AKRON, Ohio -- DNA tests have confirmed that remains found in an unmarked grave in Cleveland belong to a 17-year-old girl who went missing 44 years ago.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports investigators identified the remains as belonging to Linda Pagano, who disappeared in 1974.
Police previously said the girl had an argument with her step father after coming home late from a concert, and he threw her out of their Akron home.
She was eventually identified after internet users helped Officer Jeff Smith make the missing link between the remains of a young woman who had been shot in the head.
Smith, who works on missing persons cases, says he was happy to finally give Pagano's family some answers.
Pagano's siblings say they plan to hold a funeral service.