AZ AZ - Cynthia, 15, & Jackie Leslie, 13, Mesa, 31 July 1974

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Two for the road said:
"Years after the girls disappeared, a trucker outside Flagstaff told her he saw the girls working at a diner in El Dorado, Kansas.

Again Erma made the long, hopeful drive and again she didn’t find any trace of her daughters."

From the article, interesting because Jackie has been proposed as EDJD several times!
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The DNA from EDJD ties her to a family in Virginia and is not Jackie Leslie, afterall. Our family has provided DNA but no possible matches so far, or that they've matched up anyway.
 
I wish you well in your search for the original case file. I am sure that it still exists and that there have been bits of information added over the years whenever anyone calls them to enquire or talk about it.

Usually there is a case officer assigned and if you can find out who that is, they might be able to assist you, as a family member.
 
scriptgirl said:
To me, this is a case where peers were involved. I wonder if all the names of the partygoers were given to the police. Are the parents of the girls still alive?
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The Leslie Sisters are my Aunts, I was 6 months old when they were abducted. Their father died of lung cancer 9 months after they were abducted. My grandmother is still alive, still looking and hoping. I am currently trying to get a hold of the police records to provide more details. I will share them here when I do. I also wonder if party goers might be more likely to reveal new information 45 years later. I hope they have a complete list, we'll see.
 

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MissMySis said:
Very reminiscent of my sister's disappearance along with her friend in Marathon, Fla! They disappeared in either 8/74 or 9/74, the date is debatable. My sister was named "Cynthis" too! Wow! My heart goes out to this family! My sister and Teri's thread is on here too. Cynthis Gooding and Teresa Alfonso. I pray for answers like I know this family does.
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MissMySis, I am so sorry that your sister Cynthia and her friend disappeared. I hope that in time the person(s) responsible will be held accountable. I will go on her websleuths page and read it in entirety.

It is good to see family of the missing on here, sharing facts with those of us attempting to find answers. I see from your sister's page that you feel she was not taken by Rodney Alcala, but by someone she knew. The distance between the abductions in Florida vs. Arizona makes me skeptical that the Leslies' disappearance was connected to Cynthia and Teresa.
 
I lived about a mile from Desert Sands growing up, just north up Sossaman.
I don't know if your aunt's story was something we were shielded from or if my parents just plain did not know, but we were never told a thing.
Upon learning of their disappearance with the advent of the internet, this case has haunted me for years now. I find myself always checking for updates, hoping.
So much of our childhood, running loose all over that area, miles of open desert between neighborhoods, the freeway not even close to our area, we thought we ruled supreme. We thought we were safe. Innocence of babes.
We were merely lucky.
I will keep the Leslie sisters in my thoughts.
Someday, there will be answers.
 
I also see the resemblance to the girls in the Alcala series. Is @PictureUsHome still following the thread? If the girls' mother is still alive, it would be interesting to know if she is aware of those photographs?

Alcala was released from prison in summer of 1974, I believe late July-early August. He wasn't out long, before being arrested for parole violation doing drugs, and other bad stuff with a 13 year-old. The timeline seems *possible*, especially if the girls might have initially taken off with other people, either willingly or otherwise.....
 
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Sigh....this case is like so many from that era, long forgotten it seems. Fortunately, not on Websleuths. Every grainy picture is a person who deserves justice, and these two beautiful girls are no exception. I can't even imagine the pain the mother went through losing two daughters, and then her husband seven months later. God Bless her.

That being said, this case has a lot more going for it than many others. We have a good amount of information on the movements of the girls, despite the feeble attempts at deflection and deception by partygoers. I think we all have a good idea of what likely happened; it's now a matter of proving it.

As a justice seeking relative, I would start by assembling every piece of information I had on the case. A "freedom of information" request would result in obtaining whatever information has been obtained and assessed in the case. It would likely identify POI. From there, I would research any POI and see what their criminal status has been. I would suggest it is highly unlikely that they have lead a blemish free life. They are likely incarcerated or dead, or have been incarcerated multiple times. They are likely heavy drug or alcohol users, and probably been arrested for domestic abuse on more than one occasion. That's my Perp profile, although it doesn't take a sleuth to come up with that.

Once you hone in on key players, identify their close associates, and most especially female associates. The Perp(s) won't talk....they haven't for this long. However, there is a better chance putting some pressure on their female associates, who are far more likely to provide some insights.

In what I read about the case, there was concern that where all this allegedly took place has long ago been paved over with various buildings sitting on top. Given the information provided, I do not think the remains of the girls rest in the immediate area, but more likely in the Tonto National forest somewhere.

BTW, was this guy mentioned that the older girl was seeing (and the father disapproved of) a biker?

Amateur opinion and speculation
 
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While some might tend to think that "the older a case gets, the less likely it is to be solved", I have seen many examples of just the opposite.

At the time of a disappearance back in the day, the first thoughts by parents, friends, and even law enforcement might have been that it was just kids being kids and staying out late, or visiting a friend, or "running away". Then when the real search would start, many factors have entered in - weather, people moving about, trash being hauled away, - and above all other cases for the police to be investigating.

