TN TN - Vickie Stout, 16, & Carla Atkins, 14, Dover, 17 Sept 1980

kas227

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2011
Messages
50
Reaction score
2
Taken from a news article from WSMV TV, Nashville, TN which aired April 28, 2011 ... "In 1980, two teenage girls walked to a store in Dover. They bought their items, began the one-mile walk home and were not seen again. Six weeks later, 14-year-old Carla Atkins and 16-year-old Vicky Stout were found dead. They had been executed in a remote area of Land Between the Lakes."

Thirty years later, the crime is still unsolved. Abner Vires was the deputy who found the bodies. Now retired, 73-year-old Vires still can't let it go.
"I feel like I had a job at that time to do," he said. "It was just one of them things that stayed on my mind and and just couldn't get it gone."

With the recent abduction of Holly Bobo in Parsons, TN, investigators are taking a new look at this cold case from Dover, TN and some other young women who have gone missing within the same area.

I grew up in Dover and remember this case very well. It happened only a month before my daughters were born. In an area where the crime rate is extremely low, something like this really rattles a community. The case was never solved. There were many speculations and even more rumors as there always are in rural communities but unfortunately the family still has no closure.

The same news coverage indicated there could be a possible connection between this case, Holly Bobo's case and two others ... Martha LeeAnn Green and Sheila Fay Bradford. All young ladies disappeared within an hour's drive of each other. Only the two in 1980 have been been found.

Any insight anyone can provide may prove helpful especially if there is indeed a connection someone can make.

Here is the link to the spot on WSMV: http://www.wsmv.com/news/27708018/detail.html
 
Here are the cases that authorities are now taking a look at as a possibility of being connected in some way.

1. Disappearance and double murder of 14 yr old Carla Atkins and 16 yr old Vicky Stout. (September ?, 1980, Dover, TN)
2. Disappearance of 17 yr old Martha Leeann Green (April 15, 1987, Dickson, TN)
3. Disappearance of 33 yr old Shelia Fay Bradford (June 22, 1992, Camden, TN)
4. Disappearance of 20 yr old Holly Bobo (April 13, 2011, Darden, TN)

All cases have similarities and were all within a one hour drive of each other.
 
This case is being reopened after 31 years.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/15070915/31-year-old-dover-cold-case-reopened

DOVER, TN (WSMV) -
For one Dover family, it's a pain that hasn't gone away for 31 years. In 1980, two teenage girls were found murdered just outside their hometown. Back then, the case went unsolved. Now, police say it's time to try again.

Donna Mathis said she grew up in Dover with her cousins Vicky Stout and Carla Atkins.

"They were fun, they were loving, they got out and just laughed," said Mathis. "They were, to me, just part of me."

One September day in 1980, 16-year-old Stout and 14-year-old Atkins disappeared while walking to a restaurant on Donelson Parkway. Mathis said she knew something was wrong.

"I just felt in my heart they did not run away," said Mathis. "They had no reason to. They had a happy home, a good family. I would not believe they ran away."

Two weeks later, the girls' bodies were found in a secluded area in Land Between the Lakes. Both girls had been shot.

<modsnip>

If you have any information on this case, please call the Stewart County Sheriff's Department at 931-232-5322.
 
Bessie ... Thank you for posting. Yes, this is VERY interesting.
 
I'm not sure I see the connection between the missing girls and this murder? They are fairly close geographically, but the events surrounding the crimes are really different...

LeeAnn Green disappeared on a rainy night when her brother's car ran out of gas. He went to get gas while she waited. When he came back, she was gone. There were a lot of searches for her, but no trace has been found.

Sheila Bradford had contacted the TBI saying she had information about a double murder. She said she was afraid for her life. They were telling her she might have to testify in court and there was some talk of the witness protection program. Her car was found with the keys in the ignition a couple of days later. She also was 33 while the others were in their teens.

Holly Bobo was abducted near her house in broad daylight in front of her brother.

These cases seem really different... especially Sheila Bradford. Is there something I'm missing that connects them?
 
Vigil marks 35 years of unsolved case

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/local/stewart-houston/2015/10/08/vigil-marks-35-years-unsolved-case/73628948/

Crouch assured everyone that law enforcement has been and will continue working on the unsolved case. He added that dedicated people are involved with the case, which he believes will be solved, though he was quick to note he could not promise when.

