The remains of Ann Lombard Taylor, a Placitas resident, were conclusively identified in July 2026.
Bernalillo, NM, July 29, 2026—The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office announced today that the remains of Placitas resident Ann Lombard Taylor were conclusively identified in July 2026, and that this Missing Person case, filed in May 1996, is officially closed. The announcement was made during a Press Briefing held in the Sandoval County Commission Chambers. Detective Donald Chewning said that the remains of Ms. Taylor were discovered in May 2026 at 15 Perdiz Canyon Road, Placitas, when the current owners of her former residence were excavating the property for improvements. Participants in the Question and Answer period of the Press Briefing included Detective Chewning, former SCSO Detective Adam Crosby, and Tyler Anderson, son of Ms. Taylor.
According to Detective Chewning, the skeletal remains were transported to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, and family genealogy testing was performed using the DNA of Ms. Taylor’s elder son, Tyler Anderson. The testing confirmed that the remains are of Ms. Taylor.
Following leads, finding no evidence for 30 years
The Missing Person case remained open for 30 years, and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office actively pursued leads as they presented. Detective Chewning shared that “When the Missing Person case was filed, Ms. Taylor’s husband, James Anthony Taylor, reported that the couple had had an altercation and that she fled the premises, leaving behind their four small children.” He further stated that the couple did have a documented history of domestic violence events. No evidence of foul play was found in the home or on the property.
Adam Crosby, the former SCSO Detective who had worked on the case, said, “When I was assigned as the lead investigator on the disappearance of Ann Lombard Taylor in 2009, my focus was never solely on solving a case; it was about finding answers for a family that had spent decades living with uncertainty. The recovery and identification of Ann’s remains have finally provided some long-awaited answers to her family.”
The timeline of events leading up to the discovery of remains is as follows, according to the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office.
1996
A Missing Person Report was filed, and soon afterwards, Mr. Taylor and his children moved to Iowa.
1998
Mr. Taylor remarried.
2002
During a domestic violence incident between Mr. Taylor and his wife, it was reported that he threatened to “kill her like Ann, and no one would find her body.” He threatened Mrs. Taylor that he would kill her and his children if the police were ever contacted.
2009
Sandoval County Sheriff’s Detective Crosby interviewed Mrs. Taylor, and she corroborated key information. James A. Taylor was also interviewed and initially led investigators to believe that he would assist in recovering Ann’s remains, but later obtained legal counsel and his cooperation ceased. The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office then executed two property searches in Placitas. One was of the area surrounding the septic tank, and the other was of the septic tank’s contents. No evidence was found.
2010
In February, James A. Taylor was incarcerated in Des Moines, Iowa, following a four-hour stand-off with local law enforcement. He was arrested for threatening his wife with a shotgun and pouring 10 gallons of gasoline in her home, because she wanted a divorce. Negative results from that interview regarding the Ann Lombard Taylor case.
In Fall, one of Ms. Taylor’s children contacted SCSO detectives to share that James Anthony Taylor told them that “Ann hung herself,” and he buried her in the orchard near a peach tree. SCSO obtained a search warrant for the property and excavated the orchard with negative results.
2011
The Sandoval County District Attorney declined to issue an arrest warrant for James Anthony Taylor as requested by SCSO Detective Crosby.
2019
James Anthony Taylor dies from a cardiovascular event in Iowa.
2026
In May, human skeletal remains were discovered at the 15 Perdiz Canyon Road property in Placitas.
In July, these remains were determined to be of Ann Lombard Taylor.
