Over 3 Decades-Old Albuquerque Cold Case Solved: "Becca Doe" Finally Identified as Rebecca Mallekoote

Over 3 Decades-Old Albuquerque Cold Case Solved: "Becca Doe" Finally Identified as Rebecca Mallekoote

By: Shane Lambert

In a heartening breakthrough for cold case investigators, a woman known only as "Becca Doe" has finally been given her name back. The case, which dates back to 1991, highlights the power of advancing DNA technology in resolving long-unsolved mysteries.

Back in June 1991, a young woman was found dead in a Super 8 Motel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her death was ruled an apparent suicide, but she carried no identification, leaving authorities unable to determine who she was. 

'In public without identification' is a reoccuring theme in missing person's case: when a person dies under these conditions, whether through suicide or something like a vehicle accident, they can remain a Jane Doe indefinitely. For decades, the case of the Super 8 Jane Doe remained cold despite extensive efforts.

“So it got to a point with me that I wanted to give her her name back,” said Gerald Roach, a civilian investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). Investigators tried various methods over the years, including fingerprint comparisons (clearing a couple of possibilities), DNA comparisons (ruling out one individual), and photograph comparisons (eliminating several others), but none led to an identification. 

“We could never identify her,” Roach added.

DNA Made The Breakthrough

In 2009, a DNA sample from the woman was submitted to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national database, but it yielded no matches, according to Dr. Heather Edgar, a forensic anthropologist with the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.

The big break came last year thanks to cutting-edge genealogy technology.  The advanced method led to a match with a family member's DNA in a public database, identifying the woman as Rebecca Mallekoote.

Source: This summary is based on the article by Gabe Chavez, published by KRQE News 13 on March 7, 2026 (updated same day). Read the full original report here: Over 3 decades-old Albuquerque cold case solved thanks to new DNA genome testing.

Commentary

I decided to look back at this case and historical details. This is more of a case of what I could not find. It's not uncommon at all for missing people to have few details documented about their lives and that was the case with both the Jane Doe case and the case of Rebecca Mallekoote.

"Rebecca Mallekoote" did not turn up any results in Newspapers.com. The online archive is not exhaustive for all newspapers, but they do have an enormous database. That she never appeared in print, does suggest a couple things: mainly that she had an 'ordinary' and low-key life. Furthermore, there is nothing in that archive to suggest that anyone was looking for her using in-print media missing-persons reports. However, these matters need to be looked at repeatedly as online archives, as time passes, do increase the scope of their included publications.

I found no basis to believe that the discovery of the body made the local news in Albuquerque back in 1991. Furthermore, the name "Rebecca Mallekoote" did not generate results in the Internet archives at the Waybackmachine.com.

There was a 2021 news article online regarding this missing person at CBS News: "According to police, the unidentified woman was found dead June 5, 1991, at a Super 8 Motel located near Interstate 40 and Interstate 25. There was no identification for the woman with her belongings." It was at this time that the name "Becca," which is short for Rebecca, was associated with her case. There was always a photo associcated with her case as well. I think that if someone was looking for Rebecca Mallekoote, then this case could have been solved in a more timely manner.

At that time, she was described as being between the ages of 18-35, which is a very broad range. She was 18 years old (Rebecca Mallekoote was born March 4th, 1973 in Tacoma, Washington), so they did have the age right. However, that range is a large one for someone who was only a few days deceased when discovered. 

Mallekoote's landing page at Ancestry does not contain much information about her case. However, it was been updated with her date of death.