CA CA - Wanda Gail Loe, 26, Tahoe City, 26 July 1968

[Gardener1850]

Wanda Gail Loe
Placer County, California
26 year old white female

Height (inches)

Weight (pounds)

[TD="class: view_field"]62.0[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]135.0[/TD]

Brown Hair
Blue Eyes

Per Wanda's sister, Wanda had a broken collarbone when she was child. Unknown whether right or left side.

Wears "hippie round rimmed glasses".

Transportation:

Vehicle make
Vehicle model
Year
Style
Vehicle color
Tag type
Tag number
Tag state
Expiration year
Vehicle comments	Vehicle had a black vinyl top with Washington Plates

[TD="class: view_field"]Buick[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]Unknown[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]1969[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]Green[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]Washington[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

Circumstances:
Wanda Loe was working at Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge as a waitress in North Lake Tahoe, when she failed to show up for work and suddenly disappeared. It was also noted that she never picked up her last paycheck nor had picked up her mail for about three weeks. Area checks were made for any evidence of Wanda or her property. Negative results.

Wanda was last seen wearing unknown clothing description. Wears "hippie round rimmed glasses". No known scars/marks or tattoos.


https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/38924/

 

[Mysteries1974]

Wanda Gail Loe – The Charley Project

Wanda’s case has been added to the charley project!

 

[ForestWitch]

This case has been bothering me lately. A lot of things don't add up.

The boyfriend later confessed to murdering her. Fine, I'll add that to the list, but that wouldn't be the first false confession. I think what's bothering me are the circumstances leading up to her disappearance. She had only been working at her place of employment 6 weeks. She was a waitress, and yet had a brand spanking new car--one that she must have only had for a bit, because it was a '69 model and she went missing in '68. How did she get that on a waitress pay? She was apparently staying on a campsite--for six weeks? Why?

I don't know. The whole things doesn't really add up to me.

 

[AMeridian]

I mean no disrespect, but are there any possibilities that drugs or prostitution was involved? Searching for possible victims of a police officer turned serial killer.

Thanks! Rebecca

 

[Beekarina]

What kind of Buick did she own? A Skylark? It looks as though they were around $3k new. From my understanding, 1968 was the peak in terms of purchasing power for minimum wage, so maybe it isn't too "out there" for a waitress to have been able to afford a new Buick? If the rest of her living expenses were low, and they should have been, all things being the same, I'm not sure we can assume she was engaged in other activities based on the new car.

The campsite fits in with her possibly being interested in a counter culture lifestyle--i.e. the "hippie glasses." Do we know anything more about the campsite? Was there anything going on there, or nearby, that might have made it an attractive place to stay?

(She absolutely could have been involved in something shady too. Just want to look at all possibilities.)

 

[Cimatico]

Enhanced image from source The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)


Wanda Gail Loe – The Charley Project

 

[Diane Redfern]

I'm confused: she disappeared in July 1968 and owned a 1969 Buick . Isn't that the year the car was produced?
Charley Project says Wanda had a difficult relationship with Dennis Finn, they fought frequently... and, while extremely intoxicated, Finn reportedly confessed to a cousin that he had murdered her. Do we know somehting else about him? Criminal records?
According to Charley Project, authorities believe she may have been the victim of a homicide and that her remains may be in the Carpenter Valley area, near Truckee, California. Did Finn or his family own a property there? Was he familiar with that area?

Edit:
I found this: WANDA GAIL LOE DISAPPEARANCE 7/27/68
Later (Finn) arrested and jailed for an unrelated crime, he committed suicide in 1992.
Charley says he died in 1982, ten years earlier. I would like to know what type of crimen he was accused of... it must be something serious to take his own life.

 

[Diane Redfern]

 

[Beekarina]

Maybe someone a few years older than I am can verify what it was like in 1968, but I know currently, some companies release the new model year in the spring or summer. So, people have been driving around 2021 cars already. Does that help?

