Identified! AZ - Yavapai Co, 'Little Miss Nobody', WhtFem 6-7, UP10741, Jul'60 - Sharon Lee Gallegos

[Roselvr]

I can't help but wonder
Why did they descend on Alamogordo?
What made them decide on that town?

They sound like they were complete strangers to the area. Alamogordo is kinda in the middle of nowhere.

I wonder if they were from Texas? Back in the day people would cross state lines to commit crimes, but the kidnappers knew they were committing a federal crime.

There is an Air Force Base about 10 miles away. Maybe the guy had been previously stationed there and knew of the town? The oldest aerial I can find is from 1972. The area is surrounded by mountains and desert. Probably was not the easiest place to get to in 1960

Source: Historic Aerials: Viewer
Google Maps

You bring up a good point about the military base. Some of you know I've helped Cathy, missing found murdered "Alexis", adopted name Aundria Bowman's mom. Alexis's adoptive father was Navy. It's come out that he tried to sexually assault a woman on a bicycle that back fired, he got caught. While he was on trial, he had to take a 2 week break to do some sort of duty at a Navy base in Virginia where he took the opportunity to stalk, enter her home, watch her with her friend, then he brutally raped and murdered a woman named Kathleen in 1980, he then went back home, was found guilty, sentenced to a little over 5 years in a Michigan prison. He was busted 2 1/2 years ago with forensic genealogy.

It's very possible the man was military or ex military, maybe they were on their way to another base so they decided to do one last "job" before leaving.

 

[katydid23]

‘Little Miss Nobody’: Arizona authorities ID 1960 Jane Doe as 4-year-old abducted from New Mexico


This^^ is a very good article with some original newspaper clippings of the child's kidnapping.

 

[katydid23]

"Little Miss Nobody": Sharon Lee Gallegos, pictured at right, was abducted July 21, 1960, as she played with other children in an alley behind this Alamogordo, N.M., home, where the 4-year-old's family lived. The girl remained missing until February 2022, when genetic genealogists traced the DNA of an unidentified girl found in the Arizona desert July 31, 1960, to Gallegos’ family. (Google, Yavapai County Sheriff's Office)

 

[katydid23]

'Little Miss Nobody': The body of a young girl was discovered July 31, 1960, about a half-mile down this dusty road off Joshua Tree Parkway near Congress, Ariz. The girl, called “Little Miss Nobody” by authorities, remained unidentified until February 2022, when genetic genealogists matched the DNA of the slain child with that of Sharon Lee Gallegos, 4, who was abducted outside her Alamogordo, N.M., home 10 days earlier. (Google)

 

[Friday Fan]

‘Little Miss Nobody’: Arizona authorities ID 1960 Jane Doe as 4-year-old abducted from New Mexico


This^^ is a very good article with some original newspaper clippings of the child's kidnapping.

So, she was barefoot at the time of her abduction.

Also her nails were not painted at the time of her abduction. They were painted by her abductors.

 

[wary]

So, she was barefoot at the time of her abduction.

Also her nails were not painted at the time of her abduction. They were painted by her abductors.

Am I imagining it, or did the official missing notices say that she was wearing white shoes?

 

[AliceInPain]

sbm

I can't help but wonder
Why did they descend on Alamogordo?
What made them decide on that town?

They sound like they were complete strangers to the area. Alamogordo is kinda in the middle of nowhere.

The woman knew the mother's name and that she had a little girl.
jmo, they came there to take Sharon.
Since the mother didn't know who they were, who could have told them about her, who would know she lived in that town but not the address?
I wonder if the father was questioned, or if Sharon had a different father than her siblings.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

And why did they burn her? Such evil. They weren't trying to hide their own DNA, etc in 1960. Maybe they were trying to keep her from being identified? Then you have to wonder why they would bother. And, I agree, why did they target her in particular?
Children from small towns have been targeted around the world, but these abductors seemed to know specifically who she was.
My opinions only.

 

[Betty P]

I found out what I could about the person questioned a week after Sharon was found. He was known to be hitch hiking in the Prescott area July 27-28 and was in Alamogordo when Sharon disappeared on July 21st. (I don't know what about him caught investigators interest. Who knows?? Did someone pick him up Jul 27/28 and strike up a conversation with him??)


He was born in 1913 and died in 1999
His Find A Grave indicates he only had one child, who was born in 1940
From the article: Davidson denied that more than their four children were with him.

He was married at the time he was questioned. He wife, who was his son's mother, died of heart attack in 1969. She was 50 years old.

