An Arizona homicide victim has been identified some 37 years after she was found slain, police said.
The Bullhead City Police Department said in a Facebook post Thursday that the remains of the female victim were found by a construction crew in May 1989 in a vacant lot on Castleberry Lane in Bullhead City. The woman had been shot in the head and buried, police said. The woman remained unidentified for decades, with police referring to her as “Castleberry Kate.”
Police said in 2024 they joined with the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit to obtain a federal grant for forensic genealogy testing in the case. In May, the woman was identified as Sonya Alice Langan.
Family members told police Langan dropped out of Kingman High School as a freshman in 1979, before the family moved to Bullhead City. She was about 17 or 18 years old when she left home around 1982. Langan was never reported missing. Family members believed she had voluntarily left due to unhappiness at home.
“Investigators hope to provide answers and closure for Sonya’s family after all these years,” police said.
Police are asking anyone who knew Langan or may have information related to her disappearance or death to contact the Bullhead City Police Department at 928-763-9200 and ask to speak with detectives.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
