CA - Unidentified & possible missing victims of Randy Kraft, 1971-1983

[Ambercat]

I mentioned this elsewhere, but don't think I've mentioned it on Websleuths:

Back in 1976, when I was 13, I hitched a ride for the 1-mile stretch from the El Porto section of Manhattan Beach to El Segundo. I was picked up by a man who looked to be in about his mid-40's. As we went down Vista Del Mar, he reached over and started patting me on the crotch, saying “your swimsuit isn’t wet is it? – I don’t want to get my car upholstery wet”. He did it again a second time, saying “are you sure?”.

We came up on my drop-off point (Grand Ave.), and he continued right through. After I protested that he had passed the drop-off, he continued a few hundred yards, and finally pulled over and dropped me off in front of the Hyperion sewage treatment plant. I remembered thinking that earlier that day, my friend was showing me his step-father’s .357 magnum, and I was wishing that I had it with me (LOL).

A few decades later, I was reading about Randy Kraft. I saw his photo, and I thought to myself he sure looked like the guy who gave me a ride that day. He was driving a medium sized 2-door sedan similar to the brown sedan that Kraft was driving when he was arrested. But IIRC, this man's car was light blue.

It probably wasn't Randy Kraft. But it still haunts me today how I, a 13 year old kid who felt indestructable (as most kids do), could have gotten myself into a very dicey situation for hitching a 1-mile ride home from the beach.

Wow! I guess people are stranger than I would like to believe. :facepalm:

I think in 1976, Randy Kraft drove a black and white Mustang; he didn't get the brown Toyota Celica until a few years later. When he was working for Lear Sieglar, he also occasionally had rental cars.

The Mustang was the car that he was driving on the night he encountered Keith Crotwell and Kent Mays at Big Johns (later Yankee Doodles) in Long Beach. The vehicle was later found by Keith's friends, Terry Ditmar and Randy Cooper, parted near 1st Street and Gaviota Ave. Michael Woodward, one of the homicide detectives who questioned Randy Kraft about Keith Crotwell's disappearance in 1975 passed away recently http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_23168024/michael-woodward-former-long-beach-cop-remembered-at. Back in 1975, the LBPD wanted to charge Randy Kraft with Keith Crotwell's murder, but the Long Beach prosecutors decline to file charges against Kraft http://articles.latimes.com/1987-03-10/local/me-5705_1_murder.

 

[CarlK90245]

... When he was working for Lear Sieglar, he also occasionally had rental cars.

Hmmm. IIRC, that guy might have said that the car was a rental, and that was why he was worried about the upholstery. But that's a big IIRC. 1976 was a long time ago, and memories fade.

 

[Ambercat]

Recently, an article about Randy Kraft appeared in Orange Coast Magazine -- http://www.orangecoast.com/features/2013/04/22/why-isnt-randy-kraft-dead/page/1

 

[CarlK90245]

:bump: for image revision.

This is closer to what Wilmington John Doe looked like, IMO.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1155umca.html

 

[Ambercat]

I'm not 100% where to post this because it applies (IMO) to quite a few UID cases from the 1970s. I was looking for an article in the LA Times Database about another UID (https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4299) because I thought there was something mentioned about the unidentified suicide victim being in a wheelchair then when I went back to NamUs, I couldn't find any mention of it. If anyone knows of a case in Los Angeles county where an unidentified man in a wheelchair threw himself onto a freeway or if that case has been solved, please let me know. Never mind, I found it -- the case I was trying to find was https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4361 and too early to be the missing person in question.

Sorry, back on topic -- during my search I found an article from July 4, 1976 entitled "TRAUMATIC SITUATIONS: They're Called 'Missing' Persons, but Are They Really?" about how missing adults cases were handled in the 1970s. Unfortunately, I can't post the whole thing because of copyright, yet according to the article,

Last year (1975) the LAPD received more than 700 letters -- many from Western Europe -- asking for help from the families of missing people who might be in Los Angeles.

