A woman whose skeletal remains were found almost four decades ago in a Crescent Beach sand dune has finally been identified through advanced DNA technology.

Now the search for whoever killed and buried Mary Alice Pultz in the sand can continue, armed with her face and a name that could jog some memories, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said.

The initial investigation determined that the remains were those of a white woman between the ages of 30 and 50 at the time of her death, the Sheriff’s Office said. It was unknown when she died, but the death was determined to be a homicide.   

Over the years, the case grew cold. Efforts to identify her generated few leads and no identity until detectives got advanced forensic genetic genealogy tests done on her remains, Sgt. Gene Tolbert said.

“In coordination with the District 23 Medical Examiner’s Office, we sent portions of the remains to a private lab in Texas called Othram,” he said in a video news release from the Sheriff’s Office. “Within about six weeks, Othram had developed a potential profile for the victim and a possible identity based on genetic genealogy.”

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Construction workers digging the footing for a beach walkover in Crescent Beach on April 10, 1985, found a skull and other bones buried in a shallow grave on Crescent Beach in southern St. Johns County.

After the investigation grew cold, renewed efforts in 2011 led the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology and Applied Science at the University of South Florida to analyze the skull and mandible. That resulted in a facial reconstruction showing what she may have looked like, which generated a few leads, but still no identity.

A year ago, detectives collaborated with FDLE Forensic Services in Jacksonville and decided to send some remains to the private lab in Texas. Its advanced forensic genetic technology generated a DNA extract. That profile was sent to genealogy databases to seek family matches from people who had submitted their DNA, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Possible relatives were found, and Tolbert traveled to North Carolina and Virginia to show them the 2011 facial reconstruction, plus gather DNA samples for comparison. Then five months ago, detectives and relatives matched the new and old evidence and identified the victim as Pultz, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Born in 1943 in Maryland, Pultz was last seen in 1968 by her family when she left with her boyfriend, John Thomas Fugitt. Detectives learned that Fugitt, whose alias was Billy Joe Wallace, was sentenced to death in Georgia after the murder of a male roommate in 1981. He died in prison before his execution. 

Further examination of Pultz’s remains showed that she had three surgical burr holes in her skull, normally done to help relieve pressure after a traumatic injury. Interviews with family determined that this had happened after she left them in 1968. A renewed examination of Pultz’s remains also showed multiple healed rib, leg and nasal fractures, Medical Examiner Wendolyn Sneed said.

That means Pultz suffered severe trauma after a crash or being hit by a vehicle, none of which Sneed said were related to the cause of death at the time of the homicide.

With these facts, detectives are looking for leads and possible suspects again, including late boyfriend Fugitt, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Anyone with information related to Mary Alice Pultz or John Thomas Fugitt is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at crimetips@sjso.org or First Coast Crime Stoppers at (888) 277-8477 (TIPS).