Remains found behind Queens home identified as missing woman
JAMAICA, Queens (WABC) -- Police have identified human remains found in a Queens backyard one year ago as a woman reported missing in 2021.
A passerby called 911 around 6:40 a.m. on July 26, 2021, after spotting the remains, visible from the sidewalk, behind an abandoned home on Pinegrove Street in Jamaica.
Police said early Thursday that those remains were identified as 53-year-old Gloria Lee, who was last seen at her home in Flatbush.
The Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death to be homicide, but further details as to how she died have not yet been released.
Eyewitness News reporter Kristin Thorne spoke with Lee's sister, who did not want to be identified because she fears for her safety.
She said Lee was always communicative with family but suddenly stopped responding to text messages and phone calls in May of 2021.
"Her phone was dead," she said. "We never heard from her again."
Lee's sister said she started hanging up flyers and driving around neighborhoods, and that while Lee lived in Flatbush, she often visited her family in Queens.
"She had a good soul," she said. "I've never felt any pain like this."
Lee's sister says she prays that someone will speak up about what they may know about her sister's murder.
She said her sister was and is still loved by her entire family.
It's not clear for how long the home on Pine Grove Street has been abandoned.
Eyewitness News asked the NYPD if they spoke with residents who may have lived in the home, but the department would not respond citing the ongoing investigation.
Eyewitness News asked Lee's sister if she believed anyone would want to harm her sister. She responded that she did not.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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