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Remains found in 2008 identified as Native American woman reported missing in 1987

Daisy Mae Heath was 29 years old when she was reported missing in the fall of 1987. She was a part of the Yakama Nation Tribe.

WHITE SWAN, Wash. — Human remains found in 2008 near White Swan have been identified as a Native American woman who went missing nearly 40 years ago.

Daisy Mae Tallman, also knows as Daisy Mae Heath was 29 years old when she was reported missing in the fall of 1987. She was a part of the Yakama Nation Tribe and was born Jan. 10, 1958. 

The Yakima County coroner said her remains were found when traditional testing wasn't able to give investigators a DNA profile. They were just recently identified with help from the forensic genealogy company, Othram.

The company was able to use advanced testing and a familial reference DNA sample to develop a comprehensive DNA profile for the remains.

According to the Yakima County coroner, Heath's cause of death will remain undetermined.

Funding for Othram's DNA testing work was provided by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

Indigenous women are murdered at rates 10 times the national average in some jurisdictions, according to a recent federal survey cited by the Attorney General’s Office. The office also found that while Indigenous people make up less than 2% of the state’s population, they make up 5% of unresolved homicide cases, indicating a racial disparity.

Washington state has the most MMIWP cases compared to other states, and Seattle has the most MMIWP cases out of 71 cities surveyed, according to a 2018 report from the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle.

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