 

[Richard]

Wanda Gail Loe, age 26

Loe, circa 1968

• Missing Since 07/26/1968
• Missing From Tahoe City, California
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Age 26 years old
• Height and Weight 5'2, 135 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Loe wears hippie-style round-rimmed eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance

Wanda Gail Loe was last seen in Tahoe City, California on July 26, 1968. She had been working as a waitress at the Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge in North Lake Tahoe, California for about six weeks weeks, when she suddenly stopped showing up for work and disappeared, without collecting her last paycheck or any of her mail.

Her vehicle, a green 1969 Buick with a black vinyl top and Washington license plates, was found in the parking lot of the restaurant. Her mother reported her missing in August. She has never been heard from again.

At the time of her disappearance, Loe was staying at a campsite in the Blackwood Canyon area near Homewood, California. Around the time she went missing, her campsite was dismantled and her property stolen. A Volkswagen Bug had been seen in the area, but it's unclear whether the vehicle had any connection to her.

Loe had attended Pepperdine College, and spent a time studying abroad in Heidelberg, Germany. She was reportedly dating a local man, Dennis Finn, at the time of her disappearance, and they had a stormy relationship with many fights. While extremely intoxicated, Finn reportedly confessed to a cousin that he had murdered her. He died in 1982 without ever being charged in her case.

Loe's father died in 1975 and her mother died in 2002. In her mother's obituary, Loe is noted as having predeceased her. Authorities believe she may have been the victim of a homicide and that her remains may be in the Carpenter Valley area, near Truckee, California. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

• Placer County Sheriff's Office 530-581-6369

Wanda Gail Loe
BIRTH 13 May 1942
Alabama, USA
DEATH 27 Jul 1968 (aged 26)
Placer County, California, USA
BURIAL
Cleveland Church of Christ Cemetery
Cleveland, Fayette County, Alabama, USA

Source Information

• NamUs
• The Californian
• Whereabouts Still Unknown
• Wanda Gail Loe – The Charley Project
  
• Wanda Gail Loe (1942-1968) - Find A Grave...
  
• WANDA GAIL LOE DISAPPEARANCE 7/27/68
  
• Wanda Gail Loe - California Missing Person Directory
  

 

[heartanium]

Wendy attended Salinas high school and graduated in 1960. She seemed to be quite smart and participated in numerous school activities. I won't post them but she qualified for the spelling bee in 1960, was a member of the girl scouts and tumbling squad, and won an award for business according to The Californian (Salinas).

1958 Yearbook Photo

1959 Yearbook Photo

27 January 1963, Southwest Topics-Wave, pg 2

5 September 1963 - The Californian, pg 7

Articles on her exchanging at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. At this point she was still living in Salinas.

Seems like somewhere between 1964-1968 she relocated to the Lake Tahoe area.

21 November 1993, The Sacramento Bee, pg 37

Wendy mentioned in an article was talking about unidentified people in El Dorado county.

18 October 2002 - The Californian, pg 16

As stated before Wanda's mother died in 2002 and Wanda is listed as predeceased on her obituary. A number of her siblings may still be alive.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Photos from Pepperdine University.

 

[heartanium]

View attachment 395038View attachment 395040View attachment 395039
Photos from Pepperdine University.

Great finds!

 

[Richard]

1968 – Wanda Loe – South Lake Tahoe or Truckee



Wanda Loe of Truckee has been missing since 1968. The case remained dormant until 1991, until authorities received a tip that her boyfriend Dennis Finn, while drunk, confessed the murder to a friend. Finn has since committed suicide. She worked at Sunnyside Resort in Tahoe City and is believed to have disappeared somewhere between her workplace and home. Wanda was born in Alabama on 5/13/1942.

http://www.officialcoldcaseinvestig...Was-still-missing-in-1993-CA-vanished-in-1968

 

[Diane Redfern]

I wonder if Donna and Wanda may have been the victim of the same killer.

Skull found in California mountains ID'd as that of woman who vanished in 1970

Donna Lass was 25 years old when she disappeared and was reported missing to South Lake Tahoe police. The skull was found in 1986.

www.nbcnews.com