Ventura County Sheriff Names 1990 Ojai Remains as Patricia Fielding, a Mother of Four

For 36 years, the woman found on a hillside above Highway 33 near Ojai was known only by a case number. This month, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office gave her back her name.

Investigators say the remains belong to Patricia Diana Hunt Fielding, who was born on October 15, 1933, in Kern County, California. She was a mother of four. She was 57 years old and lived in Taft, according to the Sheriff's Office case summary. Her family had not heard from her in decades.

A Discovery During a Crash Response

On July 23, 1990, Ventura County firefighters were helping at a traffic collision that had gone down an embankment near Highway 33 and Creek Road, in an unincorporated area of Ojai. While working the scene, they found partial human remains on the steep slope.

The Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team searched the hillside for more evidence, and the Medical Examiner's Office recovered the remains. According to Othram, which later worked the case, the remains were about 60 feet down the hillside. Later searches recovered more skeletal remains and five teeth. Investigators also found a hairbrush, a metal clasp and two small pieces of cloth nearby.

The Medical Examiner concluded the remains were those of a woman between 30 and 60 years old, roughly 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 6 inches tall. The cause and manner of death could not be determined, and that remains true today.

Years Without a Name

Investigators tried the standard tools of the era. Area searches, dental comparisons and a facial reconstruction drawing made from the skull did not lead to a match. The case went cold.

Evidence was later sent to the California Department of Justice, which developed a DNA profile and entered it into CODIS, the national DNA database. The case was also listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as UP15158. For years, none of it produced a name.

How DNA Finally Answered the Question

In February 2025, the Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit and the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office partnered with Othram, a forensic laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Skeletal remains were sent to the lab, where scientists developed a usable DNA extract and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a detailed genetic profile.

Othram's genealogy team used that profile to search for relatives and generate investigative leads. Detectives followed those leads to a family who had not heard from one of their relatives in several decades. A family reference sample was collected and compared with the DNA from the remains, and it confirmed the identification.

Othram says this is the 92nd publicly announced case in California in which investigators have used its technology to identify someone.

What Investigators Still Do Not Know

A name is not the same as an answer. The Sheriff's Office says little is known about Patricia's life or the circumstances of her death. Detectives do not know where she was living or who she was in contact with before her remains were found in 1990.

No suspect has been named, and investigators have not said whether they believe a crime took place. With the cause and manner of death still undetermined, the case remains open.

That is why the Sheriff's Office released her name. Someone who knew Patricia in the 1980s, in Taft, in Kern County or around Ojai, may remember where she went, who she spent time with or when she was last seen.

How You Can Help

If you knew Patricia Diana Hunt Fielding, or you have information about her associates, whereabouts or activities before July 1990, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Bureau wants to hear from you. Reference case number 90-55883.

The Cold Case Unit can be reached at (805) 383-8739 or by email at coldcase@venturacounty.gov.

Sources for this report include the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, Othram's DNASolves case page and NBC Los Angeles. Every unidentified person has a family somewhere, and every new name is a reminder that these cases can still be solved. Please share this story so it reaches someone who remembers her.