Identified! WY - Granger, WhtFem UP11332, pregnant, in remote area, Apr'82 - Christine Thornton

[Alleykins]

I-80 runs through the southern part, going from San Francisco through Reno, Salt Lake City, then Rock City and Cheyenne Wyoming, and on east to Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, and central PA on into New York City, so Alcala was probably quite familiar with it driving as he did from CA to NY. It intersects US 191, a main north-south route that runs from Morgan, Montana, on the Canadian border all the way south to Mexico (Agua Pieta, if memory serves), going through Yellowstone and Teton Parks, Flaming Gorge, Moab and the arches, and a whole lot of wild and beautiful territory.

I'm thinking Alcala's photo looks an awful lot like the wide open plains around Farson and the Sublette Cutoff, maybe along the Lincoln Sweetwater Road from Farson to Fontenelle. https://goo.gl/maps/Je3ZKTS8wGq I'm not sure that road is open to the public any more but it would have been in 1977, which is about when I traveled it (1975 probably). It's the most awesome thing driving along the road where the ruts from the westbound Oregon Trail wagons are still visible, and you can find the remains of items the pioneers unloaded to make their loads light enough to be able to reach the water at Fontenelle. And the wind never stops. And you can see the earth curve.

All of which probably has no bearing on the murder, but...

. . .but it's all very interesting, since I've never been there, so I think it's great to hear about. I haven't dug a lot into Alcala, but I don't think I've run into any mention of Wyoming in his travels.

 

[creepedout]

This makes me wonder about the Bitter Creek Betty case, from the same county:

http://doenetwork.org/cases/213ufwy.html

Apparently this is now unrelated to this case, but supposedly there is DNA evidence there that also matches this case:

http://doenetwork.org/cases/390ufwy.html

 

[Nikon]

Welp, this just opened a can of worms.

He was only linked to California and New York so far. New York was after DNA, recently.

The news article I linked on the last page was just updated to include a whirlwind of information.

A sister told the detective that one of Thornton's former boyfriends had previously told her that the couple took a trip to Green River in 1977 to pan for gold, but the pair parted ways after a fight. The family had last seen Thornton when she visited her uncle in Biloxi, Mississippi, in June 1977, the documents state. She was "notably pregnant" at the time.

Biloxi...? So she was last seen by a uncle in Biloxi, Mississippi? Thornton was from San Antonio, Texas. Did she go from San Antonio to Biloxi by herself, or was she accompanied by her boyfriend? Or Alcala? Or other? She was reported missing, according to nampn, in August 1977. However Namus stated she was missing September 1976? Rodney Alcala (birth name Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor) was born in 1943 in San Antonio, Texas. Is it possible they met in San Antonio and went to Green River (Granger, WY is smack dab in Green River)? Or they met in San Antonio, went to Biloxi to see the uncle, and then to Granger, Wyoming?

Alcala was traveling the country during the summer of 1977 after his parole officer granted him permission to drive from California to the East Coast to visit family, court documents show. He left California on July 2 and returned on Aug. 6. He later traveled from California to Mexico from Aug. 11 to Aug. 20 that same summer.

He drove cross-country. Jesus. Alcala's timeline just got more detailed than previously posted in his subsection on here. Previously, it was stated that in summer of 1977, he was granted permission to go visit relatives in New York but did not mention how or why or method of transportation.

I-80 runs through the southern part, going from San Francisco through Reno, Salt Lake City, then Rock City and Cheyenne Wyoming, and on east to Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, and central PA on into New York City, so Alcala was probably quite familiar with it driving as he did from CA to NY. It intersects US 191, a main north-south route that runs from Morgan, Montana, on the Canadian border all the way south to Mexico (Agua Pieta, if memory serves), going through Yellowstone and Teton Parks, Flaming Gorge, Moab and the arches, and a whole lot of wild and beautiful territory.

I'm thinking Alcala's photo looks an awful lot like the wide open plains around Farson and the Sublette Cutoff, maybe along the Lincoln Sweetwater Road from Farson to Fontenelle. https://goo.gl/maps/Je3ZKTS8wGq I'm not sure that road is open to the public any more but it would have been in 1977, which is about when I traveled it (1975 probably). It's the most awesome thing driving along the road where the ruts from the westbound Oregon Trail wagons are still visible, and you can find the remains of items the pioneers unloaded to make their loads light enough to be able to reach the water at Fontenelle. And the wind never stops. And you can see the earth curve.

Excellent sleuthing and lovely road trip story. I'm something of a road geek, so I already knew I-80. Hearing it just now is a pleasure. US 89 and US 93 are another nearby routes. Was I-80 complete and signed when you went through there? The interstate system wasn't fully completed until the early 1990s, so chasing highway killers is complex if we don't know routes killers took. If you see my quote above, Thornton was last seen by a uncle in Biloxi in June of 1977. I'm trying to find how and when they met. I'm doubting the I-80 theory at the moment.

 

[Nikon]

This makes me wonder about the Bitter Creek Betty case, from the same county:

http://doenetwork.org/cases/213ufwy.html

Apparently this is now unrelated to this case, but supposedly there is DNA evidence there that also matches this case:

http://doenetwork.org/cases/390ufwy.html

Alcala went into prison in 1979 and has been in prison ever since. Unrelated.

