Identified! NV - Las Vegas, 'Sahara Sue', WhtFem 17-25, UP159, dentures, jewelry, clothes, Aug'79 - Gwenn Marie Story

[folieadeuxnola]

******BUMP******

 

[Awsi Dooger]

I hate to date myself here, but there's no help for it! I was here in '79 and I grew up VERY close to where the UID was found, though I don't remember hearing about it. I guess I was about 13 at the time. Anyway....The El Rancho was not actually across the street from the Sahara Hotel, but next to it - though IIRC there was a vacant lot - sort of - in between. I guess much of it could have been a parking lot - but not all of it. In any case, the Sahara Hotel is officially the end of the Las Vegas Strip - at the north end. Once you cross over Sahara Ave. on Las Vegas Blvd., going north, it is "downtown" Las Vegas - a MUCH different world - even then.

There were two El Ranchos. That's what is causing the confusion. I lived in Las Vegas from 1984 through late 2008. The El Rancho you are describing is the one I knew. Previously it was called Thunderbird and Silverbird. I had a roommate who worked at that El Rancho, circa mid '80s. It was on the east side of the Strip between Riviera and Sahara. But as you mentioned that was a large vacant lot between El Rancho and Sahara. Later a huge waterpark was built there, and it thrived for many years. That would have been during the '90s, if I remember correctly.

Sahara Sue was found on the opposite side of the Strip, at the southwest corner of Sahara and the Strip. That was nothing but a huge dusty vacant lot during my first two decades in town. But locals told me there had been a hotel casino there for a long time. It was called El Rancho Vegas. I read up on it and that building experienced a fire in the '60s. There's an interesting history with Howard Hughes attempting to purchase the property in the late '60s, leading to a legal battle. The building became a storage facility briefly. Then it was demolished and partially removed by 1979. So that jives when Sahara Sue was found. They dumped her on a property that nobody cared about anymore. I doubt there was even a fence blocking anyone from driving in and dumping a body amidst the rubble.

El Rancho Vegas - Wikipedia

 

[Awsi Dooger]

There was ( and is) an area of Las Vegas called "Naked City". , directly west of the Stratosphere. The boundaries are (were) Las Vegas Blvd., Sahara Ave, Wyoming, and Industrial Rd. The neighborhood has been there since the 1950s; it is mainly (very low rent) apartments. At one time, the neighborhood was frequented by more "working girls" and drug dealers then are there now. The Las Vegas PD (aka Metro) spent years cleaning the neighborhood up, but it is still not an area where most people would want to take a stroll , especially at night, unless they were armed. I think there is a strong possibility that Sahara Sue was living/working in that area.

Yes, that was my immediate impression of where Sahara Sue lived and probably met someone who led to her demise. Depressing seedy area. I parked in the Stratosphere Tower parking garage hundreds of times while going to the sportsbook. When I departed the parking garage facing south it was okay if I turned left toward the Strip. But many times I turned right to loop around back toward downtown. Big mistake. Once you turn right it leads into that "Naked City" area that you described.

If you look at other Las Vegas missing persons cases (females) there is more than one that includes a recent address within that area.

There are also cheap hotels on the opposite (east) side of the Strip in that area where she could have worked, if she did work at a hotel on the Strip. As others have emphasized in this thread, the Las Vegas world changes once you cross Sahara heading north. The creeps quickly gravitate to that side including a bit further north to downtown.

 

[MadMcGoo]

Could this be Kimberly?? It doesn’t say anything about the condition of her teeth, but it looks like they could possibly not be natural? That or they’re in perfect condition. (I used the postmortem images of the UID for comparing)
CA - CA - Kimberly Cozart, 15, Julian, February 1977

 

[Feme98]

Could this be Kimberly?? It doesn’t say anything about the condition of her teeth, but it looks like they could possibly not be natural? That or they’re in perfect condition. (I used the postmortem images of the UID for comparing)
CA - CA - Kimberly Cozart, 15, Julian, February 1977

View attachment 260506

You should forward this!

 

[carbuff]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Exclusions:

MP5852 Amy Billig 03/05/1974 Miami-Dade FL
MP8811 Lisa Borden 10/10/1979 Howard TX
MP20779 Hazel Cross 05/01/1973 Lucas OH
MP7870 Rebecca Dunn 05/10/1979 Clark NV
MP4020 Diane Dye 07/30/1979 Santa Clara CA
-- Mary Gregory -- -- --
-- Diane Lynn Harris -- -- FL
MP825 Paulette Jaster 05/05/1979 Genesee MI
MP6400 Deborah Meyer 08/04/1974 Carbon WY
MP4554 Debra Pscholka -- -- CA

 

[Tuck]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Lisa Sprague went missing out of Ventura the year before. Couldn’t help noticing that both wore heart-shaped lockers.