But researching an old or "cold" case, one has the benefit of hindsight and history. Especially when it comes to potential suspects. Other similar crimes might have been committed in other jurisdictions, or other times which might give clues as to how this particular one might have occurred.

A careful look at a person who was considered a "Person of Interest" might give clues as to his/her behavior and other crimes both before and after the crime in question.

The recent phenomenon of DNA science has solved many old murders and finally brought to LE attention killers and rapists who had previously been undetected. When such a suspect is found, it is sometimes an easy thing to figure out where they were before and after the crime they were caught for.

Here on the Websleuths site, one can look at files of missing persons, unsolved cold cases and even a number of which have been recently solved. What is NOT always so available here or even on other internet sites might be SOLVED cases from around the same timeframe as an unsolved case of interest. Looking back at specific crimes which were solved, taken to trial and adjudicated is sometimes fruitful in solving other still unsolved cases.

Often details of these "solved" cases can be seen in Legal Decisions and rulings concerning appeals made by convicted criminals. Because those decisions are the result of public trials, the information is openly available, often on-line and always free of charge. I would warn anyone who does look into these decisions that they often do tend to be very graphic in their descriptions.
 
Rle7 said:
Sisters Jackie Leslie, 13, and Cynthia Leslie, 15, disappeared within a three-block area while walking along Baseline Road near Power Road from their east Mesa home on July 31, 1974. They were on their way to a party.

“There’s never a day that I don’t say a prayer where I’ll find out what happened to my daughters,” said Erma Prue, 78, who now lives in Henderson, Nev., to be close to her oldest daughter, her only other child. “You never give up hope.”

In a recent interview with the Tribune, Prue said she doesn’t believe the girls would have abandoned their family, especially given their father’s medical condition at the time. Albert Jack Leslie died of cancer on Feb. 21, 1975, about seven months after the girls disappeared.

Authorities, Erma Prue and her daughter, Linda Herring, believe Jackie and Cynthia met with foul play somewhere between their home and their destination.

“I’ve tried to keep the story of their disappearance alive so nobody forgets about it,” Prue said. “I think there is someone out there who knows what happened to them and never came forward.”

There were conflicting statements as to whether the sisters attended the party.

Some people questioned by police said they did; others said they stopped by briefly and left.

“I believe they got in with the wrong crowd,” Prue said.

Herring said that after her sisters disappeared none of the people who often called Cynthia and Jackie on the phone ever called the house again.

“I thought that was strange,” Herring said. “We believe something happened to them ... and we hope that someone who knows what happened will say something.”

The sisters’ disappearance was in an unincorporated area of east Mesa at that time under the county’s jurisdiction.

Although no remains were ever found, the case is considered a homicide because of outstanding suspicious circumstances.

Many people were questioned, but no one was ever a suspect, according to Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Detective Steve Gurlach, who has investigated leads in the case for several years.

The most recent tip received by the sheriff’s office came from out of state in February 2009, and actually led to the excavation of a backyard of a Cottonwood home last summer, according to Gurlach.

However, the excavation turned up nothing.

“Two healthy teenage girls just don’t disappear and aren’t heard from again,” Gurlach said. “Something happened, and there’s a great fear that they met with foul play. ... Somebody somewhere knows something.”

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/153084
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"The most recent tip received by the sheriff’s office came from out of state in February 2009, and actually led to the excavation of a backyard of a Cottonwood home last summer, according to Gurlach."

A property was also searched in 2009 for the remains of Robert Raymond Parks in Mesa, AZ.
Possible lead in teen's cold case murder in Mesa
  • Posted Aug 24, 2009



Anonymous tip called in to police
azfamily.com
MESA - Detectives are conducting a cold case investigation in the area of Alma School and Broadway in Mesa based on an anonymous tip.

A medical examiner's van is in the area in reference to a 1974 missing person cold case involving a teenager named Robert Raymond Parks.


A Mesa police spokesperson tells 3TV detectives are on the scene with crime scene technicians.

Preliminary reports indicate detectives received information that Parks could have been buried beneath an addition to a residence in the area.
 
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Jackie Lynn Leslie
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Jackie, circa 1974; Age-progression to age 52 (circa 2013)

  • Missing Since 07/31/1974
  • Missing From Mesa, Arizona
  • Classification Non-Family Abduction
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 02/15/1961 (59)
  • Age 13 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'4, 110 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A summer shirt and jeans. Carrying a white hairbrush.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Jackie has a mole on her right cheekbone. Her ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance

Jackie was last seen walking with her older sister, Cynthia, on July 31, 1974 in their hometown of Mesa, Arizona. The sisters were headed to a friend's home that was located three blocks away from their own residence in the Desert Shores Mobile Home Park. They were last seen walking down Baseline Road near Power Road.

Cynthia and Jackie never returned home and have not been heard from again. They left all of their personal belongings behind inside their residence.

The girls left a note for their mother saying they were going to babysit, but she learned afterwards that they planned to attend a party. Their father asked Cynthia to avoid an unidentified teenage boy, but she may have wanted to meet the individual during the evening.

When authorities questioned the people who attended the party, some said they'd seen the sisters there, and others said they never arrived.

