YAKIMA, WA – The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office announced that “Parker Doe,” an unidentified woman whose remains were found in 1988, has been identified as 31-year-old Rosa Elia Vargas Jimenez Everts from Toppenish. Her body was discovered in February 1988 by a horseback rider near Parker Bridge Road and the Sunnyside Dam area.
Rosa Everts had been reported missing to the Toppenish Police Department in August 1987. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, Toppenish Police Department, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & People (MMIWP) Cold Case Unit of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bode Technology, Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, Othram, and the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, recently collaborated to identify her through DNA analysis.
Officials said the identification involved extensive coordination and the collection of DNA samples from Everts’ mother and sister. In October 2025, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety confirmed a match between Everts’ family DNA and the remains of Parker Doe, conclusively identifying her.
Toppenish Police Department officials said that Rosa Everts had last been seen by a former roommate in December 1986. Her disappearance had been investigated over the years, including potential links to the Parker Doe case, but no conclusive evidence had been obtained until recent DNA testing.
Yakima County Cold Case Investigator J. Mark Keller and Toppenish Detective Pottle worked together to ensure Everts’ family was informed and updated as the investigation progressed. Efforts are now underway to return Everts’ remains to her family.
Attorney General Nick Brown issued a statement expressing support for the work of the MMIWP Cold Case Unit, noting that while the DNA results provide answers, the criminal investigation into Everts’ death is ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact J. Mark Keller at (509) 833-2240.
