SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Missing Since: July 14, 1985 from Temple, Texas
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: February 5, 1974
Age: 11 years old
Height and Weight: 4'10, 85 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes. Gandara has a mole on her nose.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A black and white short-sleeved pullover shirt, black shorts, white socks and white tennis shoes.
Details of Disappearance
The last confirmed sighting of Gandara was in her hometown of Temple, Texas on July 14, 1985. She was seen inside an unidentified pickup truck, accompanied by an unidentified Caucasian male and female. The witness told authorities that the truck's hood, front fender and bed were painted red and white. The doors were blue and white and the top of the truck was painted white. According to the witness, the vehicle was dirty, dented and in general disrepair. Gandara was sighted in the truck approximately two blocks from her grandmother's residence in Temple. She was walking back to her family's home at the time she disappeared. She has never been seen again.
In 2007, authorities announced they considered David Elliot Penton a person of interest in Gandara's disappearance and in the disappearances and murders of several other young girls, including Amber Crum and Ara Johnson. Photographs of Penton are posted below this case summary. He is has been incarcerated in an Ohio prison since 1987. He also signed a plea agreement admitting to the murders of three girls in Texas. The Texas victims disappeared over a period of 18 months in the Dallas area, and ranged in age from 4 to 9 years old. Penton was also convicted of manslaughter in the child abuse death of his own infant son in 1984; he fled while free on bond pending the outcome of his appeal, and remained at large until 1987, when he was charged with the murder of a friend's 9-year-old niece in Ohio. He was later convicted of this crime.
Penton's cellmates went to investigators and claimed he had implicated himself in the disappearances of Johnson, Crum and Gandara. He has not been charged in connection with any of these disappearances, however. All the cases, including Gandara's, remain unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Temple Police Department
254-770-5506
OR
Texas Department Of Public Safety
800-346-3243
