The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has announced that remains found in May 2018 near the site of the Hart family murder-suicide crash belong to missing Hannah Hart, age 16.

Hannah and her adopted brother Devonte Hart have been missing since their adoptive mother, Jennifer Hart, drove the family’s SUV over a cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in California in March of last year. Jennifer, her wife Sarah Hart, and three of their six adopted children — Markis Hart, Jeremiah Hart, and Abigail Hart — were found dead at the scene of the crash. A fourth child, Ciera Hart, was found in the water in early April.

Mendocino County Sheriff Lt. Shannon Barney announced the news in a press release on Wednesday. From the press release:

In October of 2018 a woman who identified herself as the mother of Markis, Abigail, and Hannah Hart contacted the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and indicated she had heard of this incident via a family member. 

She was fully cooperative in this investigation and with the assistance of Detectives of the Mobile Alabama Police Department, a DNA sample was obtained from this person and forwarded to the DOJ LAB for comparison testing.

On 01-08-2019 the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received word from the DOJ LAB that the additional DNA test results showed a positive identification of the partial remains found on 05-09-2018 as belonging to Hannah Hart.

Devonte Hart is still missing, though the press release says “the most likely scenario is that he too perished in this incident,” while noting that his is still an active case.

CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.