CA CA - Robin Graham, 18, Los Angeles, 14 Nov 1970

[amber1]

Robin Ann Graham is not listed as a MP on the NAMUS database.

Are they still investigating or is she declared legally dead?

 

[scriptgirl]

Are her parents still alive. This case totally fascinates me. I can't believe that the police didn't think it was obvious what this man was doing after he kept circling Robin's car.

 

[Richard]

Bumping case up...

 

[Markybug]

For my first post I'd like to bump this, the first missing cold case i had read about.
As a previous poster has mentioned maybe concentrating on the car could help ? I assume they were not as common as say vw bugs at that time ? Maybe a classic corvette register could help?

Mark.

 

[amber1]

Still doin it for Robin in 2013!

 

[scriptgirl]

One of my fave cases ever. Where is she? Did her killer do this again? So many questions

 

[amber1]

There was always the rumor the Zodiac Killer was responsible...the only other case over the bridge this reminds me of is Toni Clark, who also left behind nothing but her car on that bridge...but she vanished in the 90s. I'd be interested in hearing any other possible cases connected to Robin's.

 

[scriptgirl]

If you google Robin Graham, there are a few other names that come up-they all pretty much disappeared like she did, but in one case, they found a body. I don't believe the Zodiac did this and I'm really annoyed when people put him as a suspect for every crime under the sun-they also do this with Bundy.

 

[Richard]

Robin Ann Graham
Missing since November 14, 1970 from Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics


Date Of Birth: June 22, 1952
Age at Time of Disappearance: 18 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6; 125 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes.
Clothing: Red blouse, blue jeans, red clog shoes, dark blue corduroy jacket.
Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance


Graham was last seen on November 14, 1970 by a California Highway Patrol officer. She was standing next to her disabled vehicle on the Hollywood Freeway near Santa Monica Boulevard, south bound.

The officer stopped to see if she needed help, but Ms. Graham said that help was already coming. She had just called her parents to say she had run out of gas at the Santa Monica Boulevard offramp.

Later, the officer noticed a white male, 25-26 years with dark hair, talking to her. A 1958-1960 light blue Corvette hardtop was observed parked behind her vehicle at this time. The officer later assumed the man in the Corvette was the help she had called for. She hasn't been heard from since.

Ms. Graham was a student at Pierce College at the time of her disappearance.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Los Angeles Police Department
213-485-4061

Agency Case Number: R70687411

NCIC Number: M-678004778

Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
California Department of Justice
Press-Telegram (Long Beach) - 6/23/77
The Doe Network: Case File 980DFCA

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/980dfca.html

 

[STANDREID]

Surprisingly, Robin is not listed as a possible victim in Graysmith's book Zodiac and he does list some who have not been found.

Probably over 99% that she was murdered and about 98% that the Corvette guy was her killer. Sounds like too nice a car for Zodiac and odd that a vehicle that unique was not ever found.

I see that the Doe site calls the car a hardtop which couldn't exactly be true. All Corvettes in the era were convertibles. There was an optional liftoff hardtop however so I assume that's what this car had.

 

[Markybug]

How unique would a 20 odd year old vette be at that time? Would the optional hardtop be rare ?


Mark.

 

[STANDREID]

I don't remember seeing hardly any 20 year old Corvettes in 1970 but I live in Illinois so I don't know about CA. Just as a rough guess, I would say that fewer the half the buyers went for the liftoff hardtop. Actually there were 3 choices when you ordered - soft top only, removable hardtop only or you could also get a car with both.

 

[Markybug]

So alas wouldn't really narrow it down much ? And i guess DMV records wouldn't go back that far now?

 

[STANDREID]

Hopefully authorities were astute enough that they didn't overlook the car when they saw it with its hardtop removed.

 

[STANDREID]

Actually there were 3 choices when you ordered - soft top only, removable hardtop only or you could also get a car with both.

There were also instances where the cars were ordered with just the soft top and the hardtop was added later from some other source like parts or cannibalized from another car.

 

[Markybug]

As mentioned before the car is the only lead or chance of this case going anywhere, i believe it was patchy with primer paint? ( help narrow down?)and wasn't there another case where someone was approached by a corvette driver who said he was a off duty cop? But she refused. Think this incident was same area and possibly time as well

 

[STANDREID]

I don't remember for sure Mark. If I recall, serial killer Robert Lee Yates had a Corvette although it was a much later model.

 

[SMartian]

I assume the off-ramp was not that far from a pay phone and she walked to make the call to her parents to tell them she had run out of gas. I do not see anything about the parents having arrived to her destination to help her. I wonder how long after they got the call that they did arrive and discovered she was gone? An off-ramp on a highway is usually very busy and assuming this took place during the day, I wonder how nobody witnessed her getting into this guy's car. Would she go willingly with him even knowing her parents were on their way and after she had already turned down the highway patrol officer for help? If it wasn't willingly and he forced her, it would seem almost impossible that the scene was not witnessed by at least one passerby.

 

[STANDREID]

As mentioned before the car is the only lead or chance of this case going anywhere, i believe it was patchy with primer paint? ( help narrow down?)and wasn't there another case where someone was approached by a corvette driver who said he was a off duty cop? But she refused. Think this incident was same area and possibly time as well

The primer could be a clue because Corvettes, being fiberglass bodied, don't rust. Most often when a Corvette has primer on it, it's because it has been wrecked and is in the process of being repaired so I think accident records should be checked for involvement of a car of that description. Another possible reason would be repainting due to damage from something like vandalism and that also might have been reported to police and/or an insurance company. I can't think of any other reason a Corvette would have primer on it other than if it was being customized and the description didn't indicate anything like that.

 

[amber1]

I assume the off-ramp was not that far from a pay phone and she walked to make the call to her parents to tell them she had run out of gas. I do not see anything about the parents having arrived to her destination to help her. I wonder how long after they got the call that they did arrive and discovered she was gone? An off-ramp on a highway is usually very busy and assuming this took place during the day, I wonder how nobody witnessed her getting into this guy's car. Would she go willingly with him even knowing her parents were on their way and after she had already turned down the highway patrol officer for help? If it wasn't willingly and he forced her, it would seem almost impossible that the scene was not witnessed by at least one passerby.

Unfortunately, Robin's car stalled out at 2 AM. I think that is a big reason why no one saw much, because it may have not been as busy during the overnight hours. According to the patrolman who saw Robin that night, it seems she may have gotten in the car willingly, perhaps he promised to help her by giving her a lift, which obviously went sour.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/graham_robin.html