A family in Massachusetts is one step closer to getting answers about a woman’s disappearance. Sandra Crispo disappeared from her home in Hanson without a trace. She had recently moved to the area from another part of the state to live closer to her daughter and her family. Crispo was close with her family, so when she was supposed to watch her grandkids and didn’t appear, they knew something was wrong and reported her missing.
A search began, but police didn’t find any leads or even a suspect. Now, by sheer coincidence, a hunter has found remains that were discovered to be hers.
It took some time to positively identify the remains.
On May 5, 2026, the Hanson Police Department shared a news release with an update about Crispo’s case.
“Human remains found along Route 3 in Plymouth have been identified as Sandra Crispo, a Hanson woman who was reported missing in August, 2019, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz and Hanson Police Chief Michael Casey have announced,” the release read.
According to police, a hunter found what was believed to be human remains on a deer trail in Plymouth on March 6. Massachusetts State Police responded to the wooded area and located part of a human skull. The remains were taken to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office contacted the FBI for further testing on the skull portion. After testing, the FBI “determined that the skull was a CODIS match to the DNA of Sandra Crispo in one of the FBI’s forensic DNA databases,” per the news release.
Crispo was 54 years old when she went missing, police shared in the release. She was last seen on August 7, 2019, and her family reported her missing two days later after they were unable to contact her. She was not at her home.
Her family doesn’t believe she’d ever just leave.
Crispo had moved to Hanson from Quincy to live closer to her daughter’s family, which included her three grandsons, not long before she disappeared, the Plymouth Independent reported.
Her daughter, Laina McMahon, reported her mother missing after going to her home and finding it empty. The air conditioner was still on, the back door was unlocked, and her dog was still inside with no food or water.
“There was no sign of her. She didn’t have a cell phone, she didn’t have a computer, but it’s definitely not like her to, you know, leave,” McMahon told Boston.com in February 2020.
According to McMahon, there were signs around her mother’s home that made it clear she didn’t just leave suddenly. Crispo was supposed to watch her grandsons the day her family reported her missing, and snacks were there in anticipation of their visit. She also had reminders posted about upcoming birthdays.
“It’s awful,” McMahon said of the unknown at the time. “You don’t even know how to feel. There’s points where it’s frustrating because you just want the answers.”
This update is shocking, but they’re hoping it leads to more answers.
Now — nearly six years after Crispo went missing — her daughter was not expecting an update like this.
“I didn’t think that those were her remains initially but again, you never really know,” she told WBZ-TV, via CBS News, hours after police told her they found her mother’s remains.
“So, to get the call today was almost like a disbelief. You’re not sure what to even think or how to feel, how to process. It’s definitely a whirlwind of feelings right now.”
Right now, McMahon said her biggest focus is figuring out what happened to her mother and who is responsible for her death.
“I am hopeful for positive movement post discovery and hopefully getting answers for my mom because that is what this has been about the entire time,” she said. “Now we can actually pursue those responsible and criminally.”
According to police, the investigation into Crispo’s death “remains active and ongoing.”
If anyone has any information about her disappearance, they are urged to contact the Hanson Police Department at 781-293-4625 or Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office at 508-894-2600.