 

[creepedout]

Alcala went into prison in 1979 and has been in prison ever since. Unrelated.

Bad choice of word placement on my part where I put 'Apparently this is now unrelated to this case', what you wrote is basically what I intended. Just thinking out loud, I guess.

 

[carbuff]

Welp, this just opened a can of worms.

He was only linked to California and New York so far. New York was after DNA, recently.

The news article I linked on the last page was just updated to include a whirlwind of information.



Biloxi...? So she was last seen by a uncle in Biloxi, Mississippi? Thornton was from San Antonio, Texas. Did she go from San Antonio to Biloxi by herself, or was she accompanied by her boyfriend? Or Alcala? Or other? She was reported missing, according to nampn, in August 1977. However Namus stated she was missing September 1976? Rodney Alcala (birth name Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor) was born in 1943 in San Antonio, Texas. Is it possible they met in San Antonio and went to Green River (Granger, WY is smack dab in Green River)? Or they met in San Antonio, went to Biloxi to see the uncle, and then to Granger, Wyoming?



He drove cross-country. Jesus. Alcala's timeline just got more detailed than previously posted in his subsection on here. Previously, it was stated that in summer of 1977, he was granted permission to go visit relatives in New York but did not mention how or why or method of transportation.


Excellent sleuthing and lovely road trip story. I'm something of a road geek, so I already knew I-80. Hearing it just now is a pleasure. US 89 and US 93 are another nearby routes. Was I-80 complete and signed when you went through there? The interstate system wasn't fully completed until the early 1990s, so chasing highway killers is complex if we don't know routes killers took. If you see my quote above, Thornton was last seen by a uncle in Biloxi in June of 1977. I'm trying to find how and when they met. I'm doubting the I-80 theory at the moment.

I just assumed he drove Especially with a month to do it in.

I'm fairly sure it was still under construction then, and one of the incomplete parts was near Rock Springs. I had a relative working construction there but I don't remember the exact years.

 

[Jake479]

RIP Christine Thornton

 

[Nikon]

From Alcala's timeline thread, he was released on 17 June 1977. His parole officer approved travel to east coast to visit relatives. Alcala left 2 July 1977.

When he arrived in NYC cannot be conclusively determined. He would need approximately 40 hours to drive from LA to NYC, nonstop. This is based on current travel time. 40 years ago, it would be much slower - 55mph speed limit and puny cars he was known to drive. I'm going to estimate his arrival at a reasonable 8 July based on speed and human function. However in the timeline thread it was mentioned he vacationed in three cities. Did he make a stop in Chicago before NYC, or after?

Ellen Hover, suspected victim of Alcala, officially disappeared 15 July. She was presumed murdered before the infamous 13-14 July blackout of New York during the summer of Son of Sam murders on 13 July.

No known whereabouts 15 July to 11 August. In the timeline thread, Alcala was vacationing in Chicago, Washington DC, and NYC. On 11 August, Alcala was in El Paso, Texas visiting family. WS member "WildHuncher" made a note about Alcala's coincided visit to family in El Paso with the disappearance of Christine around the same time.

Alcala must have met Christine in the El Paso area and offered her a ride. I-10 is a straight shot from El Paso to Los Angeles. Why go out the way to Wyoming? The other disparity is that he returned to LA on 6 August, then later traveled to Mexico on 11 August till 20 August. I suspect one of the articles was incorrect. It would make more sense to go into Mexico from El Paso, since he was there on 11 August.

 

[carbuff]

I thought Christine was from the San Antonio area, not El Paso?

 

[Alleykins]

I never would have connected the dots between this JD and Christine, due to the estimated TOD and the location. If I already said that, I apologize. My mind is blown away by this ID. Some of the items listed with the body could match up to what Christine has on in the picture, if they could be made out better, like her ring and the watch. She's wearing flip flops, though, instead of thick soul shoes, but that only means she could have changed them later.
I wonder why the woman in CA claimed this picture was of her and not Chris?
There is another UP case in OH that was also recently pulled from NamUS but haven't been able to find any details yet. Wonder if it's related to this one in anyway:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...epair-to-femur-Jan-80&p=12823165#post12823165

 

[carbuff]

I never would have connected the dots between this JD and Christine, due to the estimated TOD and the location. If I already said that, I apologize. My mind is blown away by this ID. Some of the items listed with the body could match up to what Christine has on in the picture, if they could be made out better, like her ring and the watch. She's wearing flip flops, though, instead of thick soul shoes, but that only means she could have changed them later.
I wonder why the woman in CA claimed this picture was of her and not Chris?
There is another UP case in OH that was also recently pulled from NamUS but haven't been able to find any details yet. Wonder if it's related to this one in anyway:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...epair-to-femur-Jan-80&p=12823165#post12823165

Maybe because she went out with him on the motorbike in the desert too, only she came back alive?

 

[Alleykins]

Maybe because she went out with him on the motorbike in the desert too, only she came back alive?

