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

[Lavender Moon]

I think she may have known him, too. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense to go with him knowing as she did that her parents were on the way.

 

[UncoolNegated]

That's a good point, that she might have known the person who picked her up. I had always wondered why she would leave if she thought her parents were coming. If she knew this guy she would have thought she was safe, plus maybe she thought they'd get home before her parents headed out to pick her up.

Plus the guy could easily have been someone that sabotaged her car by siphoning the gas. A coworker or someone that knew where she worked that matches the description and had the car type that was seen is a major suspect, I think.

 

[Beekarina]

She doesn't match any of the Alcala photos, does she? I haven't looked at them all. Is there an up to date resource for the remaining unidentified other than the book a member has coming out later this year?

Alcala would be in the right age group as the guy talking to her on the freeway, dark hair, etc.

 

[UncoolNegated]

She doesn't match any of the Alcala photos, does she? I haven't looked at them all. Is there an up to date resource for the remaining unidentified other than the book a member has coming out later this year?

Alcala would be in the right age group as the guy talking to her on the freeway, dark hair, etc.

But if she didn't go with the police then she wouldn't go with someone that she did not know.

 

[Beekarina]

Right. It's a long shot. Just thinking she might have met him previously. He seemed pretty skilled at convincing people to pose for him. I remember a woman in a forum totally unrelated to this sort of sleuthing admitting he has approached her and her friends on the beach. I

I probably just need coffee and a solid break from comparing 70S missing. The hairstyle alone makes everyone look like possible matches!

 

[UncoolNegated]

Right. It's a long shot. Just thinking she might have met him previously. He seemed pretty skilled at convincing people to pose for him. I remember a woman in a forum totally unrelated to this sort of sleuthing admitting he has approached her and her friends on the beach. I

I probably just need coffee and a solid break from comparing 70S missing. The hairstyle alone makes everyone look like possible matches!

Well if you are serious then I would try to pinpoint his whereabouts using his criminal record or other known facts about him. Then I would try to find something about him that connects the case in a more substantial way, like his car matching, a connection to the victim's workplace, and/or a similar known crime he committed using an MO similar to one that might have been employed in this case.

 

[Beekarina]

I agree.

He was known to offer rides, but that's not particularly unusual. I'm curious now about his car. Am trying to figure out what he drove. Every mention so far just says "lured into his car" or "offered rides"

The 70s missing are really tugging at me. I so feel for their families. They've been gone either my entire lifetime, or most of it. A few have specifically pulled while scrolling, if that makes any sense?

I don't want to operate simply from intuition though. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Lavender Moon]

Welcome to websleuths, Beekarina. I, too, get heart tugs over the 70s Missing.
I wonder what that Rodney critter's ride was way back when.

 

[Beekarina]

Thank you Lavender Moon. If he had a motorcycle, I'm thinking a sporty ride fits. I also have a hard time imagining him hanging out in the Sunapee area from 1968-1971. There's not much there now, so I imagine he was pretty bored then. A flight to LA now and then for variety? He must have had friends in Cali, aside from his mom in Monterey.

Could this be Robin? Rodney Alcala Cold Case Photos

 

[dotr]

Chilling Hollywood mystery of Robin Graham’s disappearance

The description of the man spotted with her matches so many young men of the time — mid-twenties, dark hair, five-foot-eight, bell bottom pants, turtleneck — and media reports at the time were frustratingly inconsistent when relaying this information, further muddying the case.

There is one compelling clue though, which may yet prove useful. Much like other victims of the Zodiac, she disappeared on the night of a full moon.

Granted, it’s not much to go on, but until Robin Graham’s body is found, she will remain one of numerous young people who went out one night in California, and never made it home again.

 

[Beekarina]

That was an interesting read dotr.

I have a lot of thoughts, but one related to Robin: if she was a Zodiac victim, based on the known victims, they were left in/near the vehicles or scene, and were shot, stabbed, etc. Found and then mentioned in those wacky letters afterwards.

 

[Markybug]

Robin Graham disappearance: A chilling Hollywood mystery

4 Nov, 2018

"When Robin Graham's Dodge ran out of petrol on the Hollywood Freeway early on a Sunday morning, she'd been driving for less than minutes. Graham had been out partying all night with a group of college friends and had gotten a lift to her car, which was parked at her workplace.

Her car stalled near the Santa Monica Boulevard off-ramp. Steering to the side of the road, she was helped moments later by California Highway Patrol officers, who offered to call her a tow truck. Declining the offer, she instead walked to a nearby call box and phoned home.

The patrol car did a loop and stopped again as she returned to her vehicle. She informed the officers she had successfully called to be picked up and so they left her by the side of the road, reports news.com.au.

When the Highway Patrol officers drove past for the third time that night, about 2pm, they noticed Graham talking to a man, who they assumed to be the family member she mentioned calling. A light blue Corvette was parked nearby; the officers kept driving.