I wonder if some of these people are still missing? I wonder if anyone wrote from the UK (thinking about the "England" notation on Randy Kraft's list).

 

[Ambercat]

Recently, I came across an old (December 6, 1979) LA Times article entitled "All Young Men: Police seek possible link in 11 deaths. Unfortunately, its copyrighted so I can't post the entire thing but there are some names of victims I haven't heard of before (Joseph Daly from Milpitas found deceased on Palomar Airport Rd near the San Diego Freeway near Carlsbad on Feb. 25, 1979 and Ralph Duane Davis found deceased along Ortega Highway in Riverside County on November 3, 1979) and one unidentified young man I am unfamiliar with found in Carlsbad on November 17, 1979 near the San Diego Freeway (maybe he has been IDed by now, there is also reference to an UID who was later identified as Frank Fox, a victim of William Bonin).

http://search.proquest.com/docview/162581481/13FFFD81858CE879B5/1?accountid=46298

 

[Ambercat]

While I do not believe that Randy Kraft had any African American victims, I noticed that an UID thought to be Black was recently identified as Joyvaline Martinez (who was classified as Hispanic in missing persons listings). This made me think about an UID found in Brea very close to the 57 Freeway in a Shell Oil Field (OIL?) near the intersection of Brea Blvd. and Tonner Canyon Rd on May 1, 1980 https://identifyus.org/en/cases/7652, http://ocsd.org/divisions/prof/coroner/ud/john/8001565L. The Orange County Coroners Website lists him as a homicide, but does not specify cause of death.

 

[Ambercat]

I'm not sure if this was posted before (an article about an UID found in San Diego being identified as James Cox, a sailor who was last seen hitchhiking in Long Beach in 1974) --

http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050814/news_1n14james.html

LaRose thinks her 6-foot-2-inch son wore his white Navy uniform so it would be easier to catch a ride.

Could James Cox be "Navy White?"

Also, I found a website that has some old maps of Long Beach and I didn't realize how much things have built up since Randy Kraft began murdering people (circa 1972). http://historicaerials.com/

 

[Ambercat]

Recently, I learned that the headless murder victim found on May 20, 1973 on Victoria St. in Carson was identified about a week later as Robert James London, 29, of Los Angeles. He was a married teaching assistant for the UCLA chemistry department. I'm not sure if any suspect was linked to/arrested for Mr. London's murder.

 

[robatsu]

Orange Coast Magazine got interested and published my Randy Kraft encounter story. You can read it here.

 

[Ambercat]

Recently, I came across an article from the Orange County Register dated June 1, 1979 discussing three different UIDs found within a 10 mile radius of Mt. Baldy (Rodger DeVaul Jr. was later found in the same area in February 1983).

I believe that the three UIDs mentioned in the article are --
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/2511
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4407
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4410

 

[CarlK90245]

I wonder (1) if DeVaul was a known Kraft victim, and (2) how long the head (or skull) had been there. The head of John LaMay (a known Kearney victim) was never found. His other parts were found in a highway rest stop not far from Mt Baldy. And the use of a saw to dismember the victims was Kearney's M.O.

 

[Ambercat]

I wonder (1) if DeVaul was a known Kraft victim, and (2) how long the head (or skull) had been there. The head of John LaMay (a known Kearney victim) was never found. His other parts were found in a highway rest stop not far from Mt Baldy. And the use of a saw to dismember the victims was Kearney's M.O.

There was a lot of evidence linking Rodger DeVaul (and Geoff Nelson who was last seen with DeVaul) to Randy Kraft (IIRC) --
http://www.scribd.com/doc/58724993/Randy-Kraft
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Kraft

According to the NamUs file, they believe the skull was from someone who died in 1979 and they found hair (reddish blond) but could not determine eye color. I don't think it is listed on the Doe Network (I looked but couldn't find it). I would hope that LE would check any dismembered skulls found after John Lamay's body was found to see if there was a match, I have no idea what the actual protocol is for cases like that.

