BULLHEAD CITY, AZ — Police have identified a victim in a decades-long cold case in Bullhead City, Arizona.
On Thursday, the Bullhead City Police Department announced that an unidentified woman whose remains were discovered in 1989, known as "Castleberry Kate," has been positively identified as Sonya Alice Langan.
A construction crew found skeletal remains in May 1989 in a vacant lot on Castleberry Lane.
Investigators believed the victim was a female between 17 and 19 years of age.
Evidence indicated she had been dead for about 2-10 years before the discovery.
A bullet was recovered from her skull, confirming her death as a homicide, police say.
Despite extensive investigative efforts over the years, the victim remained unidentified, and the case went unsolved.
In 2024, a grant was received allowing evidence from the case to be submitted to the DNA Doe Project. Investigative genetic genealogists were able to develop a 99% match identifying the victim as Sonya Langan in late 2025.
Bullhead City detectives made contact with surviving relatives and learned Sonya was never formally reported missing to law enforcement.
According to family, Sonya was about 17-18 years old when she left home around 1982. Detectives also learned that strained family relationships and extended periods without contact among relatives were not uncommon, leading family members to believe she had voluntarily left due to unhappiness at home.
Family members cooperated with detectives and provided DNA samples to help confirm Sonya's identity.
The homicide case regarding Sonya remains open.
Detectives are asking anyone who knew Sonya 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.
Through information from family members, it was learned Sonya dropped out of Kingman High School as a Freshman in 1979, before the family moved to Bullhead City. The family recalls Sonya lived near River Glen Drive in Bullhead City and worked at Burger King before she left home.