This was the last time Robin Graham was seen alive....

Granted, it's not much to go on, but until Robin Graham's body is found, she will remain one of numerous young people who went out one night in California, and never made it home again."

Robin Graham disappearance: A chilling Hollywood mystery

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As robin had been out all night before returning to her car , I’m thinking it’s unlikely to,have been sabotaged. Although it’s strange she ran out of petrol within minutes?

If the person who was approached that same night by the corvette driver is correct, that should be the route to look down?

The corvette driver must have had some nerve to be passed by the police and still carry on with his abduction! Especially if he tried already with someone yet failed.

I assume he offered to take robin for petrol , but unlike the police , return her to her car ?

 

[Beekarina]

As robin had been out all night before returning to her car , I’m thinking it’s unlikely to,have been sabotaged. Although it’s strange she ran out of petrol within minutes?

If the person who was approached that same night by the corvette driver is correct, that should be the route to look down?

The corvette driver must have had some nerve to be passed by the police and still carry on with his abduction! Especially if he tried already with someone yet failed.

I assume he offered to take robin for petrol , but unlike the police , return her to her car ?

Could they have punctured her gas tank while her car was parked at work?

I'm thinking if she had been out partying, it was late, she just wanted to get home, perhaps she was a bit drunk or high, and didn't want the police to smell it on her as they might have it she accepted a ride?

It would also possibly explain not noticing a drop in fuel. Maybe the car was often a bit funky that way? I'm remembering MUCH older cars, and how they often moved around alot, especially when first started up.

 

[Beekarina]

So, we're tending to think she went with a guy she knew, but is it likely she hadn't known him very long?

She's a college freshman. It's the height of the 60s. She's out partying in LA.

Certainly seems like that hip, handsome guy who got her number when she was out partying could have "Just happened" to drive by, and she chose a really bad time to throw caution to the wind.

It would be interesting to know if friends remember her talking to any new guys that night. What sort of "partying" they were all doing? It's really a pretty vague term, if you think about it.

Who was known to stalk victims? Court them a bit, maybe?

 

[UncoolNegated]

As robin had been out all night before returning to her car , I’m thinking it’s unlikely to,have been sabotaged. Although it’s strange she ran out of petrol within minutes?

Reply: I see this in the opposite way. Firstly, if I recall from when I researched the journalism for this case at the time of disappearance she had NOT been out all night in a partying way. She was at work and on her way home, I think. I think she worked at Pier One Imports. Her car being idle and unattended is the perfect time for it to be sabotaged.

The corvette driver must have had some nerve to be passed by the police and still carry on with his abduction! Especially if he tried already with someone yet failed.

Reply: All of the murderers and rapists in the world have nerve. They have hard-to-control impulses.

I assume he offered to take robin for petrol , but unlike the police , return her to her car ?

Reply: I doubt she would go with him for that reason, knowing her parents were en route. The scenario that makes the most sense to me is that the person that abducted her knew her, she went him because of that, and maybe she remarked that her parents were on the way and he came up with a lie that tricked or. Or she was physically abducted, which seems ultra risky for the perpetrator but then they are sick enough to take huge chances.

 

[Markybug]

If it was work ( I have read that too ) what time did she finish , it seems awfully late ?

 

[UncoolNegated]

If it was work ( I have read that too ) what time did she finish , it seems awfully late ?

To be honest, I would have to refresh my memories on these details. I'll shutup now.

 

[wary]

I’m too tired now to dig up the documentation, but I think the situation was:
She went out with friends after work. At about 1:45 am, she came back to her work parking lot, where she picked up the car she was driving home. That car ran out of gas almost immediately on the freeway. She was seen talking to a man driving a blue corvette, at about 2:00 am. That was the last recorded sighting of her.

A couple of random thoughts. Anyone who sabotaged her car in the work parking lot would have had a long wait before she came back. It would have been a long uncertain wait, unless he was one of the group of friends, and in that case, how could the other friends not notice that he was driving a blue corvette?

Other random thought. 2:00 am is bar closing time, which makes me wonder if that’s why the party broke up at 1:45. If she had been drinking, (and I am NOT trying to blame the victim!), could that have affected her trustfulness and made her more willing to go with a plausible stranger?

 

[Markybug]

As mentioned apparently she had done both that night ( work and going out ) , didn’t know that !

The car running out of petrol immediately is strange tho? Don’t know if anything can be read into it.

If tho the other woman who said she was approached too by corvette guy is correct,then it doesn’t seem robin was specifically targeted.

I dunno maybe the guy seemed charming etc, and if she had a couple of drinks on onboard thought what’s the harm ?...

 

[kemo]

This a real old case that still holds some interest. If it is true that she had called a family member and was waiting for them to arrive, then she should not have gotten in a car with anyone else; even someone she knew. It is possible that she had given up waiting and accepted a ride out of desperation. It is also possible that the “known facts” on the case are incorrect.