The witness saw the men run across the road with the girl and push her into the back of a van that had been parked on the side of the roadway. Earlier that day, shed made a trip to San Franciscos Chinatown to buy a wooden soy sauce barrel. On their last day alive, the girls had gone to Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa in order to buy Christmas gifts for their friends and family. Her parents found a note waiting for them at their Anderson, California, home. Between 1972 and 1973, one of Resslers monsters traveled the roads of Santa Rosa, California, looking for unsuspecting victims. But the M.O. But when their parents returned at 11 p.m., the girls werent waiting as theyd promised. Want to post on Patch? No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. The crime remains unsolved, and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office recently asked for the public's help identifying a suspect in the case. The Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders remain some of the Bay Areas most baffling unsolved crimes. Get Started Now Authorities later said she had traveled to Illinois and New Mexico. Johnasen found that Kursa had been dead for one to two weeks, and he further concluded that Kursas killer had thrown her body into the ravine off Calistoga Road. Robert Levinson The Daytona Beach Killer The Burrowing Burglars Quadriga The Evansdale Murders Dwayne Jones Philip Fraser The Delphi Murders Danniella Vian The Abduction of Violet Ripken The Monster With 21 Faces Cyle Van Komen & Kevin Nelson Brittany Phillips The Assassination of Philip Barton Key Judy Weichert Larry Chism West Mesa Bone Collector [14][15], Authorities speculated that Kursa was kidnapped, forced into the van, stripped of her clothing, and that she opened the passenger door of the speeding vehicle in an attempt to escape her captor or captors, fell or jumped or was pushed out and broke her neck in the fall into the ravine. Crime app could shed new. Nearly two decades after Lindsay Cutshall and. These skeletons would not be identified as Graham and Trimble until 2015. One of the most challenging sections of the old road, the 500-foot drop along. Dj vu! No clothing or other items belonging to Graham or Trimble were found at the scene.[2]. The mystery surrounding her death has always messed with my head, brother Larry Kursa told the Press Democrat in 2011. 2012 . The Violent Crimes Unit (VCI) is comprised of One Detective Sergeant, and Four Detectives who investigate felony crimes against persons. The reward money went unclaimed, and Walsh left behind a two-year-old son named Danran. Individuals wishing to remain anonymous may submit their tip via the anonymous tip form. A map showing the locations of the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders. Cutshall was from Fresno, Ohio and Allen was from Zeeland, Michigan. PRESS DEMOCRAT STAFF. Dont worry too much about me, the only thing I'm gonna be doing is keeping myself alive. It was signed, Love, Carolyn.. Nicknamed "the Doodler"because his modus operandi was to sketch victims, have sex with them and then stab them, this unknown San Francisco serial killerhunted the Castro District in 1974 and 1975. (sic)[54], Arthur Leigh Allen, of Vallejo,[55] owned a mobile home at Sunset Trailer Park in Santa Rosa[56] at the time of the murders. Gallon's motive for the killings of the couple and his brother have not yet been ascertained. Unsolved Murder; Police Chases: San Rafael & Nearby Crime Log - San Rafael, CA - A look at some of this week's police, fire and courtroom incidents from around Marin County and across the North Bay. [2], The cause of her death was a broken neck with compression and hemorrhage of the spinal cord. If you haven't seen David Fincher's film Zodiac, you should. [2] A possible witness to her abduction later came forward stating that on an evening somewhere between December 3 and 9, 1972, while on Parkhurst Drive, he saw two men walking with a young girl. Davis would not be seen again until her corpse was discovered on July 31. Investigators believed it was an oil used in a machine shop, such as one that had metal-cutting equipment. Boaters discovered her partially submerged underneath a log in Mark West Creek. "Sometimes I felt like I was letting the girls down, Carlstedt said in 1989. Investigators are . I loved her. Fifty years ago, Maureen Sterling and Yvonne Weber walked into Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa. Very few witness descriptions are available. They were last seen hitchhiking on Guerneville Road, northwest of Santa Rosa. The truck was described as a 1950s model with a wooden homemade camper in the back.[8]. The police did, however, conclude that the girls had been murdered elsewhere and that their killer had kept their clothes, possibly as trophies.[2]. This story was originally published Feb. 1, 2021. But several cold cases still remain unsolved. That witness believed the drive was a white male in his early 20s with Afro style hair.. The case remained unsolved at that time. in Sonoma County, California, was once the location for just one series of horrific murders, which would go on to shock this normally peaceful community to the core and which have remained unexplained to this day. Retired Sonoma County sheriff's detective Butch Carlstedt told the media in 1989 he looked into over 300 suspects. On a summer day in July 1979, the skeletal remains of an unidentified woman were discovered by hikers in a ravine off Calistoga Road. Most Popular. Homicide detectives from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department launched an investigation into the deaths. Sheriff's Office detectives are continuing to follow-up on leads and are working hard to complete the investigation. