KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department detectives have solved the disappearance of Gwendolyn Robinson 39 years after the case was opened.
While Robinson went missing in 1983, her daughter filed a missing person report just this summer.
Deoina Mitchell was a toddler when her mother went missing but told police she needed answers after nearly four decades.
“She was genuine about wanting to know,” KCPD Detective Nathan Kinate, who worked the case, said in a news release.
Finding himself hitting a dead-end of minimal information, Kinate requested help from Darin Lee, an intelligence analyst.
As a team, the two were still not progressing as they had expected until Lee recognized a photo Mitchell showed him.
Lee said it made him think of a photo he had seen in 2017 from a Clay County Sheriff’s Office detective regarding a cold case where bones had been found in 1985.
“Her eyes were very distinct. Her jawline was distinct. We were in awe,” Kinate said.
The lead prompted Kinate to reach out to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, and the two agencies worked together to run DNA tests to see if Mitchell was a match for the bones.
Results confirmed a match.
Kinate said that, while it was difficult to tell Mitchell, he was grateful to provide answers only 30 days after beginning the investigation.
A press conference with KCPD, Clay County personnel and Mitchell will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate Robinson’s murder. Anyone with information is asked to contact 816-407-3723 or the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline at 816-474-8477.
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