KINGMAN, AZ — The remains of a young woman found in 1989 are still unidentified.
In this episode of Arizona's Coldest Cases, detectives continue working to figure out who she is, but we're told they do have a person of interest in her murder. ABC15 has been working with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office for months looking into this case. In this episode of Arizona's Coldest Cases, we were able to exclusively obtain crime scene video that could help lead to answers.
Watch part one of Episode 2 in the player below. Watch the rest of the episode on Roku, Firestick or other streaming devices.
"Date is November 24, 1989. The time is approximately 11:45 hours. This will be a homicide scene," said detectives on video from 1989.
It was a gruesome discovery in Kingman, three hours northwest of Phoenix, off of I-40.
"The remains appear to be those of a white female," said detectives on video from 1989.
Watch Episode 1 of Arizona's Coldest Cases in the player above. Read more about it here.
For 33 years, she's been without a name.
Now, detectives are asking for any tips that may help them find a person of interest who allegedly admitted to the murder decades ago.
"That's been the frustrating part. There's somebody out there she belongs to," said Investigator Lori Miller, with the Mohave Co. Sheriff's Office.
ABC15 was given never-before-seen video which takes us back to the crime scene. Detectives can be heard talking through each part of their investigation.
"At this point, we observe an area... what appears to be drag marks leading into the thicket," said detectives on video from 1989.
There was also evidence connected to the person who brought her there.
"What appear to be foot tracks from a work boot or round-toed western boot, at approximately 12-inch length. They're backwards; they're dug in. It appears that the person was walking backwards dragging the victim," said detectives on video from 1989.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office, back in 1989 and still to this day, is piecing together the moments leading up to the woman's murder.
"It was some type of altercation or fight," said detectives on video from 1989.
Investigator Lori Miller believes it was a crime of opportunity.
"Something happened to cause her and this other person to be at that location, and then something obviously went wrong. Because if you look [at] the autopsy, they believe her nose was broken prior to death and there was a possible hematoma on the left side of her skull. So, she was beaten," said Investigator Miller.
It's believed that the woman may have been a hitchhiker between 25 and 30 years old with reddish blonde hair and of Jewish descent. Items that belonged to her were found scattered around the brushy area.
"East side of the entrance, there's a pair of dark sunglasses," said detectives on video from 1989.
Those are still stored in an evidence room, along with a floral blouse that remains intact. Both items were tested for DNA but there was no match.
"They found that shirt not far from where she was," said Investigator Miller.
In 1992, there was some movement in the case. Someone showed up at the sheriff's office with key information.
"That he was present at a biker party and at one point, somebody there at the party said... 'well, remember that female that they found in the Hualapai's... well, I'm the one who killed her,'" said Investigator Miller.
It wasn't until 22 years later that the tip was fully followed up on. ABC15 looked into why that was.
"The sheriff's office has grown and now there's more resources, but the case went cold for a good bit of time?" asked ABC15.
"The case did go cold. There was some work done on it but more of an attempt to identify who she was," responded Miller.
We're told a detective in 2014 was going through past cases when he stumbled upon the information.
"He followed up on it and he actually identified who this person of interest is," said Miller.
Miller was later assigned to this case when the Cold Case Unit was formed in 2019. Although, picking up where things were left off has proven to be difficult. Specifically, when it comes to the witness who came forward.
"He's pretty upset, and I can understand that, and his statement was... 'I stand by what I told the detectives back in 1992 and that's it, you had your chance.' And I get it," said Investigator Miller.
In order to further the case, and speak with the person of interest, they need someone to corroborate what they have.
"Human foottracks and impressions... here, over here," said detectives on video from 1989.
They hope time will be on their side.
"Please come forward. Help us follow up on this investigation so we can get her some justice and we can get her a name," said Investigator Miller.
The sheriff's office is working with Mohave County Silent Witness to offer up to a $2,500 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
