CA CA - Lisa Rene Sprague, 17, Ventura, 1 Sept 1978

[Mrs. Badcrumble]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Lisa Rene Sprague

Female
White / Caucasian

Date of Last Contact: September 1, 1978
Missing From: Ventura, California
Missing Age: 17 Years
Current Age: 59 Years


Case Information

Demographics
Missing Age: 17 Years
Current Age: 59 Years

First Name: Lisa
Middle Name: Rene
Last Name: Sprague
Nickname/Alias: --

Sex: Female
Height: 5' 10" (70 Inches)
Weight: --
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Circumstances
Date of Last Contact: September 1, 1978
NamUs Case Created: November 7, 2019

Last Known Location Map
Location: Ventura, California 93001
County: Ventura County

Missing From Tribal Land: No
Primary Residence on Tribal Land: No

Circumstances of Disappearance:
Lisa Williams Sprague was last seen in Ventura, CA in the Fall of 1978.

Physical Description
Hair Color: --
Head Hair Description: --
Body Hair Description: --
Facial Hair Description: --
Left Eye Color: --
Right Eye Color: --
Eye Description: --

Distinctive Physical Features
No Information Entered

Clothing and Accessories
No Information Entered


Additional Case Info

Transportation
No Information Entered



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She's referred to as 'Lisa Williams Sprague' in the Circumstances of Disappearance section for some reason. Is this a typo, or is it a married name/maiden name/alias/alternative name?

 

[alb1on]

I suspect the age is wrong. Ancestry has a marriage record for Lisa R Williams to John E Sprague on 16 October 1976 in Ventura. There are several birth records from 1960 in California for a Lisa R Williams and I suspect it is more likely she was 18 when she went missing. There are family trees on Ancestry for John Edgar Sprague, born 1958 in California, lived in Ventura and died in Las Vegas in 1999. One of the trees has Lisa Williams as his wife but I doubt the birthdate of 22 January 1961 as that would make her 15 when they married. Was that possible in California in 1976? The tree gives no other information except that both the tree with Lisa Williams named and another with an unnamed wife also show a child of the marriage.

 

[Beekarina]

I wonder if this could be Lisa. I was looking at the Rodney Alcala photo series again after the 20/20 episode. This woman seems to have the same large heart-shaped necklace. (I cropped for comparison) Lisa was 5 ft 10 and the woman in the photo appears to be tall.

The available photos of Lisa are dark, so I'm not sure otherwise. I also find the "Farrah" hair and the shirt to be aging. On first glance, I thought this was a slightly older woman, I look closely I think the woman pictured could be a teen.

Serial killer Rodney Alcala's photographs: Do you recognize anyone?

 

[theshadow45]

Charley Project page for Lisa: Lisa Rene Sprague – The Charley Project.

 

[StarrChance]

I wonder if this could be Lisa. I was looking at the Rodney Alcala photo series again after the 20/20 episode. This woman seems to have the same large heart-shaped necklace. (I cropped for comparison) Lisa was 5 ft 10 and the woman in the photo appears to be tall.

The available photos of Lisa are dark, so I'm not sure otherwise. I also find the "Farrah" hair and the shirt to be aging. On first glance, I thought this was a slightly older woman, I look closely I think the woman pictured could be a teen.

Serial killer Rodney Alcala's photographs: Do you recognize anyone?View attachment 278911 View attachment 278913 View attachment 278914

Could that be the same necklace, eerie

 

[Beekarina]

Right. It might have simply been a popular oversized locket? With the photo of Lisa being sepia and unsmiling, it is a bit more difficult to compare. I'm not getting a strong "It's her" feeling, but I do see some similarities.

Does anyone have yearbook access? Maybe we can find more photos of Lisa?

 

[alb1on]

I have looked more closely at Ancestry. Lisa Williams appears on a public tree owned by a Sarah Lenhart whose full name is given as Sarah Christina Williams Lenhart. I assume Lenhart is a married name. This tree contains all the known details in this case. The owner profile also gives her age as 40-49 and strongly suggests that she is the daughter of Lisa Williams and John Sprague. I think it is ok to give this information since it is public on Ancestry (where privacy is available if wished).

There are 2 odd things which emerge from this tree; firstly, it confirms both a birth date of 22 January 1961 and a marriage date of 16 October 1976, which reinforces the belief that Lisa was 15 when she married. I now understand this is possible with parental and court approval in California. Secondly, the daughter (assuming that is the case) uses Williams rather than Sprague as a maiden name (despite Sprague appearing on the tree as the father). Additionally, the only birth which matches a child of Lisa Williams is for a Sarah C Williams, born 2 September 1977 in Ventura. So, if this is the child of Lisa Williams and John Sprague, they were registered in the mother's name only (the mother is listed as Williams). Finally, the birth cannot explain the marriage as it occurred more than 9 months after the marriage.

The tree does not have a death date for Lisa Williams but clearly considers her to be dead since living people on trees default to private.

