A forensic artist has developed a sketch to reconstruct the face of a woman whose skull was found by hikers last September in the forest north of Nevada City off of Highway 20.

The latest step in determining the dead woman's identity is with the help of Natalie Sweet, a Silicon Valley police officer and composite artist who used the skull to create the sketch.

Investigators will distribute copies of the drawing to regional law enforcement agencies.

If they don't get any matches from missing persons' lists in the area, Nevada County Sheriff's Capt. Ron Smith said, they would extend their search statewide, then nationwide.

The skull and other partial skeletal remains were scattered over several hundred feet. Investigators estimated the remains had been in the forest for at least six months.

A forensic pathologist, a forensic anthropologist and a dentist have examined the skull and bone fragments. They determined the remains belonged to a woman of Asian descent at least 30 years old.

Detectives also compared the skull's dental chart with information in a Department of Justice missing persons database, and they could not find a match.

They also investigated the possibility that the skull belonged to missing North San Juan woman Rhonda Lynn Yocum, a 20-year-old Filipina reported missing in 1985.

But the anthropologist determined the dead woman was much older than Yocum at the time of her disappearance, and the skull was too moist to have been in the woods much longer than a year.

The woman's identity remains a mystery.

Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal encourages anyone with information about the woman's identity to call the sheriff's investigations unit at 265-1263 or the crime tip line at 470-2400.

ooo

To contact Staff Writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@the union.com or call 477-4236.