Possibly, and maybe they resembled each other, too?
I wonder what other evidence they found at the scene to link her death to Alacala? It mentions some was found, but most likely they couldn't say what because of the investigation.

 

[Nikon]

I thought Christine was from the San Antonio area, not El Paso?

I assume so. She was reported missing out of San Antonio, Texas. Alcala's timeline mentioned a visit to El Paso only on the 11th. I only can conclude both met in the El Paso area. San Antonio is over 500 miles east of El Paso on I-10. It would take almost all day to drive that length.

There are no details how she disappeared other than it felt wrong to her family.

I also feel this whole thing happened very quickly.

 

[Nikon]

UID/Christine comparison reference post. Bolded are Christine's statistics from Namus.

Doenetwork UID

• Date of Discovery - 4 April 1982
• Estimated date of death: 1980 (August 1977)
• Skeletal remains
• CoD: Unknown/undisclosed (Homicide)
• Estimated Age: 25-39 yrs old (28)
• Race: White Check
• Gender: Female Check
• Height: 5'8" 68 to 70 inches, or 5'6" to 5'8"
• Weight: 130 lbs 120 to 170*
• Hair Color: Brown Check
• Eye Color: Unknown (Hazel)

*weight difficult to determine due to pregnancy.

 

[carbuff]

Possibly, and maybe they resembled each other, too?
I wonder what other evidence they found at the scene to link her death to Alacala? It mentions some was found, but most likely they couldn't say what because of the investigation.

Yeah, I wouldn't expect that information to come out until a trial, if there is one.

It's also possible that the report about the other woman was a mistake, that she called in about a different picture but the information got written down wrong or something like that.

 

[Friday Fan]

Obituary: http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/554528/Christine-Ruth-Thornton.html?nav=5007

I believe she is from Michigan. Grew up there and graduated from Michigan Technological University.

Maybe her family lived in Michigan and she moved down to San Antonio? (Or something similar)
That would explain a vague timeline.

Alcala killed Thornton in Sweetwater County based on a photo that shows her on a motorcycle on what appears to be remote public land northeast of Granger...

Alcala said he had been in the Granger area before, met Thornton and took the photo of her on the motorcycle.
http://trib.com/news/local/serial-k...cle_4369c3e2-835d-57d2-831b-5c7be63b0a18.html

The photo is chilling because she looks like she is having a good time. Was she a "free spirit" who willingly went on a road trip will Alcala?? Or was she on a road trip with someone else or by herself and got separated?? Was the photo taken on the previous road trip??

 

[KLCD620]

Did the victim get pregnant by her former BF before they broke up? Did her family aware by her pregnancy before her disappearance?
Was the skeleton of her baby hidden by Christine's clothes during whole 5 years until discovery?

 

[carbuff]

Obituary: http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/554528/Christine-Ruth-Thornton.html?nav=5007

I believe she is from Michigan. Grew up there and graduated from Michigan Technological University.

Maybe her family lived in Michigan and she moved down to San Antonio? (Or something similar)
That would explain a vague timeline.



The photo is chilling because she looks like she is having a good time. Was she a "free spirit" who willingly went on a road trip will Alcala?? Or was she on a road trip with someone else or by herself and got separated?? Was the photo taken on the previous road trip??

That quote make it sound like when he met her, she was already in Wyoming.

Here's Granger: https://goo.gl/maps/CnxLscNQaCH2

That's on the western side of the area I was describing earlier. It's just north of Little America, which is a massive truck stop/tourist services area on I-80.

Wish we knew more about her boyfriend. I'm wondering whether he might have been murdered too.

 

[Nikon]

Did the victim get pregnant by her former BF before they broke up? Did her family aware by her pregnancy before her disappearance?
Was the skeleton of her baby hidden by Christine's clothes during whole 5 years until discovery?

Seems to be the case. They broke up before Thornton met Alcala. If she was approximately 6 months pregnant when she was killed, it may very well would have been a Valentine's Day baby.

That quote make it sound like when he met her, she was already in Wyoming.

If so, what was there? Granger is in middle of nowhere with only 100 people. It looks like a railroad crossroads. What was there that interested Alcala? Or Thornton?

 

[carbuff]

Seems to be the case. They broke up before Thornton met Alcala. If she was approximately 6 months pregnant when she was killed, it may very well would have been a Valentine's Day baby.



If so, what was there? Granger is in middle of nowhere with only 100 people. It looks like a railroad crossroads. What was there that interested Alcala? Or Thornton?

It really is the middle of nowhere, but it's less than ten miles north of Little America, one of the largest travel stops in America. It started in 1952 as a motel beside US 30, the cross-country route before I-80, and has grown steadily since then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_America_Hotels (It's named after the Little America research station in Antarctica, and they used to advertise with billboards with penguins on them.) Everybody going east-west through that part of the country goes past it, so they could easily have run into each other while filling up with gas or whatever.

It's also some of the best fishing in the world. Or it could have been sightseeing--hey, let's go up and see the Oregon Trail.

But looking at the photo, I'm going to guess they took the bike out for some off-road riding. Very popular sport in that area.