A woman who died in a fiery semi-truck collision on Interstate 5 in Kalama in 1991 has been identified as Mary Ellen “Mollie” McCullough of Cambridge, Ohio, ending a 35-year mystery that spanned multiple agencies and advancing DNA technologies.
McCullough was 34 when she died as a passenger in a two-truck collision on May 14, 1991. The crash killed her and one of the drivers, Lester Harvel from Missouri. For decades, investigators knew her only as “Helen Doe,” a name chosen because Mount St. Helens was visible from the crash site.
The breakthrough came on Aug. 6, when Washington State Patrol Detective Sergeant Stacy Moate made what she thought would be another routine call to a potential family member identified through DNA genealogy. When she asked Michael McCullough if he knew of any female family members who went missing in the early 1990s, his response was immediate.
“Yes. That would be my sister – Mollie,” he said.
Moate had been working the case for 12 years. Washington State Patrol and retired detective Greg Wilcoxson first reopened the investigation in 2014 when DNA forensics had improved significantly from 1991.
The detectives worked with the Cowlitz County Coroner, forensic anthropologist Kathy Taylor and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to have the remains exhumed. Based on witness statements and forensic analysis, investigators initially believed the victim was Native American, and the tribe supported the exhumation.
Forensic artist Natalie Murray created sketches based on the remains and witness descriptions, but no matches emerged from the FBI’s national DNA database. Federal, state, county and tribal law enforcement distributed the sketches for 12 more years without success.
In May 2022, Othram Labs created an advanced DNA profile and uploaded it to FamilyTreeDNA.com. The analysis revealed the victim was of Scottish, Irish and English descent, not Native American. Working with Othram experts and genealogist Renee Kerr, Moate developed lists of potential family members and began making calls.
The case had an unusual missed connection. One of Mollie’s nieces lived in Washington state for a time and saw information about the search for Helen Doe’s identity but didn’t make the connection because the family was of European descent and had no indication Mollie had traveled to Washington.
McCullough had left home in 1991 to catch a ride and never returned. Her father had been a truck driver, and she loved riding in big rigs, state police said. When she failed to appear at her grandmother’s and mother’s funerals in 1993 and 1994, family members suspected the worst. Her family tried to have her added to missing persons lists but were unsuccessful.
After Moate’s August phone call, several more weeks of DNA confirmations followed before the Cowlitz County Coroner definitively confirmed Michael McCullough was Helen Doe’s brother.
“I had two big fears over the last 12 years of working on this,” Moate said. “First, I was afraid I wouldn’t find her name before I retired. Second, I was so scared that when I did find her family, they wouldn’t care. I was worried that she was estranged from her family or that she lived a lifestyle they didn’t approve of… Thankfully it was the complete opposite.”
The family will have her cremated remains returned to Cambridge, Ohio.
Washington State Police Chief John Batiste praised the investigation. “I am so proud of the work WSP personnel have done on this case and especially the dogged determination of Stacy Moate,” he said. “Our detectives and forensic scientists work hand-in-hand with our Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit. They go as far as the evidence will take them and when science allows for rediscovery, they just keep going and never give up.”
Michael McCullough thanked investigators on behalf of the family. “Our family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love, care, and support shown to our sister and aunt Mollie over the past 35 years,” he said. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for never giving up on our Mollie.”
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