CA CA - Alma Root, 14, Auburn, 1 Jan 1980

[Richard]

New Years Day 2017 will mark the 37 year anniversary of Alma Violet Root's disappearance.

 

[Richard]

Bumping case up.

 

[Lavender Moon]

Bumping

 

[Richard]

Missing for 38 years:

Left: Root in 1979; Right: Age-progressed to age 38 (circa 2003)

Alma Violet Root
Missing since January 1, 1980 from Auburn, Placer County, California
Classification: Endangered Missing




Vital Statistics

• • Date Of Birth: February 8, 1965
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 14 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4; 130 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes. She goes by the name Violet.
  • Marks, Scars, Tattoos: Tattoo of a small blue heart over her right breast.
  • Dentals: Available
  • DNA: mtDNA Available in CODIS.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Root had been staying with her boyfriend in Penryn. The boyfriend told police she asked him to drive her to her aunt's house in Rio Linda, CA on New Year's Day, 1980 when she disappeared. The boyfriend said he then went to work at McClellan Air Force Base, and when he returned to Rio Linda to pick Root up, she wasn't there
He later told police he didn't think it was strange because Root often ran away and hitchhiked. Root's family was mystified by his explanation because Root didn't have an aunt living in Rio Linda. No one has heard from Root since.

LINK:

The Doe Network: Case File 82DFCA

 

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

This UID was recently added to NamUs
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Found off of State Route 89, North of Squaw Valley Rd in Truckee, Placer county on May 8th, 1981. Sex and race are uncertain, but the remains are believed to belong to an adolescent.

 

[Beekarina]

Omg. He said she was "just a throwaway" ?

If that's not motivation to try and figure out what happened & where she is....

 

[Beekarina]

I submitted a match while I was a member of Doenetwork for Alma and "Orange Socks". Although the sketch of Orange Socks doesn't really look that much like Alma, the post mortem photos look like her. My match was refused because of the time issue (Orange Socks was found on 10/31/79, before Alma went missing) and because the UID didn't have a heart tattoo (although this could have been left out of the info for Orange Socks for identification purposes). I always had a feeling the boyfriend was involved, a 14 year old having a 25 year old boyfriend (let alone living with him) isn't normal.

I realize your post is more than a decade old but it's wild how strongly Alma resembles that UID. 33UFTX

Edited to add: I wonder how accurate Alma's height and weight are, if she really was living with her 25 year-old boyfriend, and not with family, at 14?

 

[Murder Inc]

Does anyone have the Root address from Auburn? Was it Hemlock Drive? It's probably a good idea to check how close it was to where the Original Night Stalker lived.

 

[Lavender Moon]

I realize your post is more than a decade old but it's wild how strongly Alma resembles that UID. 33UFTX

Edited to add: I wonder how accurate Alma's height and weight are, if she really was living with her 25 year-old boyfriend, and not with family, at 14?

I think Alma Violet and Orange Socks closely resemble one another also; but I believe the body of Orange Socks was found on 10-31-79.

 

[Beekarina]

I think Alma Violet and Orange Socks closely resemble one another also; but I believe the body of Orange Socks was found on 10-31-79.

Right...

I guess I'm just wondering how accurate the timelines are for a 14 year old girl living with a 25 year old man? (If she was, in fact? I'm not really clear on that?)

It seems as though some of these missing kids were living lifestyles where the details of their daily lives were pretty much unknown. Really sad considering how young they were.

 

[Suglo]

Bumping for Violet!

 

[insearchoflight]

Right...

I guess I'm just wondering how accurate the timelines are for a 14 year old girl living with a 25 year old man? (If she was, in fact? I'm not really clear on that?)

It seems as though some of these missing kids were living lifestyles where the details of their daily lives were pretty much unknown. Really sad considering how young they were.

I’m sure you heard but wanted to add just in case, that “Orange Socks” has finally been identified as Debra Jackson of Abilene, who was 23 when she died. So “Orange Socks” is not this missing Alma Violet Root.

‘It’s A Big Deal’: Victim In 40-Year-Old 'Orange Socks' Cold Case Identified

 

[Beekarina]

I’m sure you heard but wanted to add just in case, that “Orange Socks” has finally been identified as Debra Jackson of Abilene, who was 23 when she died. So “Orange Socks” is not this missing Alma Violet Root.

