Who Killed Kay Medin? DNA Breakthrough Revives Humboldt-Trinity Cold Case
One mystery has been solved, but many questions remain after the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office identified a human skull found on Trinidad Head in 1993 as belonging to a woman who disappeared in 1987.
For more insight into the case and the ongoing investigation, KMUD News spoke with Deputy Mike Fridley, who leads the Humboldt County Cold Case Unit. He shared the following background on the case, which originated nearly 40 years ago in the remote community of Hyampom in Trinity County.
On August 3, 1987, Nicholas Medin reported his wife, Kay Josephine Medin, missing to the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. He had left on a business trip, and when he returned home, Kay was gone. Deputies searched the property, contacted family and friends, and spoke with her employer—she was a teacher at the Hyampom School. According to those interviews, Kay was in good spirits, had no serious medical issues, and had left behind personal belongings, including her vehicle, purse, and glasses. Her disappearance was considered suspicious, and the case soon went cold.
That changed in November of that year, when the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office received a package through the mail. Inside were skeletal remains and an anonymous, typewritten letter providing directions to additional remains near Ammon Ridge in eastern Humboldt County. Detectives followed those directions and recovered more human remains—though not a complete body.
Dental records linked the remains to Kay Medin, officially shifting the case to a homicide investigation. Still, no suspect was identified, and the case remained cold for years.
Then, in February 1993, a man walking along the beach near Trinidad Head discovered a partial human skull and turned it in to the Fortuna Police Department. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office developed a traditional DNA profile and entered it into state and national databases—but no match was found.
That changed thanks to a federal grant secured by Congressman Jared Huffman in 2024. The funding supported efforts to clear Humboldt County’s backlog of unidentified remains. Using those funds, the skull was sent to Othram, a forensic lab in Texas specializing in advanced DNA sequencing and genetic genealogy.
“They were able to extract DNA and use in-house forensic genealogy to develop investigative leads,” Fridley explained. In September 2024, Othram reported a possible match: Kay Medin. Fridley located Medin’s daughter, who agreed to submit a DNA sample. The California Department of Justice confirmed the match—the skull belonged to Kay Medin, also known as Kay Adams when she was first reported missing.
Yet many unknowns remain. The rest of Kay’s remains have never been located. The identity of the person who sent the anonymous letter is still a mystery, though it was postmarked from the San Francisco area. While most reports confirm that Nickolas Medin was away on business when Kay vanished, only one archived article states he was not a suspect. KMUD News has not been able to independently verify that with the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office. Notably, Nickolas Medin died in 2018. SFGATE has since reported that he was not considered a suspect in the case.
Fridley echoed earlier statements from Trinity County Detective Sgt. Dave Laffranchini, who was quoted in a Redding Record Searchlight article from the late 1980s:
“There was always a possibility that she left without telling anybody or didn’t contact anybody—but it didn’t seem likely.”
Fridley agrees:
“Her body was found a long way from her home, and her vehicle was still at the house. It would’ve been a long walk to get to where she was found. It’s possible—but the evidence points toward this being a homicide.”
The case became multi-jurisdictional when Humboldt received the anonymous letter. “To get a typewritten letter with no name—and then to follow the directions and actually find more remains—that alone is suspicious,” Fridley said.
When asked why it took over 30 years to make the identification, Fridley noted that the sheriff’s office has a backlog of 20 to 30 unidentified human remains cases—some dating back to the 1960s. But forensic genetic genealogy is changing everything.
“Sites like Ancestry and GEDmatch now allow people to opt in to law enforcement matching. That’s how we were able to locate family members in this case.”
Fridley emphasized that while the identity of the skull has been confirmed, the case remains unsolved.
“It’s not solved. But we know who she is. And that’s a big piece. Now we just need that one lead that can move this case forward.”
He added: “No tip is too small.”
If you have any information regarding the disappearance or suspected homicide of Kay Josephine Medin (aka Kay Adams) in the late 1980s, please contact Investigator Mike Fridley at (707) 441-3024.
