Starr Valley Jane Doe: A Life Still Waiting to Be Named
In a remote patch of Nevada wilderness, just beyond the curve of a dusty rural road in Starr Valley, Elko County, a terrible secret was buried—one that remains unsolved, unnamed, and almost forgotten. In 1972, the body of a young woman was found in a drainage ditch, shrouded by the tall sagebrush and the silence of the Great Basin. No purse. No ID. No name. More than fifty years later, we still call her Starr Valley Jane Doe, but she was someone’s daughter. She had hopes, memories, a face once recognized—and a death that has never been answered.
This blog post honors her. It also challenges us to act—to lend our voices, our attention, and our resources to help solve a case that law enforcement has never closed and her killer has never paid for.
A Girl in the Sagebrush
She was found on October 4, 1972. A rancher walking near a remote culvert in Starr Valley, about 13 miles southeast of Elko, discovered what he at first thought was discarded clothing. But as he approached, the truth unfolded: a young woman, partially clothed, lying face-up in the ditch. Her arms were placed at her sides. She had been dead for several days.
She was white, estimated between 16 and 22 years old, about 5'3", and 115 to 125 pounds. Her auburn or dark blond hair was long, past her shoulders. She had dental fillings and wore a copper ring on her right hand. She had likely died around September 30th.
Her injuries told a story of violence. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head from a small-caliber weapon, possibly a .22 rifle or pistol. There were no signs of sexual assault, but her jeans were unbuttoned and partially removed. Her shoes—brown moccasin-style boots—were missing. Her shirt, a green floral print, was stained and torn. There was no identification. No vehicle. No witnesses.
The girl was buried in a pauper’s grave in Elko Cemetery, under a marker that simply read Jane Doe, 1972.
Clues in the Silence
In the months and years that followed, local law enforcement tried to find out who she was. They checked missing persons databases, dental records, schools, churches. They combed through runaway reports and interviewed families who had lost daughters in the region. But the technology of 1972 offered little help. DNA databases didn’t exist. Inter-agency communication was limited. Her face, reconstructed by hand sketches, never triggered a match.
What makes this case especially tragic is its location. Starr Valley sits along a corridor used frequently by long-haul truckers, drifters, and predators who knew the landscape and its isolation. It’s quiet country—hard to access, easy to disappear into. The very vastness that draws people to the Great Basin is also what made Starr Valley Jane Doe vulnerable.
Despite the remoteness, the Elko County Sheriff’s Office didn’t give up. Over the decades, they retained her clothing and skeletal remains, and in recent years, with advances in forensic science, they’ve submitted samples for DNA extraction and genealogical matching. As of 2024, the case remains open with active leads in forensic databases like NamUs and GEDmatch.
Theories and Possible Links
Several theories have emerged about who she might be and who could have killed her. The timing—1972—places her in the same era as several known and suspected serial killers operating in the western United States. Was she a victim of a predator whose crimes stretched across multiple states?
Some have suggested that Starr Valley Jane Doe could be linked to serial killers like Ted Bundy, who was active in Utah, Colorado, and Idaho during that time. However, there is no direct evidence tying Bundy to Nevada.
Another possible connection is Howard Elkins, a suspected serial killer with truck routes through Nevada, known to target young women in rural areas. Others believe she may have been a victim of a one-off killer, someone local who knew the landscape well, disposed of her body quickly, and simply vanished.
Was she a hitchhiker? A runaway from Salt Lake City? A local girl nobody reported missing? Despite dozens of comparisons with other Jane Does and missing girls from the early 1970s, Starr Valley Jane Doe has not yet been matched.
Adopt-a-Victim: Giving Her a Voice
At Dark Dialogue, we’ve launched an Adopt-a-Victim initiative specifically for Starr Valley Jane Doe. We believe every unidentified victim deserves advocacy—and solving cold cases isn’t just for law enforcement anymore. It’s for all of us.
Here’s how you can help:
- Local Listeners: Visit the Starr Valley area, photograph the culvert and surrounding roads, and ask locals if they remember anything unusual around the fall of 1972. Even a vague memory could be the missing link.
- Digital Detectives: File FOIA requests for case notes, police interviews, and autopsy reports. Compare her details with other unidentified Jane Does or runaways. Explore genealogy threads on Reddit or Facebook.
- Genealogy Experts: Help analyze potential DNA matches or family tree links on GEDmatch or FTDNA.
- Everyone: Share her NamUs profile, post her story, and encourage others to adopt her cause. Our Discord server includes a dedicated space for Starr Valley Jane Doe, where volunteers can collaborate, compare notes, and brainstorm strategies.
You can find her NamUs entry here:
https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/4825/details
A Name, A Family, A Future Stolen
More than fifty years have passed, but somewhere, someone still doesn’t know what happened to a sister, a daughter, a classmate, a friend. Her killer may be dead, or still alive, aging into anonymity. But Starr Valley Jane Doe still waits for her name.
If you know anything—anything at all—please contact the Elko County Sheriff’s Office at (775) 738-3421. Case #: 1972-1004.
Help us give this girl her name back.
And until we do… we will not stop.
Add comment
Comments