Just noticed something. In Johnnie's younger picture (where he's listed as 14-15 years old), he appears to have a small scar or birthmark on the center of his forehead directly between his eyebrows. I haven't seen it listed anywhere as a distinguishing mark, so I wonder if it may have simply gone away as he got older (he doesn't seem to have it in his graduation photo) or it was just a temporary blemish he had at that time.
CA CA - Johnnie Herrera, 20, Oxnard, 27 Aug 1971
- Thread starter Bobby88
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Ambercat
Well-Known Member
It looks like it is to someone who's name ends in a "y" and "all my" [blank] "always" "John." That is what I can get out of it.
I was reading the listing on the Charley Project and Doe Network for Vicki Lynn Hollar from Eugene, Oregon and it looks like her VW Beetle went missing when she did and has never been found, like Johnnie.
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2623dfor.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hollar_vicki.html
She is believed to be a victim of Ted Bundy. If so, what did he do with the Volkswagen? If Johnnie was a victim of Randy Kraft or Patrick Kearney, did he do the same thing with Johnnie's Volkswagen? :waitasec:
Perhaps the writing on the graduation picture was to his wife when they were dating?
I supposed Kraft or Kearney could have dumped Johnnie's VW. Does anyone know for sure specifically what part of So. Cal. Kraft or Kearney were in at the time of Johnnie's disappearance? Were they in or near the Oxnard area at the time?
I wish I knew what specific route Johnnie took to go home and exactly how far along that route did he get when he and his car vanished and essentially ceased to exist for 40 years; I know the latter is impossible to determine, but it's a good question.
Could it be that Johnnie actually did arrive home that night and that his wife had something to do with his disappearance? Could that be why Johnnie's brother Joe made the missing persons report five days after the fact? I find it hard to believe that his wife would have simply not gone to the police in five days to report her husband missing. Perhaps she asked Joe to make the report for her, but again, why would she have waited five days to do so? And did no one (friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.) notice that Johnnie and his car weren't there all that time? If so, did they ask the wife and what did she tell them? If he was employed, surely his boss, or at the very least a co-worker would have noticed his sudden absence. Something about the whole thing seems odd to me.
I personally believe that Johnnie met with foul play. If it had been a car accident, I think he and his car would have been found early on and he wouldn't be listed as a missing person.
I wonder whatever happened to Johnnie's son. He'd probably be in his late 30s to early 40s by now.:waitasec:
I meant to post this a few weeks ago, but forgot.
When I was checking Ancestry.com to find a record of Johnnie's marriage, I found a listing under "California Marriages, 1960-1985" of a man named "Johnnie J Herrera" married in Ventura County. The bride's name is listed as "Annette L Evans". I wasn't actually able to view any such document since a payment is required, but I have a feeling this is Johnnie and his wife.
My searches for Annette Evans or Annette Herrera have turned up nothing.
When I was checking Ancestry.com to find a record of Johnnie's marriage, I found a listing under "California Marriages, 1960-1985" of a man named "Johnnie J Herrera" married in Ventura County. The bride's name is listed as "Annette L Evans". I wasn't actually able to view any such document since a payment is required, but I have a feeling this is Johnnie and his wife.
My searches for Annette Evans or Annette Herrera have turned up nothing.
I noticed on the site linked below for Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Texas there is an Annette Lee Herrera who died on 29th January 1995 which ties in with Johnnie's wife having already passed. Her headstone is on the site and says "Beloved Daughter, Sister and Mom", so she was a mother. Her date of birth is 22nd August 1953 though which would make her only 17 years and 6 months old in February 1971 when Johnnie disappeared. I know it was perhaps more common to be married younger than people maybe do today, but perhaps this is just a shade too young to be her?
http://www.txgenes.com/txupshur/cemetery/SunsetMemorial/SunsetMemorialCemH.html
BTW, Johnnie went missing on 8/27/71. His D.O.B. is 2/17/51. No big deal, I think you just may have gotten the dates mixed up. So if this is the right Annette, she would have just turned 18 five days before Johnnie disappeared.
