Joyce Chiang disappeared on Jan. 9. (File photo)

By John W. Fountain
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 13, 1999; Page B2

A body found nearly two weeks ago along the Potomac River in southern Fairfax County has been identified as Joyce Chiang, the Immigration and Naturalization Service lawyer who disappeared from Dupont Circle on Jan. 9, FBI officials said yesterday.

DNA tests by the state of Virginia forensic laboratory positively identified the decomposed body, but the lab has not determined the cause of death, according to Kelli Sligh, an FBI spokeswoman, who said a final determination in the case could take 30 to 90 days.

The body yielded few clues during the autopsy. There were no obvious indications of what caused death, such as wounds or bruises, sources close to the investigation said yesterday. Tests may never reveal the cause of death or whether it was a homicide, a suicide or an accident, the sources said.

After dental records failed to confirm Chiang's identity last week, FBI officials announced they would seek DNA tests. But long before yesterday's results, the FBI had strongly suspected the body was Chiang's, in part because the clothing matched what the missing lawyer was wearing when she was last seen and because the height and weight of the body were consistent with those of the missing woman. Also, Chiang's bank card was found inside a stocking.

The Chiang family, who had braced for the worst, came face to face yesterday with the grim news.

"We've obviously been preparing. But today was really very tough for me and the rest of my family," said brother Roger Chiang, 26, who shared an apartment with his sister in Dupont Circle, five blocks from where she was last seen.

The FBI's telephone call to Roger Chiang confirming that the body found April 1 was indeed his sister's, came yesterday, three months to the day since Roger Chiang had reported her missing.

Joyce Chiang disappeared Jan. 9, after being dropped off by a friend at Connecticut Avenue and R Street NW about 8:30 p.m. Chiang had planned to go to the Starbucks there, then head home.

A day later, a couple walking in Anacostia Park found Chiang's government identification card.

On Jan. 21, her green suede jacket, keys, a Safeway shopper's card and a Blockbuster video card were found in a secluded, grassy area near the north gate of the Anacostia Naval Station just south of Anacostia Park. Police dragged the Anacostia River twice, on one occasion finding the body of a man, but they apparently found no new clues.

Then on April 1, a canoeist discovered a body near the Potomac River, more than eight miles downstream from the spot where Chiang's identification was found in January. The body was partially clothed and face down on a rocky stretch of the shore.

Like other members of his family, Roger Chiang believes that his sister may have met with foul play, that she may have been the victim of an attempted robbery. "That is the family's line: that something happened to her," Chiang said.

Chiang's cousin George Lin, who lives in Los Angeles, said relatives have accepted her death, but they are praying for justice – and also for answers.

"We just want to bring her home and give her a proper burial near her father," Lin said. "We hope that we will someday learn what happened to her and who did this to her."

The FBI is asking anyone with information about Chiang's disappearance or anyone who may have been the victim of an attempted abduction in the Dupont Circle area to call 202-278-2377.

Staff writers Maria Elena Fernandez and Philip P. Pan contributed to this report.