 

[Ambercat]

Recently, there have been some updates for NamUs UP # 4282 (Los Angeles County Coroner's Case # 83-4561), a white male estimated to be 15 - 17 years old found on April 9, 1983. https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4282

The location where he was found was added -- 8741 Pioneer Blvd, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 with the explanation --

On 4/9/1983 The decedent was discovered behind some bushes in a vacant lot.

I looked up this address on Bing Maps and it is directly adjacent to the 605 Freeway (several of Randy Kraft's other victims, including Oral Stuart and Edward Moore were found near the 605 Freeway). The closest exit in the case of NamUs UP # 4282 would probably be Slauson Ave. http://binged.it/RwO7Sg

The unidentified teenager was wearing a brown t-shirt described that has "Halberts Corner Liquor, Alhambra" on the front and a truck logo on the back. While I know that Malcolm Little (age 20) was believed to be the "Teen Trucker" entry on the "scorecard list," I couldn't help but wonder about it. I also wondered if the unfortunate young man's brown work boots were found intact or if they were missing laces.

 

[CarlK90245]

Recently, there have been some updates for NamUs UP # 4282 (Los Angeles County Coroner's Case # 83-4561), a white male estimated to be 15 - 17 years old found on April 9, 1983. https://identifyus.org/en/cases/4282

The location where he was found was added -- 8741 Pioneer Blvd, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 with the explanation --



I looked up this address on Bing Maps and it is directly adjacent to the 605 Freeway (several of Randy Kraft's other victims, including Oral Stuart and Edward Moore were found near the 605 Freeway). The closest exit in the case of NamUs UP # 4282 would probably be Slauson Ave. http://binged.it/RwO7Sg

The unidentified teenager was wearing a brown t-shirt described that has "Halberts Corner Liquor, Alhambra" on the front and a truck logo on the back. While I know that Malcolm Little (age 20) was believed to be the "Teen Trucker" entry on the "scorecard list," I couldn't help but wonder about it. I also wondered if the unfortunate young man's brown work boots were found intact or if they were missing laces.

That is also very close to where the 1979 "Bell Boy" was found (i.e., aside the LA river in the city of Bell)

ETA: looking upthread, I see that I am just repeating what you already said.

 

[Ambercat]

Recently, the National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children website added composites of Wilmington John Doe (NamUs UP # 4465) and NamUs UP # 4410 (who was found near Glendora Ridge Rd. on Mt Baldy close to where known victim Rodger DeVaul Jr. was found).

http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMU/1184198/1#poster

http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMU/1184192/1#poster

 

[CarlK90245]

Recently, the National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children website added composites of ... NamUs UP # 4410 (who was found near Glendora Ridge Rd. on Mt Baldy close to where known victim Rodger DeVaul Jr. was found).

http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMU/1184192/1#poster

Even before seeing the image, I had Ronald David Kruska penciled in as a potential possible.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kruska_ronald.html

Looking at the composite, he looks even more interesting. But both the UID and the MP have DNA available and entered, so we would probably have a hit if these were a match.

 

[FiveFelines]

Even before seeing the image, I had Ronald David Kruska penciled in as a potential possible.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kruska_ronald.html

Looking at the composite, he looks even more interesting. But both the UID and the MP have DNA available and entered, so we would probably have a hit if these were a match.

Kruska is listed as having two tattoos on his arms. I see that the UID had a vaccination scar, so if that was visible, I'd think the tattoos would still be as well.

 

[dogperson]

Kruska looks good for this UID except for the tattoos. He was known to be hitchhiking. Kraft didn't remove any tattoos from victims did he, such as excising the skin?

 

[CarlK90245]

Kruska looks good for this UID except for the tattoos. He was known to be hitchhiking. Kraft didn't remove any tattoos from victims did he, such as excising the skin?

I was thinking these remains were skeletal. There must have been a little flesh on the bones to see the vaccination scar, but it doesn't say how much of the flesh remained.