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. The crime remains unsolved, and the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office recently asked for the publics help identifying a suspect in the case. Officially, however, the mystery remains unsolved. [19] Police reported in 1975 that it was a rectangle connected to a square, with bars running along side constructed of twigs or sticks. Sheriff Steve Freitas of Sonoma County said that Gallon made statements about the crime that only the killer would know (Gallon described where exactly in their bodies he shot the victims), and that his office had also found corroborating evidence tying Gallon to the murders. All cases are still active and under investigation, Sonoma County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Sgt. To this day, Jeannette Kamahele has never been found. The mate to the earring was not found at the scene. Investigators made the tragic match. The witness told interviewers that, in retrospect, she thought the man she saw in the lobby at the ice arena resembled photographs of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. A number of high-profile 1970s serial killers were probed for links to the Bay Area murders. Daviss cause of death proved to be unusual, for she had died of a strychnine overdose approximately ten to 14 days before her bodys discovery. [7] Sterlings mother identified the cross necklace and earring as her daughters property. She was due to start a photography class at UC Berkeley the next day. [7] The cause of death could not be determined[4] from the skeletal remains. 1976: Alvin Maddux and Faye Maddux; Elaine Lehtinen, 1980: Charles Slack; Ruben Huijon; Douglas Hancock, 1981: Ian Dallas; Lloyd Johnson; Henry Villanueva, 1991: Kin Po-Ko; Peggy Swarts; Marty Davis, 2007-2009: Johnethel McGehee (McGhee's remains were found in the Berryessa area in 2009; detectives determined she died in 2007. She is buried in Pacific Grove. Michelle . Click through our gallery above to learn more about some of the North Coast cold cases and investigations, solved and unsolved, since the 1970s. Some of the oldest unsolved murders on Uncovered 's cold case website include the 1960 murder of Nancy Eagleson, the 1977 murder of Ann Harmeier, the 1977 murder of Roberta Elam, the 1982 murder of Tina Foglia, the 1980 murder of Eve Wilkowitz, and the 1984 murder of Laura Parker. As was so often the case in the 1970s, police officers believed that the girls were runaways. Fourteen-year-old Carolyn Davis, a resident of Shasta County, California, ran away after being dropped off at the post office in Garberville by her grandmother. Maureen Louise Sterling, 12, and Yvonne Lisa Weber, 13,[2] both Herbert Slater Middle School students,[3] disappeared around 9 p.m. on February 4, 1972, after visiting the Redwood Empire Ice Arena. Known collectively as the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders, this string of unsolved murders continues to haunt the minds of the Golden States cold case investigators. [1] Bundy had spent time in neighboring Marin County,[64] but was ruled out by a Sonoma County detective in the 1970s and again in 1989. This post was contributed by a community member. Up to 14 victims have been attributed to the Doodler. And when we at times wondered if this day would ever come, the detectives in particular wouldn't allow us to lose hope. A young woman named "Lisa Smith", which is a common name, was hitchhiking on March 26, 1971 and was picked up by a male driver. Amazingly, friends and schoolmates of both girls had lived for over 30 years without ever knowing that the girls were even missing, let alone dead.[10]. In 2019 Shaun Gallon was sentenced to life in prison for the murders. 2019. [65], Fredric Manalli, a 41-year-old Santa Rosa Junior College creative writing instructor,[66] was suspected[67] when, after his August 24, 1976 death in a head-on collision on Highway 12,[68] sadomasochistic drawings he had created depicting a former student, Kim Wendy Allen, who was one of the victims, were discovered among his belongings. No off-topic remarks. The sheriff pegged it as an obvious suicide, even though the dead guy didn't seem troubled and was about to take a walk along the railroad tracks with his brother and niece. Her decomposing remains were found on July 31 on Franz Valley Road, just feet from where Maureen and Yvonne were discovered the year prior. The cause of death could not be determined. 5. She had also been bound in the same manner as Walsh.[2]. The pair, both aged 12 and students at Herbert Slater Middle School, spent their last night alive hanging out at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena. The skeletal remains of a young woman were found off Calistoga Road, about 100 yards from where Lori was discovered, on July 2, 1979. Anyone with information about Georgia's case is asked to call the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office at 707-565-2185 or 707-565-2650. They also found a distinctive hat on a turnout above the beach on Hwy 1. At least it should be. Then someone killed him. Her body was discovered in a park in Los Angeles and her death has been publicized repeatedly, mostly because of how particularly gruesome the murder was. Additionally, I want to thank the members of our community who have come forward with information on this case. No known connection to him between Lindsay Cutshall or Jason Allen has been uncovered yet either. At least it should be. They did not tell her brother that Graham was missing until they saw him in person years later. All of them were wearing life jackets. Shell casings were not found at the scene of the crime, suggesting the killer retrieved them. No off-topic remarks. Nearly two decades after Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen were shot to death sleeping on a Jenner Beach, Sonoma County prosecutors charged Shaun Michael Gallon. With the window quickly closing on any hopes of catching a still-living suspect, here is what investigators know about the hitchhiker murders that terrorized the young women of the Bay Area. When Ted Bundy was apprehended in 1975, detectives thought he may have killed the girls in the Bay Area; he often targeted young women with long, straight hair parted down the middle, which