Remains found near Lake Mead identified as San Diego woman who went missing in 1986

PHOENIX — Human remains found near Lake Mead in 1987 have been identified as a San Diego woman who went missing 39 years ago, officials announced Tuesday.

According to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), the remains were identified as Carol Ann Riley — a nurse who worked at Scripps Clinic in San Diego before she was reported missing in 1986.

Riley was linked to a man who was later convicted of two other murders and died while behind bars.

In May 1987, a cattle worker found a human skull in the area of Bonelli Landing, on the Arizona side of Lake Mead. A further search of the area led to the discovery of more remains wrapped in a yellow blanket and buried in a shallow grave.

They were believed to belong to a female who was 20-40 years old with light brown hair and stood between 5 feet, 3 inches and 5 feet, 7 inches tall.

How were remains identified as missing San Diego woman?

When the remains were first discovered, a forensic odontologist completed a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Unidentified Person Dental Report that was then entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as a Jane Doe.

Last month, investigators with MCSO’s Special Investigation Unit were contacted by personnel at the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office. They had received an email from the California Department of Justice’s Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit regarding a dental comparison that positively identified MCSO’s Jane Doe as Riley.

At the time of Riley’s disappearance, she was dating a man who she knew as Robert Howard Smith and had a meeting scheduled where she told friends she planned to break up with him. The date was the same day she went missing.

When Smith was interviewed, he told police that Riley had canceled the date. He left town two days later.

Detectives investigating Smith discovered his real name was actually Robert Dean Weeks, who had previously gone by fake names.

It was also revealed that Riley was not the first person connected with Weeks to go missing.

His ex-wife, Patricia Weeks, had disappeared from Clark County, Nevada, in April 1968 just weeks after their divorce was finalized.

There was also a real estate agent Weeks dated named Cynthia Jabour who went missing in October 1980. Jabour’s disappearance was very similar to Riley’s in that it occurred the day she had a date with Weeks and planned to break up with him, MCSO said.

In addition, James Shaw — a business associate of Weeks — went missing in 1971 after having an argument with Weeks. Shaw’s bloodstained vehicle was later found in a Las Vegas parking lot.

An investigation involving Weeks was aired on the “Unsolved Mysteries” TV show in April 1987, and a viewer response led to his arrest in Tucson.

Despite their bodies never being found, Weeks was convicted of the murders of his ex-wife and Jabour in April 1988.

However, he was never charged with the murders of Riley and Shaw.

Weeks was sentenced to life in prison in Nevada, where he died in September 1996.

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