New details emerge in 1982 cold case near Lake Tahoe

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Washoe County Sheriff’s Office detectives are exploring a new theory in attempts to identify the victim in a 33-year-old unsolved murder.

According to WCSO, on July 17, 1982, a woman was found dead near a popular hiking trail in the Sheep’s Flat area off Highway 28, between Incline Village and the Mount Rose summit.

She was clothed in a powder blue T-shirt, blue jeans and yellow tennis shoes and wore a bathing suit under her clothing. There was no identification.

Initially the victim was believed to be of European decent. However, after taking a fresh look at the case, Cold Case Unit investigators believe she may have come from somewhere in the Western United States.

“Investigators feel she may never have been reported as missing to law enforcement because she may have become voluntarily estranged from her family and/or friends in the years prior to the murder,” officials said. “Based on this new theory, investigators are hoping someone may know of a situation where a young woman left her family in the late 1970s early 1980s and has not been heard from since.”

The woman was estimated to have been between the ages of 25 and 35 in 1982. She was a white female with a medium-colored complexion; roughly five feet, six inches tall; a slender build; straight medium length light brown hair; and hazel eyes.

More unique descriptors include a vaccination scar on her right shoulder and a four- to five-inch horizontal surgical scar (possibly from a cesarean section birth) on her lower abdomen, according to WCSO.

The case is featured as the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page’s “Cold Case of the Month” for July. Residents are asked to share the post.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Cold Case Investigators Dave Jenkins at DJenkins@washoecounty.us or Rick Bjelke at RBjelke@washoecounty.us, or by calling 775-328-6225.