Authorities ID woman found dead near Fort Bragg using DNA from family

Authorities used a DNA comparison test to identify a Fort Bragg woman whose body was found late April off the Mendocino County coast.

Angela Geovanna Carrillo-Palomar, 29, was found dead south of Fort Bragg on April 26, about two weeks after she was reported missing to the Fort Bragg Police Department, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday news release.

Multiple agencies coordinated to get her body out of the Pacific Ocean and transport her to Noyo Harbor on a rescue boat. She did not have a wallet or identifying marks.

She was identified July 3, after the Department of Justice DNA Lab in Richmond confirmed an ID match to a family member.

Carrillo-Palomar’s autopsy was conducted May 1. During the investigation, officials gathered a DNA sample and saw she shared physical characteristics with the woman reported missing. Sheriff’s Office personnel requested DNA samples from the family of the missing woman and sent both articles to the lab to compare.

Sheriff’s Office Capt. Quincy Cromer said this method of identification is “standard procedure” when the individual can’t be identified through their fingerprints or dental records. He added that he felt the results came back a bit earlier than normal because it was a one-to-one comparison.

Family members who reported Carrillo-Palomar missing said she was last seen April 1 walking on the Noyo Bridge, Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka said in an email Tuesday.

“At the initial report, officers attempted to locate her in many different ways including searching areas she is known to frequent, searched the coastal areas in Fort Bragg, spoke to acquaintances, checked activity on bank cards, and attempted to locate her phone with electronic means,” Cervenka said. “Due to the length of time (13 days) since she was last seen, officers exhausted all leads.”

Fort Bragg police are still investigating Carrillo-Palomar’s disappearance, and the coroner is still investigating her cause and manner of death.

The Sheriff’s Office is encouraging anyone with information related to the coroner's investigation to call the dispatch center at 707-463-4086 or the non-emergency tip line, which is anonymous, at 707-234-2100.

The Fort Bragg police are asking anyone with details related to the missing person investigation to call Officer Gadge Farris at 707-961-2800, ext. 229.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.