Las Vegas Metro police have identified remains discovered in a shallow grave over 20 years ago as those of Virgia Mae Jackson, a missing mother of four. On January 10, 2001, a skull was found near Pabco and Sunset roads in the southeast valley, and further investigation led detectives to believe the person had been buried there.
In 2021, Las Vegas Metro police sent a bone to Othram, a forensic laboratory in Texas that uses DNA and genealogy to identify victims of violent crime. In November 2024, Othram confirmed the identity of the murder victim as Virgia Mae Jackson. Police now believe Jackson was killed and buried in the late-1990s when she would have been in her late 40s.
Jackson moved to Las Vegas from San Antonio, Texas, in the mid-1990s and was known to live near Harmon Avenue and Mountain Vista Street—just six miles from where her remains were found. Struggling financially, she placed three of her four children into temporary care, and no one ever reported her missing. Her family believed she had simply vanished.
“Her children recalled that their mother would visit them regularly, but one day she never came back,” said LVMPD cold case investigator Terri Miller.
The investigation is now asking for help from the community, particularly for any information about a woman named Ava or Eva, who was a friend of Jackson before her death. Her children, now adults, believe this person could hold valuable clues.
“It’s really difficult to know if they have remorse or not because I don’t know what happened,” Miller said when asked about Jackson’s killer. “I don’t know if it was just someone with malice who harmed a mother of four and buried her out in the desert. That’s heinous.”
Police, with the help of the Texas Rangers, the Clark County coroner’s office, and NAMUS, have worked tirelessly to identify Jackson. They are now appealing to the public for any information. Tips can be submitted to homicide detectives at 702-828-3521, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or at crimestoppersofnv.com/report-a-crime. A reward is offered for information that leads to an arrest.
