Remains of Los Angeles Millionaire Missing Since 1981 Identified

The Riverside County sheriff confirmed this week that remains discovered in a rugged area near Sugarloaf Mountain are those of Thelma Gaston, an 80-year-old Los Angeles millionaire who disappeared in June 1981. Investigators used genetic genealogy and dental records to make the identification, which occurred in May 2026 with support from a Missing and Unidentified Human Remains grant.

The Guardian reported that the announcement closes a case that remained unsolved for more than 40 years.

Gaston vanished after leaving a note on her door stating she was going to look for her cat. Her husband and son had died in the 1950s, and she had built her fortune through buying and selling repossessed properties. Police focused on her former companion, Lawrence Remsen, then 40.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office prosecuted him for murder, alleging he killed Gaston to access her $20 million estate. Remsen was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Authorities found Gaston’s Mercedes at Remsen’s apartment.

He had attempted to sell more than $1 million of her property and was arrested while crossing the border from Mexico into Texas. At trial, prosecutors said he acted with premeditation and planning. Remsen testified that Gaston died of natural causes and that he dumped her body at sea.

Severely decomposed remains were found by a person gathering firewood in the desert in late November 1981. The Riverside Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau said in a statement that the identification returns Gaston’s name and story to her. “The Riverside Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau extends its sincere appreciation to everyone whose dedication, expertise, and perseverance made this identification possible,” the agency said.