The girls' father died several months after they disappeared. Their family relocated to the trailer park to allow him to be closer to the local hospital, as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier in 1974.

Cynthia and Jackie's mother said that they were close to their father and never would have left him while he was ill. The girls' mother remarried after their father's death. She moved to Kingman, Arizona in 1999 to be closer to her oldest daughter, who resides in Nevada.

Foul play is suspected in the sisters' cases, but little evidence is available.

Investigating Agency
  • Maricopa County Sheriff's Office 602-256-1087
Source Information
 
Cynthia Ardina Leslie
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Cynthia, circa 1974; Age-progression to age 54 (circa 2013)

  • Missing Since 07/31/1974
  • Missing From Mesa, Arizona
  • Classification Non-Family Abduction
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 02/01/1959 (61)
  • Age 15 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 109 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A summer shirt and light blue jeans.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Cynthia has a dark brown mole on the outer side of her right armpit, half an inch in size. Her nickname is Cindy. She wears eyeglasses, but may not have been wearing them at the time she went missing. Her ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance

Cynthia was last seen walking with her younger sister, Jackie, on July 31, 1974 in their hometown of Mesa, Arizona. The sisters were headed to a friend's home that was located three blocks away from their own residence in the Desert Shores Mobile Home Park. They were last seen walking down Baseline Road near Power Road.

Cynthia and Jackie never returned home and have not been heard from again. They left all of their personal belongings behind inside their residence.

The girls left a note for their mother saying they were going to babysit, but she learned afterwards that they planned to attend a party. Their father asked Cynthia to avoid an unidentified teenage boy, but she may have wanted to meet the individual during the evening.

When authorities questioned the people who attended the party, some said they'd seen the sisters there, and others said they never arrived.

The girls' father died several months after they disappeared. Their family relocated to the trailer park to allow him to be closer to the local hospital, as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier in 1974.

Cynthia and Jackie's mother said that they were close to their father and never would have left him while he was ill. The girls' mother remarried after their father's death. She moved to Kingman, Arizona in 1999 to be closer to her oldest daughter, who resides in Nevada.

Foul play is suspected in the sisters' cases, but little evidence is available.

Investigating Agency
  • Maricopa County Sheriff's Office 602-256-1087
Source Information
 
Richard said:
Cynthia Ardina Leslie
  • cynthia_ardina_leslie_1.jpg
  • cynthia_ardina_leslie_2.jpg
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  • cynthia_ardina_leslie_4.jpg
Cynthia, circa 1974; Age-progression to age 54 (circa 2013)

  • Missing Since 07/31/1974
  • Missing From Mesa, Arizona
  • Classification Non-Family Abduction
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 02/01/1959 (61)
  • Age 15 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 109 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A summer shirt and light blue jeans.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Cynthia has a dark brown mole on the outer side of her right armpit, half an inch in size. Her nickname is Cindy. She wears eyeglasses, but may not have been wearing them at the time she went missing. Her ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance

Cynthia was last seen walking with her younger sister, Jackie, on July 31, 1974 in their hometown of Mesa, Arizona. The sisters were headed to a friend's home that was located three blocks away from their own residence in the Desert Shores Mobile Home Park. They were last seen walking down Baseline Road near Power Road.

Cynthia and Jackie never returned home and have not been heard from again. They left all of their personal belongings behind inside their residence.

The girls left a note for their mother saying they were going to babysit, but she learned afterwards that they planned to attend a party. Their father asked Cynthia to avoid an unidentified teenage boy, but she may have wanted to meet the individual during the evening.

When authorities questioned the people who attended the party, some said they'd seen the sisters there, and others said they never arrived.

The girls' father died several months after they disappeared. Their family relocated to the trailer park to allow him to be closer to the local hospital, as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier in 1974.

Cynthia and Jackie's mother said that they were close to their father and never would have left him while he was ill. The girls' mother remarried after their father's death. She moved to Kingman, Arizona in 1999 to be closer to her oldest daughter, who resides in Nevada.

Foul play is suspected in the sisters' cases, but little evidence is available.

Investigating Agency
  • Maricopa County Sheriff's Office 602-256-1087
Source Information
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So much is not known about this unknown boy. If they had just moved there from Page and father was in the hospital how did he know about this boy?Was it a peer? How big was this party and where was it I.e. whose house? I feel like if we had one or two bits of information we could make some headway here.
 
Can't LE make an attempt to find the people who were at that party and ask them to voluntarily contact them to make updated statements? Some would be parents themselves and maybe understand now why this case just needs to be solved. Maybe some would give some new information or tips to help LE. Someone needs to speak up, at least anonymously to LE.

I feel for Cynthia and Jackie's mother, sister, and other relatives.
 
ChatteringBirds said:
Can't LE make an attempt to find the people who were at that party and ask them to voluntarily contact them to make updated statements? Some would be parents themselves and maybe understand now why this case just needs to be solved. Maybe some would give some new information or tips to help LE. Someone needs to speak up, at least anonymously to LE.

I feel for Cynthia and Jackie's mother, sister, and other relatives.
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I agree. Its been long enough and there has been no justice for this poor girl.
 
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