Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit Identifies Remains of Missing Juvenile Kristen Galvan

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit, in collaboration with the Texas Office of the Attorney General, has officially identified human remains as those of missing person Kristen Marie Galvan.

On January 2, 2020, at approximately 1:30 AM, Kristen Galvan was reported as a missing juvenile to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office by her grandfather after he discovered she was not in her bedroom. At the time of her disappearance, Kristen was known to be active within high-risk street environments in the Houston area and was listed as a victim of sex trafficking in several active Houston Police Department investigations.
Additionally, she was a key witness in a federal investigation that led to the convictions of multiple members of “The Sauce Factory” organization in Houston.

The case was transferred to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Human Trafficking Unit on January 16, 2020. Investigators determined that Kristen was last seen on Bissonnet Street in Houston, with her last known contact occurring with a witness on January 9, 2020. Despite extensive multi-agency coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, investigative leads were exhausted, and her whereabouts remained unknown for several years.

On February 27, 2025, the case was reassigned to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit. On July 8, 2025, The Doe Network, a non-profit volunteer organization that assists law enforcement with unidentified remains, contacted detectives regarding a lead originally submitted on December 31, 2024. The lead pertained to an entry in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) database created by the Missouri City Police Department, who had later transferred the case to the Texas Office of the Attorney General for advanced DNA testing.

Noting that the last known location of Galvan's cellular phone was in Fort Bend County, Montgomery County Cold Case Detectives reached out to the Texas Office of the Attorney General to suggest a potential DNA match. On July 28, 2026, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit confirmed that the remains were positively identified as Kristen Galvan.

Sheriff Doolittle acknowledges the work of the Cold Case Squad detectives, whose efforts are helping to bring those lost years ago in tragedy closer to justice. While the investigation remains ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office stands committed to seeing this case through.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance or death of Kristen Galvan is strongly encouraged to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit at 936-760-5876, or contact the Office of the Attorney General Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit directly at coldcaseunit@oag.texas.gov.