Body Found In 1979 Identified As Missing Woman: Benicia Police

BENICIA, CA — The Benicia Police Department has solved the identity of a torso found off the Benicia shoreline in 1979.

The cold case was reopened in July when the Doe Network contacted the Solano County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office advising that a body found in 1979 might have been matched with an identity. However, after further investigation Benicia police detectives determined the identity was not related to the torso.

Benicia Detective Sgt. Kenneth Hart continued his quest to solve the case. He expanded the search of missing women in 1979 from the areas of Sacramento to San Francisco. While 11 results returned similar, one stood out: Dolores Wulff.

Wulff vanished in the middle of the night July 31, 1979 from her Woodland home in neighboring Yolo County.

Dolores, a mother of four, was 45 years old when she went missing. At the time, her husband was looked at as a prime suspect and was arrested, but ultimately the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. He died in 2005.

Over the years, Wulff's family members and a community of friends kept searching for answers.

Working with the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Hart requested the family's help once again, this time to obtain a DNA swab from one of her children.

After an extensive investigation and with the cooperation of the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the body found in 1979 was exhumed and matched with the DNA swab.

The Benicia Police Department was notified Tuesday by the Department of Justice DNA lab that the femur bone from the partial recovered body was in fact Wulff’s.

"We are so glad to be able to bring a sort of closure to the Wulff family after decades of uncertainty," said Interim Benicia police Chief Mike Greene. "I am also proud of Sgt. Hart and his team’s tenacity on this case."

Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez said the cold case haunted his office, and all of Yolo County, since 1979.

"Countless hours were spent investigating Dolores Wullf’s disappearance," Lopez said. "It is my hope that this provides some closure to the family who has suffered so much. I am grateful for the dedication and professionalism of our law enforcement community who made this identification possible, including the members of the Benicia Police Department for their incredible efforts."

As for Benicia PD, it thanked the Wulff family, the Doe Network, Solano County Coroner’s Office and Yolo County Sheriff’s Office for their help in solving this case.