 

[MadMcGoo]

I couldn’t remember if I already submitted Kimberly as a possible match or not...so I submitted her again!

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Really hope one of the Gene Researchers picks up her case, it is one that haunts me.

 

[Roselvr]

Could this be Kimberly?? It doesn’t say anything about the condition of her teeth, but it looks like they could possibly not be natural? That or they’re in perfect condition. (I used the postmortem images of the UID for comparing)
CA - CA - Kimberly Cozart, 15, Julian, February 1977

View attachment 260506

Kim has DNA on file. I entered her and her mother. They have her sisters DNA.

 

[Grungster]

I found another PM of her.

https://web.archive.org/web/2007041...o.clark.nv.us/CORONER/images/79-0968_main.jpg

 

[carbuff]

She looks a little older in that picture.

 

[Grungster]

She looks a little older in that picture.

Yeah, I noticed that too.

 

[Grungster]

Here's a news article; she was quite drunk and it provides a description of the man she was seen with. You might need a subscription to see this particular article.

13 Nov 1988, Page 97 - Tallahassee Democrat at Newspapers.com

 

[carbuff]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Exclusions:

MP5852 Amy Billig 03/05/1974 Miami-Dade FL
MP8811 Lisa Borden 10/10/1979 Howard TX
MP20779 Hazel Cross 05/01/1973 Lucas OH
MP7870 Rebecca Dunn 05/10/1979 Clark NV
MP4020 Diane Dye 07/30/1979 Santa Clara CA
-- Mary Gregory -- -- --
-- Diane Lynn Harris -- -- FL
MP825 Paulette Jaster 05/05/1979 Genesee MI
MP6400 Deborah Meyer 08/04/1974 Carbon WY
MP4554 Debra Pscholka -- -- CA

No new exclusions.

 

[Vivian Q]

I read a different article that stated she was indeed drunk and that the man was described in his late 20's, thin build, brown hair and had a mustache. For some reason after reason that, I imagined it was her boyfriend. If she was Shawna, and lived in that trailer park, could she had lived with her boyfriend, and that was why he didn't report her, because he himself killed her? Just a thought.

13 Nov 1988, Page 97 - Tallahassee Democrat at Newspapers.com[/QUOTE]

 

[Vivian Q]

In the article, it mentioned that her clothing was traced to Florida, which I think was the reason why the article was published in Tallahassee in 1988, however a recent isotopes test result found pollen from central California on her clothing. Maybe she had ties in California and Florida?

 

[Vivian Q]

There were two El Ranchos. That's what is causing the confusion. I lived in Las Vegas from 1984 through late 2008. The El Rancho you are describing is the one I knew. Previously it was called Thunderbird and Silverbird. I had a roommate who worked at that El Rancho, circa mid '80s. It was on the east side of the Strip between Riviera and Sahara. But as you mentioned that was a large vacant lot between El Rancho and Sahara. Later a huge waterpark was built there, and it thrived for many years. That would have been during the '90s, if I remember correctly.

Sahara Sue was found on the opposite side of the Strip, at the southwest corner of Sahara and the Strip. That was nothing but a huge dusty vacant lot during my first two decades in town. But locals told me there had been a hotel casino there for a long time. It was called El Rancho Vegas. I read up on it and that building experienced a fire in the '60s. There's an interesting history with Howard Hughes attempting to purchase the property in the late '60s, leading to a legal battle. The building became a storage facility briefly. Then it was demolished and partially removed by 1979. So that jives when Sahara Sue was found. They dumped her on a property that nobody cared about anymore. I doubt there was even a fence blocking anyone from driving in and dumping a body amidst the rubble.

El Rancho Vegas - Wikipedia

Thank you for making that clarification because it is confusing if you don't know the history of the Strip. I actually did drive past the original location of El Rancho when it was vacated, and yeah, it was a very desolate and depressing-looking lot to me, not knowing the history of Saraha Sue at the time. The killer must have lived there long enough to know that it would be a perfect place to dump a body and not have many witnesses around. It could have been a hang out place for him as well.

 

[Adrian_Almost_Sleuth]

She looks a little older in that picture.

I get what you guys are saying, visually, but also you have to take into account the missing teeth and the gaunt look of being dead adds years to a victim.

 

[carbuff]

I get what you guys are saying, visually, but also you have to take into account the missing teeth and the gaunt look of being dead adds years to a victim.

Not to mention the gaunt look of apparently living a hard life before that. Appearances can be very deceiving.