Lake Forest resident Jane Doe identified as missing mother; death investigation begins

A woman whose remains were found 41 years ago in Southern California has finally been identified, authorities announced Friday.

The woman was identified as Maritza Glean Grimmett, a Panamanian woman who married a U.S. Marine in the summer of 1978 and moved to the United States. She was last heard from in July 1979, after she told her sister that she was getting a divorce and moving to California.

Children in Orange County were playing in a sewer in April 1983 when they found the remains, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

During the excavations, investigators found 70% of the woman’s remains.