A Teen Girl’s Death, a High-Speed Chase, a Troubling Suicide and a Possible Gang Connection: The 1977 Disappearance and Murder of Jimmie Retha Brown Still Haunts El Paso
EL PASO, Texas: Nearly 50 years after 16-year-old Jimmie Retha Brown was found dead in a desert arroyo outside El Paso, the case remains unsolved, despite a dramatic chain of events that followed her killing.
Brown, a San Diego teenager visiting relatives in El Paso during the summer of 1977, was last seen with friends at a McDonald’s on Dyer Street on the night of August 9. According to police, she was later spotted around 2 a.m. on August 10 by a man driving a van who said he offered her a ride. He told investigators she accepted briefly, then demanded to be let out. The man claimed he dropped her off and gave her his coat because a rainstorm was approaching, making him the last known person to see her alive.
When Brown failed to return, friends reported her missing on August 11. A few days later, on August 15*, her decomposed body was discovered just across the state line in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, off O’Hara Road near Anthony. Her feet were bound with rope.
Some sources say that in addition to her feet, a rope had been tightly wrapped around her neck four times and tied in a knot.
Although the body was too decomposed to offer an exact cause of death, investigators claim she had suffered a crushed larynx and likely died from strangulation.
No other obvious wounds or trauma were found, prompting authorities to also send blood samples to the FBI for toxicology testing to determine whether drugs or poison played a role. Those tests were inconclusive. Despite the lack of medical clarity, law enforcement publicly stated that all signs pointed to homicide.
Brown was identified through dental records. Investigators suspected she may have been killed elsewhere and later dumped in the remote desert location.
At the time of her death, Brown was living in San Diego, California, where she had recently moved with her mother. Born and raised in El Paso, she had attended Andress High School and was active as a cheerleader, basketball player, and youth coach with El Paso’s Northeast Athletic Club. The club later offered a reward for information related to her case.
Then, just weeks after her body was found, the case took a shocking turn.
A Chase Through Northeast El Paso
On the night of August 22, 1977, 18-year-old Ricardo Gonzalez died by suicide following a police pursuit in Northeast El Paso.
Gonzalez had been attempting to purchase a car earlier that day. According to friends, he had recently told people he knew who killed Jimmie Brown, and chillingly added that he intended to “get him” before killing himself.
Police said Gonzalez was part of the same social circle Brown had associated with during her summer in El Paso.
Officers first encountered Gonzalez when he pulled alongside a patrol car at a traffic light, behaving erratically and telling them he had been following them. After driving off, Gonzalez accelerated when officers attempted a traffic stop, leading to a brief chase.
The pursuit ended when Gonzalez crashed into another vehicle, injuring a woman and her young daughter. Moments later, police watched as Gonzalez retrieved a .22-caliber rifle from his car, placed the muzzle against his head, and pulled the trigger.
He was pronounced dead shortly afterward at a nearby hospital. Officers later found a second loaded weapon inside his vehicle.
Friends told police Gonzalez had only provided a first name of the person he claimed was responsible for Brown’s death. Authorities said they checked the name but found nothing that advanced the investigation.
Gonzalez, described by acquaintances as friendly but troubled, had recently lost both parents and was living under unstable circumstances. Investigators ultimately concluded his suicide, while disturbing, did not provide actionable evidence in Brown’s murder.
Other Theories: Possible Gang Connection Emerges
As investigators struggled to find concrete leads in Jimmie Retha Brown’s killing, a darker theory began circulating quietly through law enforcement and local media.
According to reporting at the time, Brown’s death shared disturbing similarities with other murders discovered in the same remote stretch of Doña Ana County desert.
Authorities noted that George Lyman Jones, 27, Jimmie Retha Brown, and Dana Thompson were all found murdered in isolated desert locations, and all were believed by some sources to have had connections to the feared Bandidos motorcycle gang, whose national headquarters was based in El Paso during that period.
Brown’s body was discovered in August 1977. Just four months later, on December 15, the same Doña Ana County road crew worker who had found Brown’s remains spotted another body less than a mile east of her recovery site. That victim was George Lyman Jones.
Jones was found at the bottom of a 50-foot embankment. His feet were bound with electrical cord, a nylon rope was wrapped around his neck, and an autopsy later revealed he had been shot four times.
Doña Ana County Sheriff Tony Gonzales publicly stated that the killings appeared to follow “the same pattern.”
Friends and family of Brown strongly denied any gang involvement, insisting the 16-year-old had no contact with motorcycle club members during her visit to El Paso. While she often spent summer evenings socializing at the McDonald’s on North Dyer, those close to her said it was considered a safe hangout spot and was not known as a gathering place for motorcycle gang members.
Despite these suspicions, investigators were never able to definitively establish a gang connection, nor link the murders through forensic evidence.
The similarities, remote dumping sites, bound victims, and overlapping locations, remain among the most unsettling aspects of Brown’s death, adding another layer of unanswered questions to a case already marked by tragedy and lost opportunities.
A Case That Went Cold
Despite early attention, public appeals, and the dramatic death of someone who claimed to know the killer, Jimmie Retha Brown’s case quietly faded into obscurity.
No arrests were ever made.
Brown was laid to rest at Fort Bliss National Cemetery following services in El Paso. She was survived by her parents, siblings, grandparents, and extended family, all left without answers.
Today, her death remains an unresolved cold case.
For investigators, the tragedy is defined not only by the brutal loss of a teenage girl, but by the haunting what-ifs surrounding Ricardo Gonzalez: a young man who claimed knowledge of her killer, yet died before revealing anything concrete.
Or perhaps she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in some type of gang violence.
Nearly half a century later, Jimmie Retha Brown’s story still stands as a stark reminder of how justice can slip away, leaving families with only memories, and questions that may never be answered.
Contact:
If you have any information about this case, please contact Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office at 575-525-1911
Sources:
This post: Cold Cases Reopened on Facebook
Story Sources:
El Paso Times
El Paso Herald Post
Family interview February 2026
Footnote:
*Some online sources say she was last seen on August 9th and found on the 14th, but a family member has clarified the proper dates.
This post is intended to share information about an unsolved case to raise awareness and encourage tips. While we strive for accuracy, details may be based on available reports and could contain errors or omissions. Please verify information independently and contact authorities with any relevant information. We are not responsible for inaccuracies or actions taken based on this post.
*Please share this post to help raise awareness*
