Finding Laura O’Malley's remains brings a "small piece of closure" to her family, authorities tell PEOPLE Laura O’Malley was first reported missing from her New York home in 1975 20 years later, partial skeletal remains were found in a riverbed in California The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced on March 25 that the remains were identified as the missing girl,

Human remains discovered in a California river have been identified as those of a teen girl from New York who disappeared 50 years ago. Nearly 30 years ago, partial skeletal remains were discovered in a riverbed near a highway in Watsonville.