California remains ID’d as Tennessee woman last seen in 1981

David Royer
·2 min read
2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — DNA has linked human remains discovered more than 20 years ago in California to a Memphis woman last seen by family in 1981, according to authorities.

But investigators in California and Tennessee still want to know what happened to Catherine Parker-Johnson, and say her case is an active homicide investigation.

The remains were found during construction on Aug. 29, 2001, in Redondo Beach, California, but police there were not able to identify them at the time.

The case was reopened in 2019 with help from the nonprofit DNA Doe Foundation, which used DNA evidence to link the body to the victim’s daughter and sister in Memphis, Redondo Beach Police said. Those relatives identified her by name in March 2023.

Parker-Johnson had not been reported missing to authorities. Family members say they last saw her in Memphis in May 1981, when she returned home to see her children.

The last record of any contact with Parker-Johnson was on August 31, 1981, in Lennox, California.

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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation passed on information from Redondo Beach to local media on Tuesday, in hopes of solving the case.

Anyone with previous contact with, knowledge of or information about Catherine Parker-Johnson when she was living in Memphis up to May 1981 is requested to contact Redondo Beach Investigator John Skipper at (310) 379-2477 x3515, or email to john.skipper@redondo.org, or contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at their confidential Tip Line at TipsToTBI@tbi.in.gov.

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