The remains of a teenage girl found along a rural Wharton County road in 2021 have been identified as a 16-year-old Houston teen, and her boyfriend is now charged with her murder.
The remains were discovered in June 2021 along County Road 225, a rural area southwest of Houston. Detectives determined the remains belonged to a teenage girl, estimated to be between 14 and 17 years old.
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She was found wearing a “Lilo and Stitch” T-shirt, along with a watch and several rings. Despite a forensic sketch and a public appeal for help, her identity remained a mystery, and she became known as “Wharton County Jane Doe.”
In 2023, the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with the Texas Rangers and Othram, a forensic DNA lab in The Woodlands, to use advanced DNA technology in hopes of identifying her. Scientists built a comprehensive DNA profile using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, which produced new leads for investigators.
Those leads eventually connected to a woman searching for a missing family member. A voluntary DNA comparison confirmed the remains belonged to 16-year-old Yeimy Maciela Beltrand, who had been reported missing in Houston on April 30, 2021.
Investigators now believe Yeimy was killed in Harris County before her body was taken to Wharton County. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has since opened a homicide investigation. A witness came forward and told investigators they saw Yeimy’s boyfriend shoot her.
In August, a murder charge was filed against 27-year-old Luis Omar Beltran-Mendoza, who remains at large.
The DNA testing and genetic genealogy work that led to Yeimy’s identification was funded through Project Justice, a philanthropic effort to help law enforcement solve unsolved cases.
Anyone with information on Beltran-Mendoza’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Harris County Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers of Houston.