AZ AZ - Cynthia, 15, & Jackie Leslie, 13, Mesa, 31 July 1974

[Diane Redfern]

I'm so sorry for what I'm about to say, I don't want to hurt family members, but I think it's obvious they're dead, so...
Have LE ever examined the house and the surroundings with cadaver dogs or a GPR?
I know there are many places where the people involved may have hidden two bodies, but if police officers were around (or they felt they were around and panicked), they may have just buried them underneath the house or in their own garden.
Someone included a news report where it's mentioned that, even when some people denied the girls were at the party, a personal item of them was located at that home.
Thanks to Google maps I could see that there are many deserted areas not far from Baseline road (last confirmed sighting), so that's also a good place to check.
I agree that interviewing the partygoers again could be a very good idea.

 

[Ssschu]

I'm so sorry for what I'm about to say, I don't want to hurt family members, but I think it's obvious they're dead, so...
Have LE ever examined the house and the surroundings with cadaver dogs or a GPR?
I know there are many places where the people involved may have hidden two bodies, but if police officers were around (or they felt they were around and panicked), they may have just buried them underneath the house or in their own garden.
Someone included a news report where it's mentioned that, even when some people denied the girls were at the party, a personal item of them was located at that home.
Thanks to Google maps I could see that there are many deserted areas not far from Baseline road (last confirmed sighting), so that's also a good place to check.
I agree that interviewing the partygoers again could be a very good idea.

What house are you talking about? The party was out in a desert area, not at a house.

It's so sad their mom still doesn't have answers. The behavior of the boy's mom is a huge red flag.

 

[Ozoner]

What house are you talking about? The party was out in a desert area, not at a house.

It's so sad their mom still doesn't have answers. The behavior of the boy's mom is a huge red flag.

What is the source of the information that the party was in a desert area rather than at a home?

 

[AndyLeslie007]

What I know as a family member trying to figure this out. I will go back and read through all these pages.

These girls were my dad's half sisters. I have talked with many other family and close friends.

Shortly after the girls went missing, one of their friends had stopped by. She, the friend was wearing a knecklace owned by Cynthia. Erma(mother of the missing girls) asked her where she got it. She replied "her dad". Police followed this lead and were on this guy. (whos name I do not know, I am trying to find the police reports) They had found underwear from one of the girls in his car. From what I'm told the guy threatened to sue the Mesa police department for harrasment and they backed off of him. He then quickly moved his family out of the area to an unknown location and they (Mesa Police) dropped the pursute of him. I don't like to point fingures to much....But this sounds highly suspicious to me in both the police backing off on a BS threat to law suit and that this wasn't the person responsible for the girls being gone....At this point, we'll never know.

A few years ago there were remains of a similarly aged girl found near the trailer park they lived in. Maricopa County medical examiners office somehow listed the report twice, both with same case number. So it appeared as tho they found the girls. I had spoken to the Medical examiner's office and confirmed the they were able to identify the remains to a different case. Not my aunts.

At this point, we are certain the girls are gone. I and the rest of my family would like to find them and give them the proper burial and send off to heaven they so deserve and give us the closer we all want.

 

[Laughing]

@AndyLeslie007 , welcome to Websleuths, but so sorry for the circumstances that brought you here!

Consider becoming a Verified Insider for this thread:

Verification Process for Professional or Insider Posters

This does sound like a bungled investigation...imho.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Ssschu]

What I know as a family member trying to figure this out. I will go back and read through all these pages.

These girls were my dad's half sisters. I have talked with many other family and close friends.

Shortly after the girls went missing, one of their friends had stopped by. She, the friend was wearing a knecklace owned by Cynthia. Erma(mother of the missing girls) asked her where she got it. She replied "her dad". Police followed this lead and were on this guy. (whos name I do not know, I am trying to find the police reports) They had found underwear from one of the girls in his car. From what I'm told the guy threatened to sue the Mesa police department for harrasment and they backed off of him. He then quickly moved his family out of the area to an unknown location and they (Mesa Police) dropped the pursute of him. I don't like to point fingures to much....But this sounds highly suspicious to me in both the police backing off on a BS threat to law suit and that this wasn't the person responsible for the girls being gone....At this point, we'll never know.

A few years ago there were remains of a similarly aged girl found near the trailer park they lived in. Maricopa County medical examiners office somehow listed the report twice, both with same case number. So it appeared as tho they found the girls. I had spoken to the Medical examiner's office and confirmed the they were able to identify the remains to a different case. Not my aunts.

At this point, we are certain the girls are gone. I and the rest of my family would like to find them and give them the proper burial and send off to heaven they so deserve and give us the closer we all want.

Wow! It certainly sounds like they had the right guy. Can't imagine how frustrating that was for your family.

 

[Satch]

Were there any suspects in this case over the years? I agree with @Ssschu sounds like they had the right guy. Today, LE would not back off like that.

Satch

 

[Deleted member 300796]

This is a case which is somewhat rare in that two sisters were apparently abducted at the same time. In some ways it is similar to the disappearance of the Fort Worth, TX three who went missing five months later (Dec 74), and with the disappearance of the Lyon Sisters from Wheaton, MD three months after that (Mar 75). There are also other double abductions from that time frame which may or may not be connected.

Was this a crime of opportunity by someone passing through, or was it a crime perpetrated by someone who knew the girls? Does anyone have any more information on the case?

Royal Russell Long was noted for abducting 2 girls at the same time and had been on a spree that summer at carnivals and Fairs in Rawlins Wyoming. He was also a long Haul Trucker part time. He was convicted for the kidnapping of 2 girls and the murder of one of them in Wyoming 1984. He was also tried for the abduction of 2 girls in OK city in 1980 they have never been found. There was a trucking hub in Pheonix he could have been running a load between carnival in Wyoming. The dates line up.

