Teen found shot to death in a ditch is ID’d 47 years after vanishing, Virginia cops say
A Virginia teenager went missing 47 years ago and it would take another 26 years to find her remains in a ditch behind an apartment.
Now, Fairfax police finally know her name, putting to rest a mystery that lasted nearly half a century.
Patricia Agnes Gildawie was 17 when she was last seen on Feb. 8, 1975, Fairfax County police said in a news release.
On Sept. 27, 2001, construction workers stumbled upon skeletal remains of a young woman in a ditch behind an apartment building, according to the release. A medical examiner determined the victim died by a gunshot to the head and the report listed that she was likely an African American female in her late teens to early 20’s.
Gildawie had moved to the U.S. from France at just 8 months old, according to the release, and settled in Fairfax, Virginia when she was was a young teenager.
It wasn’t till earlier in 2022 that reports from Othram Inc, a DNA testing company, showed the remains belonged to a white female, police said. Investigators worked with Othram to find a potential relative of Gilwade and found the teen’s half-sister, solidifying her identification.
According to her family, Gildawie was dating an older man who worked at an upholstery store in Vienna at the time she disappeared, police said. The case remains under investigation with new information provided to the family.
“Identifying this young woman solves a mystery that has been more than 47 years in the making,” Ed O’Carroll, Bureau Commander of Major Crimes and Cyber and Forensics, said. “Advancements in technology have given my Cold Case detectives an opportunity to pursue fresh leads and bring some relief to families that have been long suffering with the unknown.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Crime Solvers at 866-411-8477 or online, the release said.
This story was originally published September 26, 2022 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Teen found shot to death in a ditch is ID’d 47 years after vanishing, Virginia cops say."
