16-year-old girl vanished 37 years ago. Her remains were just identified, Texas cops say

Family members reported a 16-year-old girl disappeared more than 37 years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that authorities in Texas were able to give her family some closure.

Alisha “Lisa” Marie Cooks went missing from the Houston area in the summer of 1985, and while authorities did not know it at the time, her remains were found in December of that same year.

Two hunters had found her skeletal remains at the dead end of a country road in what is now the Silverlake Subdivision of Pearland, according to an Oct. 26 news release from the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said they were unable to identify the remains, and investigators ruled the case a homicide.

Almost 37 years after the remains were found, on Oct. 6, the sheriff’s office said it received a Missing Persons DNA report. The remains were identified as Cooks through DNA samples her family provided to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Investigators met with Cooks’ family on Oct. 26 to share the results, officials said.

“Providing closure to the families of victims is not always doable,” the sheriff’s office said. “I am proud to say in the case of Alisha Cooks we have done just that.”

While her remains have been identified, the investigation into her homicide is ongoing.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 281-756-2392.

Pearland is about 20 miles southeast of downtown Houston.

This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 9:35 AM with the headline "16-year-old girl vanished 37 years ago. Her remains were just identified, Texas cops say."