all of the Santa Rosa victims had. Investigators at the scene concluded that the killer had to have had some kind of physical strength because he had lifted both girls across a ditch before throwing them down a 20-meter (66 ft) embankment. The Winchester Mystery House is a mansion in San Jose, California which was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. . [4] Two people later called in tips to the police about possible sightings of Kursa. She was last seen alive on July 15, 1973. To the chagrin of homicide detectives, both suspects passed their polygraph examinations. The strong support for us and for the case by the former sheriff, Sheriff Cogbill, and the current sheriff, Sheriff Freitas, has been outstanding. Nine days later, her body was found near a Highway 101 offramp in south Petaluma. [2] Investigators postulated that her body had been thrown from the road as the hillside brush appeared undisturbed. Cold Case Unit Investigates Unsolved Deaths, Source: Napa County Cold Case Investigation Unit, Viva Mariachi! At least seven women and girls were killed in the span of a few years, all dumped on the sides. For a time, serial killer Ted Bundy was suspected of carrying out a few of the Santa Rosa murders. Police thought two fingerprints on the checkbook might belong to the killer. The individual believed to have been Smith left the hospital before authorities could interview her and purportedly hitchhiked back to San Francisco. Author Robert Graysmith put forward the idea that the Santa Rosa killer was really San Franciscos Zodiac Killer. No additional information was provided until the press conference. According to Robert Graysmith in his book Zodiac Unmasked, Manallis belongings had included pictures of himself as Freda, a lock of hair in his wallet, and letters outlining his interests in sex slavery and large-breasted women.[4]. Unlike the killers first two victims, Kim Wendy Allen was a teenager (19, to be exact) and a college student attending Santa Rosa Junior College. The Sonoma County Coroner's Office estimated that the couple was slain on either the night of August 14, 2004 or in the early morning hours of August 15, 2004. In the decades since 1979, several high-profile names have been suggested as to the identity of the Santa Rosa murderer. In 1975, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a report stating that fourteen unsolved homicides between 1972 and 1974 were committed by the same perpetrator. I'm grateful to the dozens of detectives, from all of the Sheriff's Office investigative units, who persistently and faithfully worked on this case for nearly 13 years. Theresa Diane Smith Walsh, 23, of Miranda,[21] was last seen on December 22, 1973, at Zuma Beach in Malibu, intent on hitchhiking to Garberville and joining her family for Christmas. A witness to Jeannette Kamaheles possible kidnapping said they saw her get into a 1950s pickup truck pulling a faded wooden camper that looked homemade. A high school friend said she last saw the girls on a morning in December when all of them were smoking outside the high school. Although ballistics determined the gun type, police declined to publicly disclose it, in order "to eliminate false leads." [11] Her checkbook was deposited in a drive-up mailbox across from the Kentfield, California Post Office sometime on the morning of March 24, 1972, 20 days after she was murdered. Eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen Kursa in Santa Rosa told investigators that she had been thrown into a van on Parkhurst Drive by two unidentified men. The victims were both counselors at a Northern California Christian camp and hoped to rent a room nearby, but couldn't find one. In the 1970s the murder of eight young women, hitchhiking in rural parts of Sonoma County broke the hearts of thousands and continues to torment the community to this day. Credit card receipts placed the duo at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco on August 14, 2004. Trimbles mother reported her missing to police within a few days when she had not returned home. Twenty-year-old Jeannette Kamahele was a student at Santa Rosa Junior College when she disappeared for good on April 25, 1972. Moses was last seen getting into a car with a 25- to 30-year old man in Santa Rosa on Aug. 13, 1997. [4] Her body was discovered on July 31, 1973 in Santa Rosa, just 3 feet (0.91m) from where the remains of Sterling and Weber had been recovered seven months prior. The . In 1975, the FBI issued an official report entitled Unsolved Female HomicidesAn Analysis of a Series of Related Murders in California and Western America. The report asserted that 14 unsolved homicides between 1972 and 1974 had been committed by one killer. It is obvious that they werent, he told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. We praise the Lord for his capture and we trust in the due process of the law. Lori, just 13, was reported missing by her mother in November 1972. At that time, Allen not only lived in Santa Rosa but was also supposedly studying chipmunks as a hobby. Her cause of death was determined to be spinal cord trauma, possibly from jumping or being pushed out of a moving vehicle. It was never determined whether Kursas dislocated vertebrae injury had occurred before or after her death. The city of Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County, California, was once the location for just one series of horrific murders, which would go on to shock this . Anyone with information about Georgia's case is asked to call the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office at 707-565-2185 or 707-565-2650. This location connected Walsh with Michelle Way, a road that intersected with Lorraine Way in Santa Rosa. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled with a cord-like material and dumped naked in the ditch. Graham and Trimble, who had been associating with classmates who used drugs, had gone to school that day but did not attend classes. 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