KSP uses DNA technology to solve cold case, identify missing EKY woman

HELTON, Ky. (WYMT) - On Monday, Kentucky State Police announced a cold case from 2020 was solved with the help of DNA technology.

The ANDE Rapid DNA Identification System helped police positively identify a woman who went missing in 2020.

Makayla Collett went missing from Leslie County on October 24, 2020.

In 2021, unidentified human remains, including a skull, were found by police and tested with the DNA identification system, which led to a partial female DNA profile.

A KSP Forensic Scientist, Regina Wells, researched the case further and determined the remains were Collett’s.

“I found the missing person entry to Ms. Collett and noticed that she was missing from the adjacent county where the skull was found,” said Wells. “Makayla had physical characteristics consistent with characteristics noted on the skull during the evaluation at the medical examiner’s office.”

Collett’s family gave DNA samples to the lab that was doing the test, which led to the positive identification of the remains.