Tracy Melton, 32, had been missing since 1998. Melton's family wasn't notified that her remains were identified until nine months after the fact. Photo courtesy: San Joaquin Sheriff's Department. |
The family of a Stockton woman, who had been missing since 1998, was notified that her remains were identified about nine months late.
The San Joaquin Sheriff’s Department said Tracy Melton's case "fell through the cracks."
A bone fragment was submitted to the Department of Justice in 2003, and investigators learned in April that the fragment belonged to Melton.
Melton's family, who wasn't notified until Wednesday, believes Melton may have been a victim of "Speed Freak Killers" Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine.
FOX40 spoke with bounty hunter Leonard Padilla about the case.
"This is a classic example of [the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department] blowing it," said Padilla. "They've had the body since '02, they probably didn't want to spend the money on DNA testing, and here we are, a year after they identified the young lady, they still haven't told the family until two days ago."
Melton’s family wasn’t notified until Wednesday.
Melton disappeared from a Stockton methadone clinic in June of 1998.
Deputy Les Garcia, a spokesman for the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department, said that they have "taken the appropriate steps to assure this will never happen again."
Melton was 32 when she disappeared.