I am not sure that this takes us forward very far except at the margins by reinforcing that there seems to be a child living and confirming that there was a very young marriage which may have broken down quite rapidly. All rather speculative, but I suppose it may increase the possibility that she made a new life, having found herself with husband and child earlier than most would want.

 

[Beekarina]

Hmm...Perhaps he was not the biological father, or there was some uncertainty? The other possibility which the tree and dates do not seem to confirm would be the daughter being born prior to the marriage and being given her mother's maiden name of Williams. (Although, if her parents then married, I think most people would change everyone's name over??)

So Williams was Lisa's maiden name, if I have followed you correctly, and Sprague was her married name?

Making sure I have it correct as I want to look for more photos.

 

[alb1on]

Yes, all of the sources (trees/marriage records/NAMUS) only seem to make sense if her maiden name is Williams and that she married John Sprague when she was 15 and had a child nearly one year later. I must admit to struggling with this timeline, but the various records support it (unless the birth date is wrong).

 

[Beekarina]

If the dates are all correct, then Lisa went missing almost a year to the date of her daughter's birth? That is either a super strange coincidence, or *perhaps* points more in the direction of an important date triggering something.

 

[Beekarina]

I found another image of the same young woman from the Alcala series and wanted to compare with Lisa. This was from a larger collection, link below.


Prosecutor worries Alcala might have killed others – Orange County Register

 

[Beekarina]

Could Lisa be Eldorado Jane Doe?

Height: Both 5 ft 10
Age: Lisa would have been 30 in 1991. EDJD 20-30
Hair: Lisa: Blond EDJD: Blond
Eye color not provided for Lisa, Blue for EDJD

Both have freckles

Lisa left behind a daughter. EDJD spoke of a daughter. (Claimed she had a daughter she was unable to get back after living in a shelter.)

EDJD's boyfriend/pimp/etc at the time of her murder claimed to know various details about her, among them was she was living on the streets at 16. Lisa is listed as having disappeared at 17.

Hmmm?

 

[StarrChance]

View attachment 279807 View attachment 279805 I found another image of the same young woman from the Alcala series and wanted to compare with Lisa. This was from a larger collection, link below.


Prosecutor worries Alcala might have killed others – Orange County Register

I am very bad with faces but I think the nose and chin are different.
Perhaps one day her daughter might want to try and find her, she probably would have more possibilities on what happened.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Could that be the same necklace, eerie

Good eye! That is eerie. It looks to me like Lisa’s heart is a pendant attached to a metal “choker” type necklace, whereas the Alcala photo’s heart is attached to a chain on each side. If that makes sense. But it’s hard to tell.

 

[Mka28]

I have looked more closely at Ancestry. Lisa Williams appears on a public tree owned by a Sarah Lenhart whose full name is given as Sarah Christina Williams Lenhart. I assume Lenhart is a married name. This tree contains all the known details in this case. The owner profile also gives her age as 40-49 and strongly suggests that she is the daughter of Lisa Williams and John Sprague. I think it is ok to give this information since it is public on Ancestry (where privacy is available if wished).

There are 2 odd things which emerge from this tree; firstly, it confirms both a birth date of 22 January 1961 and a marriage date of 16 October 1976, which reinforces the belief that Lisa was 15 when she married. I now understand this is possible with parental and court approval in California. Secondly, the daughter (assuming that is the case) uses Williams rather than Sprague as a maiden name (despite Sprague appearing on the tree as the father). Additionally, the only birth which matches a child of Lisa Williams is for a Sarah C Williams, born 2 September 1977 in Ventura. So, if this is the child of Lisa Williams and John Sprague, they were registered in the mother's name only (the mother is listed as Williams). Finally, the birth cannot explain the marriage as it occurred more than 9 months after the marriage.

The tree does not have a death date for Lisa Williams but clearly considers her to be dead since living people on trees default to private.

I am not sure that this takes us forward very far except at the margins by reinforcing that there seems to be a child living and confirming that there was a very young marriage which may have broken down quite rapidly. All rather speculative

 

[Mka28]

I came across the Lisa Williams-Sprague information by building her tree. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything on her, only on John Sprague. However, I did bump into her daughter. Her daughter has been looking for her Mom for years. She was the one to put her in Namus, and she put her DNA into the system. Lisa was emancipated, and left home at a young age. Lisa and John did not raise their daughter. The daughter was not aware of her privacy settings on Ancestry, until I pointed it out. Her daughter is asking for privacy and expecting her mom to be a Jane Doe. I'm hoping we could find more information for her. I hope we can all respect her wishes as well. The daughter has done an amazing job at looking for her all on her own. I can't imagine how she feels. Thank you.

 

[devertere]

Bumping!

 

[theshadow45]

Bumping, Lisa’s birthday passed recently.

 

[theshadow45]

Lisa has been missing for about 44 years this month.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Lisa Rene Sprague – The Charley Project