Skeletal remains of Paula Boudreaux, who went missing in 1986, have been identified in Slidell

In a press conference this afternoon, investigators have announced they have identified skeletal remains found in 1989 in Slidell.

On August 2, 1986, 22-year-old Paula Boudreaux was last seen in Golden Meadow. Four days later she was reported missing. Detectives were unable to determine what happened to her. In January 1989, skeletal remains were discovered near Slidell. Those remains were sent to the LSU Forensic Anthropology Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Lab. Science was not as advanced as it is today, and the case went cold.

In October 2022, 33 years later, Preston said his office received a tip from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System that suggested they look into Boudreaux’s case.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre was contacted. Their investigators collected DNA from a surviving relative. Preston was able to identify the remains found in 1989 to Boudreaux in January 2023.

How Boudreaux died and how her remains wound up in Slidell is still being investigated by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“Mrs. Boudreaux’s family has been left with unanswered questions for the past 33 years, but today, they can finally begin to have some closure,” said Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre. “With that said, this is only the first piece of the puzzle. Now, our investigators will work with St. Tammany Parish investigators, and likely other jurisdictions as well, as we attempt to determine what happened to Mrs. Boudreaux. We hope this ongoing investigation displays our commitment to finding the truth in every case, even when it means waiting for the technology to catch up to that investigation. We also implore anyone who many have any information which might be helpful in this case to come forward.”

“We never forget the victim of any crime, and we are thankful that more than 30 years later due to the cooperation between our agencies and the other entities involved, we are finally able to begin the process to help provide closure for Ms. Boudreaux’s family,” Sheriff Randy Smith said. “Our detectives will continue to work with the detectives in Lafourche Parish to determine what happened to Ms. Boudreaux and how her body ended up in St. Tammany Parish so the person or persons responsible can be held accountable.”