Welcome tomc. Thanks for joining us.

trav

I first got interested in Zodiac after moving to Humboldt County in the fall of 1969 and reading the SF Chronicle every day. I was raised in the Ocean Beach area of San Diego, and the day the Swindles were murdered, me and my buddy went down to the murder site by the Silver Spray Apartments after we got out of school. Many people were coming and going to look at the scene, which by the afternoon was just the large blood stain on the cement. We went up the rise to the spot by the chain linked fence where the killer fired the rifle from. It’s all changed now with the walls having collapsed, but in 2010 I took many photos of the scene, when the sea walls were sill there. I was a regular poster on the now dark UNAZOD site.

Hey tomc! Good to see you.

At some point could you post the photos you took of the Swindles crime scene in the section we have on that case? I think some people would be interested in looking at them.

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=110

Chances you met Z in person are at least 30%

Some cases in Humboldt/Eureka area:

Victim solved Sharon Wilson 20 female Humboldt / Eureka College student (Humboldt State College) The body of another murdered co-ed, Sharon Wilson, 20, was found Tuesday near Eureka. Philip M. Kohler, 18, has been charged in the stabbing death of the Humboldt State College student.

Victim Janet Lee Bowman 19 female Eureka / Redding / Arcata College student (Humboldt State University), she had recently returned to the Eureka area from San Diego to resume her studies at the university. She had graduated from high school at Rancho Cotati HS in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County. She rented a room in a house on Pigeon Point Road. She had lived in Arcata during her freshman year. Janet lived by herself and was not known to have a boyfriend. She was said to be shy and did not date. Hitchhiking, last seen at County Welfare Office in Eureka at 9.00 am on 30.09.1975, was known to hitchhiking regularly 30.09.1975

Victim Susan Lori Dye 19 female Eureka / Crescent City College student? Hitchhiking in Humboldt county, Deputies have determined that she left Crescent City hitchhiking at about 10 a.m. Oct. 16. Deputies said she had been seeking a ride home on Highway 101 and that her killer had apparently given her a lift. One witness said that Susan was offered a ride by a white male but Susan declined saying that she had a way to go. However she was not afraid to hitchhike at night because she had her dog with her (a 2 1/2 month old German shepherd puppy).

Victim Karen Frances Fisher 21 female Eureka / Arcata College student (Universtiy of Colorado, Boulder), was visiting friends that attended Humboldt State University Hitchhiking, Karen was last seen alive at Clam Beach on Jan. 14, 1976 trying to hitch a ride to Trinidad, Humboldt County. She was wearing a green ski sweater with a wide collar and hiking boots. She may have been carrying a red vinyl raincoat and plastic purse. 14.01.1976

Victim Victoria Lynn Schneider 19 female Eureka Victoria Lynn Schneider had moved from Hayfork to Eureka less than a week before she was killed. She was living with friends on Myrtle Avenue. Hitchhiking, her friends last saw her on June 15 when Victoria left the home telling her friends she was going to hitchhike to Samoa beach to sunbathe. She was wearing a multi-colored sundress and carrying a small backpack when she left. Her body was found by four young boys who were riding motor scooters in the area. Victoria was 5’9” and weighed 120 lbs, she had shoulder length brown hair. 15.06.1976

Missing Mary Elizabeth Stuart aka Mary Danckert + daughters Fannie & Jessie 32 female Eureka / Honeydew Mary was last seen with her young daughters Fannie and Jessie, on December 10, 1977, when they left their residence to run errands. Approximately one month after they were last seen, their family station wagon was found abandoned a few miles from their home but their whereabouts remain unknown. Foul play is suspected in their disappearance. 10.12.1977

Missing Jessie Flo Stuart 2 female Eureka / Honeydew Child Jessie and her sister Fannie were last seen in Honeydew, California on December 10, 1977. The girls disappeared with their mother, Mary Stuart. They left home at 10:00 a.m. in Mary’s red Opel sation wagon with license plates numbered 456-AII. They were going to go to the grocery store, to a television repair shop in Eureka or Fairfield, California and may have also planned to see an optometrist. They were supposed to return by dark, but never did. On January 19, 1978, Mary’s vehicle was found abandoned on an old logging road a few miles from home. The car’s gas line was broken and there were groceries in the back. There were no indications of foul play or a struggle. There has been no sign of Mary or the children since 1977. Byron McGray Stuart, who was Mary’s husband and Fannie and Jessie’s father, has long been considered the prime suspect in their disappearances. He had a bad temper and a violent history, but authorities never had enough evidence to charge him. Byron was an alcoholic and a drug addict who went into recovery after he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1991. He died in 1996, age 48. He never remarried or had any other children. The investigation into the Stuarts’ disappearances was reopened in 2009 and investigators hope to recover Mary, Fannie and Jessie’s remains. 10.12.1977

