Medical records of missing women sought

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Investigators are reaching out to families of missing women in hopes medical and dental records can match names to two partial skeleton discovered on the West Mesa.

A third set of bones found at a construction site already have been identified as Victoria Chavez who was last seen in Albuquerque in 2003.

The mystery of who the woman were and what happened to them when a woman walking her dog discovered a single bone at the future subdivision near 118th street and Sen. Dennis Chavez Boulevard SW.

An intense search of the 100-acre crime scene by investigators, police cadets and cadaver dogs last week turned up Chavez's entire skeleton and the two partial skeletons.

Chavez was identified through dental records, according to the Office of the Medical Investigator.

Her mother told police Chavez was a known drug user and prostitute and said that because of that lifestyle she thought her daughter was just somewhere on the streets. But after months of not hearing from her the mother knew something was wrong.

Medical investigators trying to identify bones are asking the families of missing women to send the women's medical and dental records to OMI.

"There are many points of comparison that we can compare these to a missing person," forensic dentist Dr. Peter Loomis said. "We can use even a single tooth or single restoration if it's unique enough to make a positive comparison or positive identification."

If the remains are not identified DNA samples will be kept in a database waiting for any new information. Investigators said they are confident at some point the women's identities will be revealed.

OMI is still trying to determine how the three women died.

At this point, police aren't treating this as a murder investigation although they said it is likely the women were killed.  Investigators continue to work the construction site searching for additional bodies.