Metro Nashville police have confirmed that a skull discovered in 2004 belongs to a woman who vanished nearly 40 years ago, bringing closure to a decades-old missing person case.
Back in February 2004, a contractor building homes on Stokers Lane in North Nashville uncovered a skull. At the time, investigators couldn’t match it to anyone, and there were no clear signs of trauma.
This week, forensic scientists at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification confirmed the skull belonged to Alice Mae Sullivan, who went missing in August 1986. Sullivan was a 20-year-old student at Tennessee State University and a mother.
The circumstances of her disappearance remain tragic and unresolved. On the morning she vanished, Sullivan attended class as usual but never showed up to pick up her 3-year-old son from the babysitter. Her parents reported her missing the next day.
While the identification gives her family some closure, many questions remain. The skull was the only part of her remains ever found, and the investigation into her death is still ongoing.