Missing Fannie Fawn Stuart 1 female Eureka / Honeydew Child Fannie and her sister Jessie were last seen in Honeydew, California on December 10, 1977. The girls disappeared with their mother, Mary Stuart. They left home at 10:00 a.m. in Mary’s red Opel sation wagon with license plates numbered 456-AII. They were going to go to the grocery store, to a television repair shop in Eureka or Fairfield, California and may have also planned to see an optometrist. They were supposed to return by dark, but never did. On January 19, 1978, Mary’s vehicle was found abandoned on an old logging road a few miles from home. The car’s gas line was broken and there were groceries in the back. There were no indications of foul play or a struggle. There has been no sign of Mary or the children since 1977. Byron McGray Stuart, who was Mary’s husband and Fannie and Jessie’s father, has long been considered the prime suspect in their disappearances. He had a bad temper and a violent history, but authorities never had enough evidence to charge him. Byron was an alcoholic and a drug addict who went into recovery after he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1991. He died in 1996, age 48. He never remarried or had any other children. The investigation into the Stuarts’ disappearances was reopened in 2009 and investigators hope to recover Mary, Fannie and Jessie’s remains. 10.12.1977

Missing Irin Marie Meyer 29 female Eureka / Gold Beach (OR) Irin was last seen on August 7, 1979 in Gold Beach, OR. 07.08.1979

Missing Edrel Mae Pierce 56 female Humboldt County Edrel was last seen on May 17, 1981 in Humboldt County, CA. She has been a psychiatric patient for many years and has not been seen or heard from since the above date. Foul play is suspected. 17.05.1981

Missing Ollie Letrell Cader 45 male Humboldt County Cader was last seen in Humboldt County, California on October 9, 1981. He vanished under suspicious circumstances. 09.10.1981

Missing John Stewart Campbell 18 male Humboldt County / Arcata Teenager Campbell was a student at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California in 1985. He disappeared from the campus on February 16 of that year and has not been seen again. Campbell was last seen carrying his wallet. He disappeared under suspicious circumstances and investigators believe Campbell may have been taken against his will. He may frequent camping and/or recreational areas. 16.02.1985

Missing Penelope Jo Milbourn 24 female Eureka Milbourn was last seen in Eureka, California on June 7, 1988. 07.06.1988

Missing Thomas Page Locke 42 male Humboldt County Locke was last seen at his residence in Redway, California on December 12, 1988. 12.12.1988

Victim Sylvester George Lopez 13 male Eureka Teenager Sylvester was last seen in Eureka, California on February 21, 1989. On Feb. 21, 1989, Lopez was living in a foster home in Eureka when he was reported as a runaway juvenile. The Eureka Police Department learned Lopez was possibly staying with friends in the Hoopa-Weitchpec area, where he was from. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was unable to locate him. In September of 1989, partial skeletal remains were recovered from the Trinity River near Hoopa, and turned over to the sheriff’s office. The bones were determined to belong to a juvenile female, and were never identified. In June 2012, DNA technology could deliver a result and his remains were returned to his family. 21.02.1989

Missing Dan Thomas Pogue 26 male Eureka Pogue was last seen in Eureka, California on October 1, 1990. Records indicate he was in police custody on April 14, 1991. 01.10.1990

Missing Andrea Jerri White 22 female Humboldt County White was last seen in Humboldt County, California on July 31, 1991. 31.07.1991

Missing Roger A. Anderson 33 male Eureka Anderson was disappeared from Eureka, California on February 15, 1993. His boat sank in the ocean outside of state waters and he has never been heard from again. 15.02.1993

Missing Rosemma Mendenhall 46 female Eureka Mendenhall was last seen in Eureka, California on August 1, 1993. She has never been heard from again. Mendenhall lead a transient lifestyle at the time of her disappearance. 01.08.1993

Missing Jennifer Marie Wilmer 21 female Eureka / Willow Creek Wilmer moved from Long Island, New York to California in late 1992, and moved into a rented house with roommates. She had attended St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, New York and got a full scholarship to St. John’s University in New York City, but she dropped out after one semester. After her move to California she planned to enroll in the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California, but all the classes were full. She at first found work as a waitress, but lost her job and accepted public assistance for a time. Wilmer was last seen in northern California on September 13, 1993. There are two conflicting accounts of her whereabouts on the day of her disappearance. One summary states that Wilmer was last seen leaving her residence in Willow Creek, California to go to a travel agency to retrieve an airplane ticket for a scheduled trip back to New York. She never arrived at the agency and has not been seen again. The second account states that Wilmer was last seen hitchhiking from the Hawkins Bar area of California to Willow Creek for a possible job opportunity at a farm on September 13. Wilmer has never been heard from again and her case remains unsolved. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. Wilmer’s mother assisted in creating federal legislation aimed at requiring states to report information concerning unidentified bodies into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. This procedure provides easier cross-referencing of missing persons and unidentified victims in the United States. The legislation, titled Jennifer’s Law, was signed into effect in 2000. 13.09.1993

QT