Social Media Tip Identifies Port Costa Jane Doe

A sheriff’s office social media request asking for public help identifying a young woman killed by a train in Port Costa earlier this year generated nearly 250,000 views and triggered the memory of a social worker who contacted investigators and provided her name.

Acting on that information, Coroner’s Division deputies were able to positively identify the deceased as Layla White, 18. White’s last known address could not be determined, officials said Friday.

Police requested public help in making the identification on May 4, releasing a photo of a “broken heart” tattoo on local social media channels after initial efforts to identify the victim failed to come up with her name.

White was struck and killed by a train in Port Costa on February 16, 2026. Her death was investigated by Amtrak Police and the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office with the manner of death later determined to be a suicide.

“The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the community for their interest in this case,” a sheriff’s spokesman wrote in a release Friday. “Social media posts on our Facebook and X on the Jane Doe case generated nearly 250,000 views and 465 shares. In the end, a single person who saw the Facebook post provided a name. Investigators were able to positively identify her and provide some answers and closure to the family.”