Positively identifying remains from Nevada desert could take weeks in missing Jaime Feden case

PITTSBURGH — UPDATE, Nov. 21: Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee confirmed for Channel 11 that a second attempt to identify Feden using dental records was successful, which prevented an extended wait of several weeks for DNA testing.

ORIGINAL, Nov. 18: Nevada officials have located a woman's remains in the desert outside Las Vegas that fit the description of a local woman reported missing.

We've been telling you about Jaime Feden and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. A man, John Chapman, has confessed to killing her.

Timeline of Bethel Park woman's disappearance, man's alleged confession of her murder

But so far, he has not been charged with the murder.

Feden had a condition called VATER Syndrome which affected her body's structure. That was why she was 4 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 75 pounds. But according to renowned forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht, her condition could be key in identifying her body.

"As so far in a probable highly likely identification, not long at all. In fact, minutes once a forensic pathologist has the body, knows the clinical history of the VATER syndrome," Wecht said.

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But investigators told Channel 11 they are having a difficult time identifying remains founds in the desert because they are badly decomposed. The remains that could be Feden's were found after a week in the hot sun.

"After a week or so in the desert, there would be complete dehydration of the internal organs and so on," Wecht said.

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