‘It’s A Big Deal’: Victim In 40-Year-Old 'Orange Socks' Cold Case Identified

Thank you! I just heard yesterday. So glad her sister saw the new sketches. Debra looked quite different in the photos of her I've seen too. Very sad. I'm glad she got her name back though. Hope Alma will have answers too.

 

[vw51212]

I found a UP that looks similar, height matches, tattoo possibly matches,
UP6182 found in 1991 approx 14-24 yo. old.
If Alma went missing in 1980 at 14, she would be 24-25 in 1991
Alma's height: 5'3, UP: 5'3 to 5'7
Alma has a "Blue heart" tattoo over her breast, unsure which
UP has a blue heart tattoo described as "upper left arm/shoulder" if thats the front of her, the breast area is also in the vivacity of the arm/shoulder
49UFFL
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
If you can please take a look and give feed back I would appreciate it

 

[rosesfromangels]

I don't think there is much of a mystery to this case. Just sayin'.....

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Beekarina]

Hmmm....

There could be a mystery. While her boyfriend certainly may have killer her, it's possible he helped her leave the area, or given his later conviction as a sex offender, perhaps he was a pimp, or trafficker of some sort?

I can see a resemblance to the unidentified @vw51212 shared. The tattoo is intetesting. Hitchhiking from the Keys would be memorable....It seems something you would only do out of desperation, having driven that route and stopped at Bahia myself.

One thing that gives me pause is the unidentified in Florida was described as having excellent dental care. There doesn't seem to be any dental info for Alma, but her life sounds so chaotic. It's possible foster parents and others made sure she saw a dentist regularly. I'm just wondering if that is likely?

 

[Bit of hope]

There are some inconsistencies in the different files, but I think in this piece the story of Alma's live is well written. BTW it has nothing to do with a medium.

Alma Violet Root

 

[Richard]

Missing for over 40 years...

Alma Violet Root

Alma, circa 1980; Age-progression to age 52 (circa 2017)

• Missing Since 01/01/1980
• Missing From Auburn, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 02/08/1965 (55)
• Age 14 years old
• Height and Weight 5'4, 130 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Alma has a tattoo of a blue heart, about the size of a quarter, on one of her breasts. She goes by her middle name, Violet.

Details of Disappearance

Alma and her older sister, Laura Huff, spent several years in foster care prior to 1980. The two girls were placed in care after they ran away from home to escape sexual abuse. A third sister had moved out of the household by then.

Alma's father was convicted of sexually abusing Alma and Huff and was sentenced to prison. He was still incarcerated when Alma disappeared. The two sisters were very close, although they often had to stay in separate foster homes.

Shortly before Alma went missing, the sisters were reunited and went to live with their grandmother in Applegate, California. Alma was last seen on January 1, 1980. Her 25-year-old boyfriend, Scott Petschek, picked her up from her grandmother's residence that evening.

According to Petschek, he and Alma spent some time at his grandmother's home, then Alma asked him to drive her to her aunt's home in Rio Linda, California. He dropped her off at her requested destination, then went to his job at McClellan Air Force Base. After work, when he went back to Rio Linda to pick up Alma, she was gone.

Petschek informed authorities that he did not consider her disappearance unusual, since Alma had a reputation as an occasional runaway and hitchhiker. Her family told investigators that she did not have an aunt who lived in Rio Linda. She may have traveled with a male companion after her initial disappearance.

Due to her history as a runaway, police believed Alma had left of her own accord in 1980. From the beginning, Huff believed this was not the case; she stated the two of them had always run away together and Alma wouldn't have left without her. Huff claims when she asked Petschek what happened, he told her she would never find Alma.

The case was reopened in 1991, after Alma's father's release from prison, when he went to the police and asked if they had located his daughter. Authorities re-interviewed Petschek and searched the well behind his grandmother's home, but found nothing of interest.

Interestingly, sometime after 1980, Petschek was convicted of child molestation, and he is now registered as a sex offender. He has never been charged in Alma's case, however, and maintains his innocence in her disappearance.

Little information is available as to Alma's fate. Her grandparents and father have died, but her mother and two sisters are still alive. Her case remains unsolved and some agencies still classify it as a runaway.

Investigating Agency

• Placer County Sheriff's Department 916-889-7800

Source Information

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Child Protection Education of America
• The Sacramento Bee
• Child CyberSearch
• Child Rescue Canada
• The Auburn Journal
• Alma Violet Root – The Charley Project

 

[Bit of hope]

Alma Violet Root

According to this file her blue heart tattoo is over her right breast.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Bumping