 

[Diane Redfern]

What house are you talking about? The party was out in a desert area, not at a house.

It's so sad their mom still doesn't have answers. The behavior of the boy's mom is a huge red flag.

Cynthia was last seen walking with her younger sister, Jackie, on July 31, 1974. They were headed to a friend's home, which was located three blocks away from their own residence in the Desert Sands Mobile Home Park in east Mesa.
Source: 94DFAZ - Cynthia Ardina Leslie

I can't see anything which indicates the party was at a desert area.

 

[Diane Redfern]

What is the source of the information that the party was in a desert area rather than at a home?

Recently I've found this:

The area of the party has since been built up with businesses and homes, but back in 1974, it was a remote desert surrounded by cotton fields and orange groves. Police searched the area, but no evidence of the girls was ever found.
Source: https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime...he-Disappearance-of-Cynthia-and-Jackie-Leslie

The area of the party was rural back in 1974, and nearby wooded areas were searched at the time with no results. The area is now built up, with houses and businesses sitting on the once wooded areas.
Source: Cynthia & Jackie Leslie

Maybe they went to that friend's home and then they went together to this area.

However, Charley Project and Doe Network say:
The sisters were headed to a friend's home that was located three blocks away from their own residence in the Desert Shores Mobile Home Park. They were last seen walking down Baseline Road near Power Road.

It's like it's not even sure they got their friend's home. And as the partygoers gave conflicting statements (some said they'd seen the sisters there, and others said they never arrived), we can't even be sure who is lying; why is no one willing to talk after so many years? Someone must know what happened that night.

 

[Tower]

Recently I've found this:

The area of the party has since been built up with businesses and homes, but back in 1974, it was a remote desert surrounded by cotton fields and orange groves. Police searched the area, but no evidence of the girls was ever found.
Source: https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime...he-Disappearance-of-Cynthia-and-Jackie-Leslie

The area of the party was rural back in 1974, and nearby wooded areas were searched at the time with no results. The area is now built up, with houses and businesses sitting on the once wooded areas.
Source: Cynthia & Jackie Leslie

Maybe they went to that friend's home and then they went together to this area.

However, Charley Project and Doe Network say:
The sisters were headed to a friend's home that was located three blocks away from their own residence in the Desert Shores Mobile Home Park. They were last seen walking down Baseline Road near Power Road.

It's like it's not even sure they got their friend's home. And as the partygoers gave conflicting statements (some said they'd seen the sisters there, and others said they never arrived), we can't even be sure who is lying; why is no one willing to talk after so many years? Someone must know what happened that night.

This is just my own interpretation, but the above passage is written in a confusing way, so I can understand why people would interpret it differently.

I believe the party was at a house that was rural and surrounded by remote desert, orange groves and nearby woods. All the descriptions of the area are not describing that the party itself was outdoors, but that the house had nothing but nature around it. That’s the way I interpret all if the descriptions.

 

[ekardh]

Recently I've found this:

The area of the party has since been built up with businesses and homes, but back in 1974, it was a remote desert surrounded by cotton fields and orange groves. Police searched the area, but no evidence of the girls was ever found.
Source: https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime...he-Disappearance-of-Cynthia-and-Jackie-Leslie

The area of the party was rural back in 1974, and nearby wooded areas were searched at the time with no results. The area is now built up, with houses and businesses sitting on the once wooded areas.
Source: Cynthia & Jackie Leslie

Maybe they went to that friend's home and then they went together to this area.

However, Charley Project and Doe Network say:
The sisters were headed to a friend's home that was located three blocks away from their own residence in the Desert Shores Mobile Home Park. They were last seen walking down Baseline Road near Power Road.

It's like it's not even sure they got their friend's home. And as the partygoers gave conflicting statements (some said they'd seen the sisters there, and others said they never arrived), we can't even be sure who is lying; why is no one willing to talk after so many years? Someone must know what happened that night.

I would suggest that the home three blocks away was a cover story for where Cynthia and Jackie were really going.

 

[EuropeanSearcher]

Were they compared to the Valencia Does?

 

[strangerthanfiction1200]

I have read the thread. Is it possible that the girls meet these friends when they visited the area for their father's cancer treatment? Before they actually moved there? How close was the hospital to the girl's house? Could any of the friends have volunteered at the hospital? The reason I am asking is that it sounds like the father met the young man in questioned. How long was the father going to this hospital or treatment center? What is that timeline? I could be wrong in assuming it was a hospital. Who did the girls met beforehand? (the move). Some answers to how the girls had friends already. All this is my personal opinion.

 

[DD Byrd]

I've never seen mention of why the father allegedly didn't want the one daughter around this certain boy. Could it be as innocuous as he was too old for her, or perhaps was a smoker and he didn't want his daughter to start, keeping the lung cancer in mind? Maybe he was just a punk, but lots of dads don't like boys, any boys, around their daughters, and it's a leap to this boy being a criminal. He could be kept as a person of interest, but I wouldn't tunnel focus at the expense of other possibilities.

As for being seen at the party, it's entirely possible some saw them and others didn't, especially if they weren't there long, and/or this was a huge party. If some were in back (was there a pool?), others in front, some in the house, and still others off with the aforementioned Mary Jane in a remote area off the property this is not a red flag to me. Conflicting stories would be, not whether you saw them, didn't see them, or didn't know them yet and misidentified them. I remember high school parties where students from other schools and alumni home on break showed up.

Also not a reg flag IMO is why the calls stopped to the house. Why wouldn't they? They had only been in town a month and teenagers are awkward. Even lifelong friends might balk at calling and not knowing what to say to the parents. New friends, and even newer casual acquaintances would be even less likely to call.

As for the post about underwear being found in someone's car, is there a link to a verified source?