AZ - Christine Lester, 24, homicide, Indian Wells, 5 May 1987 *found deceased in 2023*

[MadMcGoo]

Christine Lester


NamUs MP#MP52064
Date of Last Contact: May 5, 1987
Last Known Location: Indian Wells, Navajo County, Arizona 86031
Sex: Female
Race / Ethnicity: American Indian / Alaska Native
Missing Age: 24 Years
First Name: Christine
Last Name: Lester
Height: 5' 3" - 5' 4" (63 - 64 Inches)
Weight: 120 - 125 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown

Medical Conditions: Lester suffers from epilepsy and takes prescription medication to control her condition. The medicine was left behind.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Christine is a member of the Navajo Nation.
Clothing and Accessories: wore a silver Bracelet that has turquoise inlay with "Christine"

Details of Disappearance: Lester was last seen in Indian Wells, Arizona on May 5, 1987. She left home at 6:00 a.m. to travel (via Greyhound bus) to the Flagstaff Mall in Flagstaff, Arizona, 120 miles away. She had just cashed a check and had $300 with her.

Lester told her grandmother she was going to meet a friend and they would hitchhike to Flagstaff. She got a ride in her uncle's pickup truck for two miles to Arizona 77. After she was dropped off at the road, she apparently disappeared. She never returned home and has never been heard from again.

The woman Lester said she was meeting that day said they had no plans to meet and hadn't spoken to each other at all before Lester disappeared. Her family stated she was not the kind of person who would run away; her sister-in-law described her as a shy, religious woman who rarely left home. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency
- Navajo Nation Police Department, Dilkon District
Arlinda Chischillie-Nez, Senior Police Officer: (928) 657-3276

Agency Case Number: 01-87-007287

*no exclusions to date

Sources:
-NamUs
-The Charley Project
-Justice For Native Women

 

[AZ Native Cat]

So did she get on the greyhound or hitchhike? That would seem crucial. Also I a, not aware of the bus going through Indian wells. Was she going to hitch from Indian Wells to Holbrook or Winslow then take Greyhound to Flag? Was leaving her meds an oversite? How was she to get home? Was this common for her?

 

[TwinkieDefense]

May 2, 2023 update

DNA identifies missing Navajo Nation woman as homicide victim found in California

Christine Lester’s remains have been buried in a gravesite for decades labeled “Jane Doe.”

www.azfamily.com

[…]

…. Her identity was just matched to remains in California that have been labeled as “Jane Doe” since the 80s, and now it’s an open homicide investigation.

[…]

 

[MadMcGoo]

Christine’s siblings said they have no idea who killed her but did receive an odd letter written to Christine more than five years after she went missing. “To this day we don’t know who wrote it. She left in ‘87, and the letter was written back in ‘92 or ‘93. Which was really weird because she didn’t have a boyfriend that we knew of,” said Shawna. “It was kind of explicit. I don’t think Christine would ever do some of the things this guy mentioned. To me it was…he knew something about Christine.” That letter is now in the hands of authorities.

DNA identifies missing Navajo Nation woman as homicide victim found in California

Christine Lester’s remains have been buried in a gravesite for decades labeled “Jane Doe.”

www.azfamily.com

I hope they’re able to find who did this to her. Rest peacefully now Christine.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

I believe this is the Jane Doe ID-ed as Christine.

The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California

Get this The Fresno Bee page for free from Friday, May 22, 1987 are on purchase is is is is is Friday, May 22, 1987 THE FRESNO BEE Rap Continued from Page B1 noise,.... Edition of The Fresno Bee

www.newspapers.com

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Body found in Madera County
Bee Metro staff
MADERA — The decomposed body of an unidentified woman was found by a tractor driver working in a vineyard in rural Madera County Thursday according to a spokesman for the county sheriff's Department The body was found in a vineyard near Avenue 7 and Road 33 the spokesman said The body had been in the field for at least 10 days according to the spokesman and an autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death and clues to the woman's identity if possible The woman was described as tall and thin wearing jeans a multicolored T-shirt and white tennis shoes Her race and age could not be determined the spokesman said.

The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California on May 23, 1987 · 12

Get this The Fresno Bee page for free from Saturday, May 23, 1987 Jonathan Clark was in fair 'condition Friday at Children's Medical Center in Dallas The "1 1 -month-old Fresno boy unite rwent a liver transplant at j he hospital May 1 h Metro digest Man killed by automobile is Identified A...

www.newspapers.com

MADERA — The death of an unidentified woman whose badly decomposed body was found Thursday in a vineyard just north of the San Joaquin River in Madera County has been ruled a homicide Madera County sheriffs investigators said Friday Sgt Tom Turk said an autopsy revealed that the woman had been slain and that she had been dead for about 30 days Turk however declined to disclose the cause of death Turk said the victim is believed to have been Asian and from 30 to 50 years of age “We have put out a statewide bulletin for any missing females matching the description of the victim" he said He said the victim was tall and thin and was wearing jeans a multicolored T-shirt and white tennis shoes The body was found by a tractor driver working in a vineyard near Avenue 7 and Rood 33 about 1Q0 yards off Freeway 99 and less than one mile north of the Fresno County line Anyone with any information about the victim's identity or about the slaying is asked to contact the Madera County Sheriffs Department at 675-7769 or the nearest law enforcement agency.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Human remains that had been buried for decades in a California gravesite and marked as "Jane Doe" have been identified as Christine Lester, a Navajo woman who went missing from northern Arizona, authorities said. Lester's family said they received an "explicit" letter written to her from an anonymous person years after she vanished.

The Madera County Sheriff's Office hasn't publicly disclosed the cause of Lester's death because it doesn't want to jeopardize the investigation, CBS affiliate KPHO-TV reported Wednesday.

Lester's family received the remains Monday. Her siblings plan a procession Friday to escort the remains from Flagstaff to a family gravesite on the Navajo Nation, where a memorial service will be held - 36 years to the date she went missing and on a day that's designated to raise awareness of missing and slain Indigenous people around the globe.

Body found next to California road in 1987 identified as Navajo woman who had "explicit" letter sent to her after she vanished

The sheriff's office hasn't publicly disclosed the cause of Christine Lester's death because it doesn't want to jeopardize the investigation,

www.cbsnews.com