Left to right: Artisic renderings and sketch of the victim; The victim's clothing and hankerchief.
Identified...Identified...Identified
Left to right: Artisic renderings and sketch of the victim; The victim's clothing and hankerchief.
Date of Discovery: February 14, 1982
Location of Discovery: Williams, Coconino County, Arizona
Estimated Date of Death: Approximately 2 weeks prior to discovery
State of Remains: Not recognizable due to insect/animal activity
Cause of Death: Inconclusive, possible homicide
Estimated Age: 16-24 years old
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: 5'4" - 5'5"
Weight: 120 - 125 lbs.
Hair Color: Blonde/strawberry blonde, straight, approximately 9.5" in length
Eye Color: Unknown. Subject seen alive had blue eyes.
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Irregular, rough, well-healed scars on the dorsal aspect (top) of the left foot measuring 3.5 and 1.4 cm in maximum dimension; a well-healed diagonal scar on the anterior (back) lower thigh measuring 3.5 cm in length. Left earlobe is pierced (right ear missing due to animal activity), moles on her chest above the right breast
Dentals: Available; Tooth #19 (lower molar) had been drilled in preparation for a root canal approximately one week prior to her death. Teeth # 1, 16, 17 and 32 not erupted.
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Blue jeans (size 8 or 9) with the brand name "Seasons," white sweater with thin red/maroon stripes, and a white bra (size 36C)
Jewelry: none
Additional Personal Items: white hankerchief
This young woman was discovered face down under a cedar tree near westbound Interstate 40, about 11 miles west of Williams, while a Arizona Department of Public Safety officer was searching for a tire. The decedent was found wearing only jeans, with a red and white striped sweater and bra found nearby. Evidence suggests that she was dragged to her location and placed there. Circumstances are unknown otherwise. Coconino County is investigating this case as a homicide. She is known to investigators as "Valentine Sally" and is buried in a cemetery in Williams.
A Northern Arizona University student said that he picked up a hitchhiker fitting Valentine Sally's description near Cordes Junction on February 2 while traveling north. She told the driver that she was coming from Phoenix, where she was living with friends and working as a dishwasher. Because of some family problems, she had to get to New Jersey, and was planning ot go ot the Little America truck stop when she got to Flagstaff to try and get a ride from a truck driver to the East Coast. It is possible she went to a dentist in the Phoenix area before February 2, 1982.
There are witnesses that put Valentine Sally with a man (possibly two men) at the Monte Carlo truck stop in Ash Fork, Arizona during the early morning hours of February 4, 1982. One of her companions is described as a white male, 60 to 65 years of age, 5â8" to 5â10" tall, medium weight, wearing a two-tone, brown, checked leather vest and a felt cowboy hat adorned with a large peacock feather on the front of the hat.
Agency Name: Coconino County Medical Examiners Office
Agency Contact Person: Elizabeth Ross
Agency Phone Number: 928-679-8775
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 82-022
Agency Name: Coconino County Sheriffâs Office Cold Case Squad
Agency Contact Person: Detective Chuck Jones
Agency Phone Number: 928-226-5033
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 82-11000
NCIC Case Number: U214162293
NamUs Case Number: 9864
NamUs
NCMEC
Arizona Daily Sun (8/28/13)
Coconino County Sheriff's Office Cold Cases & Missing Persons Facebook Page
Arizona Daily Sun (2/19/82)
Arizona Republic (2/82)
Added: 8/5/2014; Last Updated: 12/11/2017
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information may be estimated.
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