He could have had more children.......I know Texas has pretty open birth records, but if they were traveling around, they could have children born in another state and the birth records are not online...

He lived in the area near Tyler. He is buried in Longview, which is near Tyler.

The 1940 Census indicates that he is a HS graduate and a farmer. The Census also indicates he had no income in 1939, but I take some of the census stuff with a grain of salt. His wife indicates that she has 3 years of HS.

Another article briefly refers to the Davidsons as a "migrant family". Maybe he was a migrant farm worker. Who knows??

Prescott Evening Courier - Google News Archive Search

If it helps, the 1950 census will become available sometime next month. As info.

Great work, Roselvr! Poor little girl must have been terrified and the other children terrorized, too.

 

[Friday Fan]

sbm

The woman knew the mother's name and that she had a little girl.
jmo, they came there to take Sharon.
Since the mother didn't know who they were, who could have told them about her, who would know she lived in that town but not the address?
I wonder if the father was questioned, or if Sharon had a different father than her siblings.

I got the impression they were hanging around town looking for a child to abduct.
They seemed to eventually zero in on Sharon. JMO (young, pretty, Anglo looking, from a poorer family etc)
It's a small town and it's fairly easy to learn a few names, addresses etc..JMO

Sharon was abducted on Thursday, but a witness saw them hanging around the previous Sunday

Mrs. Helen Gonzales, a neighbor, said that last Sunday after church a car fitting the description of the one used in the kidnapping was parked in the alley.

A large woman in her 30's wearing a faded cotton wash dress asked where Lupe Gallegos lived.

"I pointed out the house after the woman told me she wanted Mrs. Gallegos to work for her," the neighbor related.

"The strange woman also asked if Mrs. Gallegos had a little girl, whether or not she had lots of children and if the entire family lived in the house or if it was divided into apartments," she continued. Log in or sign up to view

I've seen too many old Dragnet episodes where cons come to town and learn stuff about people fairly quickly.
The woman was phishing for information on Sunday under the guise of "offering someone work".

It would not have been a big deal to ask someone, "I need a maid. Who is that woman? What is her name? Where does she live?"
Assuming the abducting woman was Anglo or Anglo looking, she could have gotten info from other Anglos or the motel where Lupe worked. It's a small town.
They may have been stalking other families too. JMO

Sharon's nephew also specifically mentioned church when he spoke at the press conference. I will need to listen to his talk again.

Clips and transcript from: Log in or sign up to view

 

[Friday Fan]

Am I imagining it, or did the official missing notices say that she was wearing white shoes?

Yes, a newspaper article that I just posted said she was wearing white shoes. But who knows....

A newspaper article isn't an official missing notice however. All official records from that time are gone, so newspaper articles are all we have !

 

[AndTheCaseOf]

The woman knew the mother's name and that she had a little girl.
jmo, they came there to take Sharon.
Since the mother didn't know who they were, who could have told them about her, who would know she lived in that town but not the address?
I wonder if the father was questioned, or if Sharon had a different father than her siblings.

I agree. My mind has been going in the same direction after reading the old articles. I can't get over how brazen the kidnappers were. That town is so rural and they made themselves so apparent to anyone who saw them. Kidnappers usually just kidnap and dash, not research. If they stalk, they usually try to be inconspicuous, not leave a town of witnesses. The police, along with all the other mistakes, messed up by not getting sketches. With how apparent they were, I don't think they lived anywhere nearby.

Also, something that struck me as off about the questions is that the mother is the focus, not Sharon. They asked about how many kids she had, her house, her finances. Not one question about her daughter's interests.

Yes, they could have spotted her at the church and asked people attending who the family was and where they lived. However, then there's the question of why obvious strangers were attending a church to find a child, leaving behind witnesses. Whether it was personal or random, the whole approach they took is baffling.

 

[Beekarina]

Wait, her mom worked at a motel? Perhaps the people stayed there, and saw young Sharon there with her mom? Only a theory, but it isn't that unusual even today for a mom with small children to bring one along to work for various reasons.

I find it really disturbing they painted her nails.....

 

[AndTheCaseOf]

Wait, her mom worked at a motel? Perhaps the people stayed there, and saw young Sharon there with her mom? Only a theory, but it isn't that unusual even today for a mom with small children to bring one along to work for various reasons.

I find it really disturbing they painted her nails.....

