Pamela Dawn Tinsley
Missing Age: 19 Years
Current Age: 55 Years
Sex: Female
Height: 5' 7" (67 Inches)
Weight: 130 lbs
Race / Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Circumstances
Date of Last Contact: April 13, 1986
NamUs Case Created: April 15, 2010
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
County: Oklahoma County
Circumstances of Disappearance:
Tinsley was last seen at Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on April 13, 1986. She was there with friends when, at 2:00 p.m., she said she was going to take a ride around the lake on a motorcycle with a man she had just met. Tinsley left her purse and cigarettes behind with her friends. She never returned from the ride and has never been heard from again.
Tinsley's companion is described as Caucasian, 5'10 to 6'0 and 180 to 200 pounds, with brown hair and possibly a brown mustache. He was in his twenties and wore jeans, a t-shirt and sunglasses. His motorcycle was a blue 650 cc or 750 cc Kawasaki model, possibly with out of state license plates. He has never been identified.
Tinsley was having personal problems at the time of her disappearance. Three other people lived with her at her one-bedroom apartment in the 1200 block of north Kennedy in Edmond, Oklahoma. All of them were unemployed and none of them paid rent, and Tinsley had decided to evict them.
A couple of weeks before her disappearance, the police discovered marijuana growing in her closet. Tinsley said the marijuana wasn't hers. Her fiancé was serving with the military in another state, and he wrote to her regularly asking her to send him drugs.
Tinsley's mother stated it would be very unusual for daughter to accept a ride with a stranger, or to leave her purse and cigarettes behind. She believes the motorcycle rider Tinsley met on the day of her disappearance was someone known to her, and that her disappearance may be drug-related. One of her friends also believes someone Tinsley knew must have been involved, and stated that a few months before Tinsley disappeared, she said she didn't think she would live long enough to have children.
There is no indication that Tinsley left of her own accord; she left behind all her belongs, including her clothes and her Volkswagen, and as she was engaged to be married, she would be unlikely to run away with another man.
Tinsley worked as a deliverer for the Oklahoman newspaper at the time she of her disappearance. Her parents are still alive and still hope she will be found. Foul play is suspected in her case, which remains unsolved.
Hair Color: Blonde/Strawberry
Eye Color: Blue
Pierced ears
Mole on the left side of her mouth
Clothing and Accessories
Clothing: Two-piece turquoise bathing suit with black polka dots and white shorts
Footwear: Flip-flop sandals
Jewelry: Small gold ring with diamonds, size 7
She smokes cigarettes. Her nickname is Pam.
Investigating Agency
Oklahoma City Police Department 405-297-1000
NamUs #MP6730
Pamela Tinsley — Oklahoma Cold Cases
Criminal Investigations | City of OKC