"Happy Face Killer" victim identified almost 30 years after her body was found near a California highway

Gilroy, Calif. — A victim of the "Happy Face Killer" has been identified nearly 30 years after her body was left near a California highway, authorities said Monday.

Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been known only as "Blue Pacheco" for the color of her clothing until genetic genealogy was used to identify her last week, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said.

Skiple, a mother known to friends and family as "Patsy," would have been about 45 years old when she was killed, the sheriff's office said.