identified after 37 years |
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Written by John Saiz | Patterson Irrigator
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Wednesday, 08 October 2008 |
 Closure: Existing family members of Mary Alice Willey at Monday’s press conference inspect a recreation of Willey, who was found murdered in the Delta-Mendota Canal in 1971. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator
Last week, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department found her real name — Mary Alice Willey, originally from Anaheim.
Family members described her as a young woman tasting her first bits of independence as a college student at California State University, San Francisco, during the late 1960s and early ’70s. She didn’t have a history of disappearing and maintained regular communication with her parents until she disappeared, said Corey Oiesen, a cousin.
“We never forgot her,” she said.
How her body ended up in the Delta-Mendota Canal between Westley and Patterson in 1971 remains a mystery. She had numerous stab wounds, and her thumb had been cut off. Police suspected murder, but the initial case did not lead to any convictions. Eventually, investigators shelved the case, and it remained unexamined for almost four decades.
But family members never stopped wondering, and the police decided the case should be given another look.
 DNA testing finally identified a body that had long rested in the Patterson Cemetery as that of suspected murder victim Mary Alice Willey. The discovery was partly thanks to Willey’s cousin Corey Oiesen, who stood with Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson at a press conference Monday announcing the conclusion of her 10-year search. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator
“How can someone be missing for so long?” Hedrick asked. “Someone has to be looking for her.”
Oiesen, a cousin by marriage who never met Willey, headed up the family investigation. She learned of Willey’s disappearance while studying genealogy, which led to an investigation of 10 years.
“We used to drive all over looking at old newspapers,” Oiesen said.
Her dedication translated to countless hours of research and digging, and ultimately turned up a Modesto Bee article about investigators digging up an unidentified body just outside Patterson in April.
That prompted her to contact the sheriff’s department in July. Once the two investigations converged, the case moved quickly.
Oiesen arranged for a blood relative to provide DNA that was compared against Willey’s — and it matched. Coupled with a few other indicators, the match gave the coroner the confidence to declare that the body was Willey’s.
With the victim’s identity discovered, the next step is trying to find the killer. But police aren’t overly optimistic about solving a 37-year-old slaying.
Still, Hedrick said he’s going to find out who the young woman was and who she was hanging out with.
As for the family, even though tragedy surrounded the event, the identification was a happy moment.
“We see it as a celebration,” Oiesen said.
They’ve decided to have Willey returned to her Patterson Cemetery grave.
“She spent more time there than anywhere else,” Oiesen said.
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