The district attorney believes that one day someone will come forward with information that links together other information.

He said he looks forward to a day he is able to do his job and stand before 12 jurors to deliver a closing argument that asks for a conviction of the person or people, who killed Carla and Vickie.
 
"The case is more active than it has been in 30 years, but the evidence was stored in plastic bags and is ruined. That is why the family has approved an exhumation."

From the link above. I hate that evidence was ruined and so hope that an exhumation takes place and evidence is still able to be found.

I love in Dover and have for 8 years. I've never heard of this case until pretty recently. Lately our local, small town newspaper started doing a series on the case and since then it seems the ball is starting to roll.
 
'Police have asked the public’s help in identifying a subject wanted for questioning in connection with a double murder from 35-years-ago. ...'.

http://www.newschannel5.com/news/local-news/man-wanted-for-questioning-in-1980-double-murder

3ba20a977d6c914efebf5c6344f55a4e.jpg
 
I'm so glad this is now being seriously looked into. It's a small town.... Surely someone knows something.
 
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/30780995/career-criminal-arrested-on-poaching-charges

A little-known crime in Middle Tennessee helped police catch a notorious criminal.

"In 1974, he was convicted of kidnapping a teenager in Waverly. He raped her, strangled her and threw her off the Duck River Bridge.
The victim survived and Bruce went to jail for a few years.

In 1992, Bruce&#8217;s live-in girlfriend, Sheila Bradford, disappeared in Dickson. Her daughter, Kristie Downing, said it happened just hours after meeting with the TBI about Bruce. Downing has said for years that her mother&#8217;s murder investigation was botched."

Also related

http://truecrimetruant.com/index.php/2016/06/01/the-bruce-brothers-2-deadly-details/

Links provide images for J.C. Bruce and the Bruce Brothers. Compare to TBI's sketch provided on previous post #90 . Curious if the TBI has ever considered one of
the "Bruce Brothers" a suspect in the Carol Atkins, Vicky Stout, sisters, double-homicide case.
 
I apologize for sp., the correct names are Carla Atkins, 14, and Vickie Stout, 16, were last seen alive on Sept. 17, 1980, as they were walking on Highway 79 in Dover.

Gov. Bill Haslam has announced (Aug 2, 2016) a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the 1980 kidnapping and murder of two teens in Stewart County.
Sisters Carla Atkins, 14, and Vickie Stout, 16, were last seen alive on Sept. 17, 1980, as they were walking on Highway 79 in Dover.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/32602354/gov-haslam-offers-reward-in-stewart-county-cold-case Please see above links relating to Sheila Bradford's boyfriend, J.C. Bruce and his brothers,

Hopefully the FBI will also honor the families wishes and join forces with the TBI in finding the man in TBI's 2015 released sketch showing the 1980, 2000, 2014 progressively aging man.
 
Family, community fight for answers 37 years after teen sisters murdered

Carla-Atkins-and-Vickie-Stout_1531348883719_48331063_ver1.0_640_360.jpg

Driving into the town of Dover, Tenn., passersby are greeted by a large sign listing the Ten Commandments.

For many in the community, 'Thou shalt not kill' is a reminder of the biggest unsolved mystery the town has ever experienced.

The morning of September 17, 1980, 14-year-old Carla Atkins and her 16-year-old sister Vickie Stout left their home and walked up Highway 79 to a convenience store.

Witnesses said the two sisters left that convenience store and headed back home but never made it.

After three weeks, hikers came across the girl's bodies in what is now Land Between the Lakes.

Autopsy reports showed the sisters each died of a shotgun wound to the head.
 
This family is very close to me and has been plagued by this for 38 years now. There were a lot of very suspicious mishandlings in this case and while the re-opening sparked some enthusiasm, it seems to have fallen by the wayside again. I believe there is someone or perhaps even multiple people that know what happened to Vicki and Carla that are still out there. Put yourself in this family's shoes and have the decency to come forward. If there is anyone out there that is willing to help, please do. It's extremely hard to get authorities to prioritize a 38 year old case, but this family needs closure. These teenage girls didn't deserve what happened to them and were taken from this earth far too soon.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
149
Guests online
859
Total visitors
1,008

Forum statistics

Threads
589,931
Messages
17,927,844
Members
228,004
Latest member
CarpSleuth
Back
Top