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Disappearance of Robin Graham

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Robin Ann Graham (born June 22, 1952), daughter of Marvin and Beverly Graham, was a college student who disappeared from a Los Angeles freeway on November 15, 1970.

Robin Graham, High School graduation photograph
Robin Graham, High School graduation photograph

Background

Robin grew up on Lemoyne Street in the Silverlake-Los Feliz area of Los Angeles and had graduated from John Marshall High School in June 1970. She was attending Pierce College in Woodland Hills and working part time at Pier One Imports in Hollywood.[1]

Disappearance

Robin Graham was last seen by California Highway Patrol officers at approximately 2:00 a.m. on November 15, 1970, beside her car on the shoulder of the Hollywood Freeway near the Santa Monica offramp; she was in the presence of a dark-haired white man estimated to be in his mid-twenties who drove a late 1950s model Corvette, pale blue or green with primer. Robin used a call box to ask that a CHP emergency operator let her parents know she had run out of gas; her younger sister took the call and relayed the information to her parents upon their return home at approximately 2:30 a.m. They went immediately to the location where they found Robin's car but she was already missing.[2] There was no note found on the locked car. The CHP officers had stopped several times earlier and spoke with Miss Graham but did not stop again when they saw her talking with the young man; the patrolmen assumed he was family, the help for which she'd called. It should be noted that the CHP officers were acting in accordance with policy;[3] as a result of this case CHP policy was changed to ensure the safety of stranded female motorists.[4]

Robin had been out Saturday night with friends and, after dropping off a girlfriend, Robin was dropped off at her car, left in the Pier One parking lot, at approximately 1:45 a.m.

The initial report had Robin leaving voluntarily in the Corvette but the CHP officer was requestioned and said he saw her in the presence of the young man but did not see them leave.

The case was handled by detectives at the Rampart Division of the LAPD who thought her disappearance was possibly linked to three other similar cases involving young women over the previous two years,[5] includingRose Tashman , a college student at San Fernando Valley State College who disappeared in 1969; she had a flat tire on the Hollywood freeway a few miles from the location of Robin's car. None of the other cases were solved and all the other victims were found dead in the Hollywood Hills. In 1975 a similar disappearance took place from the San Bernardino freeway in El Monte; the skeletal remains of Mona Jean Gallegos were found nearly six months later in a Riverside ravine. Some speculate that Robin was a victim of the Zodiac Killer.[1]

Further activity

Seventeen years later a curious ad appeared in the Los Angeles Times classifieds which caught the attention of the Graham family as well as KFI disc jockey Geoff Edwards, who read it on the air: "DEAREST ROBIN You ran out of gas on the Hollywood Frwy. A man in a Corvette pulled over to help. You've not been seen of since. It's been 17 years, but it's always just yesterday. Still looking for you (signed) THE ECHO PARK DUCKS." It turned out that Al Medrano, a friend still living in the neighborhood, simply wanted to express that Robin has not been forgotten.[6]

The case of Robin Graham's disappearance has been included in television specials about missing persons; it remains an unsolved mystery.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Robin Ann Graham". The Charley Project. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  2. ^ Drummond, William J. (November 18, 1970), "Girl Sighted Talking to Man on Freeway Before She Vanished:Homicide Detectives Say Patrolmen Directed Pierce Coed to Call Box, Later Saw Corvette Parked Near Her Car", Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Los Angeles, Calif. p. a3 (2 pp.)
  3. ^ Drummond, William J. (November 19. 1970), "CHP, POLICE REGULATIONS EXPLAINED:Why Missing Coed Was Left on Freeway", Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Los Angeles, Calif. p. a1 (2 pp.)
  4. ^ "WILL INCREASE AID TO WOMEN:CHP Alters Freeway Policy After Disappearance of Girl", Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Los Angeles, Calif.:Dec 12, 1970. p. a1 (2 pp.)
  5. ^ Jones, Jack (June 8, 1977), "Postscript: Parents Won't Give Up on Girl Who Disappeared 6 Years Ago", Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Los Angeles, Calif. p. oc1 (1 pp.)
  6. ^ Harvey, Steve. (December 15, 1987), "Postscript: 'I just wanted to show she wasn't forgotten'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif. metro2, pg. 3
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