On Sept. 10, 1990, a woman's bones were found on the side of County Road 101, east of what's now Highway 288 in Manvel. A pearl bracelet and several rings were found next to the remains, but the woman had no identification.
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A 1975 class ring from Robert E. Lee High School in Houston was found near the bones. The ring had a bright blue stone. When investigators released that detail to the public, people started calling the mystery woman, "Princess Blue." Police worked for years to track down 1975 Lee graduates to try and identify the unnamed woman, but never made any headway.
SEE MORE: 13 UNSOLVED: 'Princess Blue' found dead on gravel road in Manvel 30 years ago finally identified
The autopsy didn't reveal much. The medical examiner couldn't say for sure how she died. There were no drugs in her system. She had a couple of fractured ribs. In 1990, it was believed she was likely between 15 and 19 years old. No one in the area came forward looking for a missing woman. The case went cold.
In November 2019, ABC13 reporter Courtney Fischer featured Princess Blue's case in her "13 Unsolved" series, asking for the public's help with leads in the case. Around the same time, about 130 miles east of Manvel in Orange, Texas, Danny Davis had just given his DNA to a Texas Ranger, in hopes of finding his sister, Julie Davis, who went missing 33 years ago. The Texas Ranger was investigating the possibility that Julie might have been a missing woman who was found dead in another part of the state.
But when Danny's DNA went into the state database, it matched Princess Blue's DNA. Investigators say with 99.9% certainty, Princess Blue is Julie Gwenn Davis.
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Now, months after learning Princess Blue is their Julie, Manvel police gave Julie's remains to the Davis family.
SEE MORE: 13 Unsolved: The Murdered & The Missing
Danny told ABC13 in June, when Julie was identified, he remembers Julie leaving their home in Orange 33 years ago when she was 18, headed for New Orleans.
"That's the last thing I remember of her. Her giving me a hug, telling me she loved me, and she broke down in tears and walked away, and that's the last time I saw her," Danny said.
Detectives still don't know what Julie's connection to the class ring could have been, the ring that made her case so mysterious. Police are also still working to figure out how she died.
In an emotional meeting Friday afternoon, Julie's sister, Stephanie Dedrick, was given Julie's remains, Julie's pearl bracelet and the silver rings found by her bones. Detectives are keeping the class ring for now, as it's become a central piece of evidence in the case.
"I was so happy, but sad to have spent a few short minutes with her. I felt so close to her for a short minute," Stephanie told Eyewitness News. "I promised (Julie) I would keep searching for who did this to her and get her justice."
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At the meeting with police, Stephanie wore a purple t-shirt with the message: "Who was Princess Blue? My sister, Julie Gwen(n) Davis."
Stephanie says she plans to put some of her sister's ashes in a gold locket "so that I can have her close to me always. We have went so long without her. I just want to have her as close to me a possible at all time."
"I'm glad Julie is home and I hope you (Julie's family) find peace now," said Sgt. Anthony Meshell, who has investigated the case for the past year. "Please know that I am here for you if you need anything."
As for where the investigation stands now, Meshell says, "This case will never be closed and we will not stop looking until we have an answer as to what happened to Julie."
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