The implication of the nails and clothes is so upsetting. Also, they offered her candy and clothes to get in the car. Who offers a kid clothes? That makes it seem like they don't even know kids, but then they had two kids with them... The most disturbing thing I read in one of the articles is that the police or FBI were theorizing it may have been a man dressed as a woman. My heart breaks for Sharon and her family.

 

[Friday Fan]

Wait, her mom worked at a motel? Perhaps the people stayed there, and saw young Sharon there with her mom? Only a theory, but it isn't that unusual even today for a mom with small children to bring one along to work for various reasons.

I find it really disturbing they painted her nails.....

This is where her mother worked. Her mother was still working there in 1965 when they did a follow up story.

Alamogordo New Mexico Postcard ALAMO COURTS Motel Highway 54 Roadside Linen 1953 | United States - New Mexico - Other, Postcard

 

[Friday Fan]

There are two other articles out there. But I assume they are paywalled.

I found them on a popular YT channel.
One is from Jul 23, 1960 in the Albuquerque Tribune. The person got it from Ancestry. I would screenshot, but don't know if it is OK
Summary:
Cars were checked
One car abandoned (I assume in Alamogord0) was traced to a pair in Clovis who fit the description of the man and woman. They were checked out and the owner gave an adequate explanation.

There is also another article about a "Looking for a Family Group" which was walking near Congress, AZ shortly before Sharon was found.
The article appears in the AZ Republic on Aug 2, 1960. This is in reference to the hitch hiker who was eventually questioned. Apparently there were two adults and supposedly five children who were spotted by a surveying crew. (Two boys, two girls and a baby)

They felt one of the girls who was walking, could have been LMN. The wording was vague. But based on the hot weather conditions, I assume this girl walking would have been too old to be Sharon. The family did not have water, but seemed to be fine.
Later on, in an article referenced here on WS, the father stated that he only had four children with him. So was there a bundle of blankets that was mistaken for a baby? This article is also available on Ancestry. The article was not very revealing. I'm just having trouble wording it..

 

[MaryG12]

‘Little Miss Nobody’: Arizona authorities ID 1960 Jane Doe as 4-year-old abducted from New Mexico

So glad to see this little girl get her name back. RIP Sharon.

 

[Tabech29]

Since the color of the car was so unique, maybe they can narrow it down to a specific area? I can see the abductor painting her nails as consolation, and dyeing her hair just to disguise her identity. They probably planned on taking Sharon home with them, and the feisty little princess put up a good fight. She could've died during the struggle or when they realized the police were after them, they decided to murder her, because they couldn't cross to another state without her being recognized. Makes me sad, because Sharon probably fought them hard so that they didn't take her, and she could've gotten identified at least within 2 years or so. Just hope that she was already dead when they set her on fire, and not that they buried her alive and she dug herself out of the grave, then set her on fire when they noticed she was still alive.

 

[Friday Fan]

Since the color of the car was so unique, maybe they can narrow it down to a specific area? I can see the abductor painting her nails as consolation, and dyeing her hair just to disguise her identity. They probably planned on taking Sharon home with them, and the feisty little princess put up a good fight. She could've died during the struggle or when they realized the police were after them, they decided to murder her, because they couldn't cross to another state without her being recognized. Makes me sad, because Sharon probably fought them hard so that they didn't take her, and she could've gotten identified at least within 2 years or so. Just hope that she was already dead when they set her on fire, and not that they buried her alive and she dug herself out of the grave, then set her on fire when they noticed she was still alive.

I wonder if she died of heat stroke. Unless the vehicle had A/C, I don't know what they did with a fiesty kid in that awful heat. Taking her into a Denny's or Howard Johnson's to color and cool off just was not an option.

I figured they may have driven into Mexico to avoid getting caught and drove along a border road and reentered the US at Arizona. Southern AZ, Southern NM and Northern Mexico are murderously hot in the summer. We drove through the Mohave Desert, Arizona and Las Vegas only after we had an air conditioned vehicle. Our dad would not drive through the southwest until we had one. We also drove at night.

 

[Susikatze]

One car abandoned (I assume in Alamogord0) was traced to a pair in Clovis who fit the description of the man and woman. They were checked out and the owner gave an adequate explanation.

This is odd. Either the sightings of this couple and their car were red herrings all along (but multiple witnesses saw the car and the couple, the aunt even saw it speed away and the woman was seen asking for Sharons mother and lurking around) or again, LE didnt check enough and was content with some answer the couple gave.
Why would anyone abandon their car if innocent and fit the description of the abductors?
My gut feeling is LE didnt check enough into them.