UPDATE: Emigrant Gap Jane Doe 1977 identified as Melinda "Pip" Beardsley

I am happy to say that Emigrant Gap Jane Doe 1977 has been officially identified through DNA as Melinda "Pip" Beardsley. I have been in contact with a member of Pip's family who had reached out to me, her niece Janet, throughout part of this process, but had been waiting for confirmation from law enforcement before following up on this here on my blog. 

Melinda was born in Michigan in 1946, the youngest of six siblings. She was a 31-year-old mother of two at the time of her death; one of her children was adopted out of the family at birth, while the other was in the care of relatives when Melinda disappeared.

Melinda was reported missing to the Reno Police Department in November 2025 by two of her nieces and a half-nephew after the latest confirmation of life that they could find was notification of a DUI charge in Reno in December 1976. She was last known to be living in Carson City, NV. 

A fingerprint match was made between Melinda and the then-unidentified decedent sometime between Nov. 2025 and Jan. 2026. In Feb. 2026 the match was then confirmed through comparison of the Jane Doe's DNA with that of Melinda's only surviving sibling, her sister Jill. 

While Melinda has now been identified, her killer is still unknown and her murder left unsolved. 

If you have any information about Melinda's murder or her whereabouts prior to her death, please contact the Placer County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Tip Line at (530) 889-7830. Any little piece of information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is appreciated and may be the key to solving her murder. 

Sources

CBS News 

PCSO Facebook 

The Sacramento Bee 

Moxxy Forensic Investigations

Janet Beardsley, personal communication