DNA test leads to breakthrough in missing person case 2022

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office announced a development in a 2022 missing person case.

According to the Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division, the remains of Alyssa Smith have been found.

Smith was reported missing in August 2022 and was last believed to be in eastern Kanawha County.

In the fall of 2022, West Virginia State Police officers found human remains in Boone County, West Virginia.

According to the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, investigators worked with the West Virginia Fusion Center and the Marshall University Forensic Laboratory to conduct DNA testing on those remains.

The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that while this represents a significant development in the case, there are still many unanswered questions surrounding Smith's death.

No further information has been released.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division.

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