Authorities identify remains found near Pinecrest in April

The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday announced that detectives have positively identified remains found April 28 along Old Strawberry Road, about 30 miles east of Sonora and near the resort area of Pinecrest.

They used medical and dental records to determine the deceased was Denise Marie Gadd, 55, who had been reported missing to the Sonora Police Department on Aug. 16. A friend contacted authorities after not hearing from Gadd for several days, a sheriff’s official said.

Investigators learned that a transient female had been seen in the area around that time, and residents of the area confirmed that it was Gadd. No cause of death has been determined, and her family has been notified.

Gadd was featured in a 1992 Modesto Bee sports story about the Springfield Trout Farm, which she co-managed, near Columbia State Historic Park.

She used to clean and wrap the fish for the children – and adults – lucky enough to make a catch.

“The mothers are fun,” Gadd told The Bee’s Jeff Jardine in 1992. “They squeal louder than the kids and they don’t like to touch the fish.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Authorities identify remains found near Pinecrest in April."