Anyway, that could be her. I also found an Annette L. Evans who died in 2002 in Jackson, MS with a D.O.B. of 9/1/51 (which funnily enough, would have meant that her birthday in 1971 would have fallen on the exact same day Johnnie's brother made the missing persons report). I haven't been able to find any more info on her, but the age, IMO, made it worth a shot. :twocents:
Good find!
I doubt it based on the time, but could this be Johnnie?
http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase462.html
Even though this man died the same day he was found (3/21/75), he was the only UID I could find that matched Johnnie's description. It's really a long shot, but then again it's still possible. After all, no one ever expected Jaycee Dugard to still be alive after 18 years as a missing person, but she is. Perhaps Johnnie, for reasons unknown, was held captive for almostfour years prior to being killed.
It would help if there was a post-mortem photo and/or sketch of the victim. He's not on Namus. Perhaps I should contact the Doe Network to see if I can get more info, possibly the name of the investigator. An actual investigator would likely have much better access to a photo or sketch than the Doe Network staff.
http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase462.html
Even though this man died the same day he was found (3/21/75), he was the only UID I could find that matched Johnnie's description. It's really a long shot, but then again it's still possible. After all, no one ever expected Jaycee Dugard to still be alive after 18 years as a missing person, but she is. Perhaps Johnnie, for reasons unknown, was held captive for almostfour years prior to being killed.
It would help if there was a post-mortem photo and/or sketch of the victim. He's not on Namus. Perhaps I should contact the Doe Network to see if I can get more info, possibly the name of the investigator. An actual investigator would likely have much better access to a photo or sketch than the Doe Network staff.
Here's a craigslist ad I posted requesting info about Johnnie.
http://ventura.craigslist.org/laf/2504181927.html
http://ventura.craigslist.org/laf/2504181927.html
Ambercat
Well-Known Member
I noticed that this unidentified man found on July 07, 1977 (estimated date of death is between 1968 and 1977) in Los Angeles County is consistent with Johnnie Joe Herrera. Unfortunately, there isn't that much information provided.
https://identifyus.org/cases/4440
https://identifyus.org/cases/4440
The 40th anniversary of Johnnie's disappearance is coming up. I'm sure he's dead (I don't think he lived very long after 8/27/71, if at all), but it's important to find his remains and put him to rest. I'm convinced that foul play was involved and that someone out there is responsible and has gotten away scot-free for four decades.
branwynbreeze
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A few things on ancestry.com:
J and A were married 22 April, 1970. A son was born 13 October, 1970, named after his father.
There are 2 different death certs, CA lists day he was missing, SS lists 7 years to day of missing.
Annette may be Annette Lee Evans, born 22 March, 1954 in Los Angeles. Mother's maiden name was Dellenbach. There are some marriages and divorces I haven't had time to look at yet. So far, cannot find death cert for her.
J's mother's maiden name was Rodriguez.
Gotta run, will see if I can find more later.
J and A were married 22 April, 1970. A son was born 13 October, 1970, named after his father.
There are 2 different death certs, CA lists day he was missing, SS lists 7 years to day of missing.
Annette may be Annette Lee Evans, born 22 March, 1954 in Los Angeles. Mother's maiden name was Dellenbach. There are some marriages and divorces I haven't had time to look at yet. So far, cannot find death cert for her.
J's mother's maiden name was Rodriguez.
Gotta run, will see if I can find more later.
Thank you so much! This is the kind of info I was really hoping to find. Would you mind if we discussed this more in PM? I have some more things to discuss with you about this.
branwynbreeze
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Sure. I live not too far from where he went missing, may take a ride up there.
I'll PM you some time tomorrow as I'm going to bed now. Thanks again.
branwynbreeze
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CTaylor, I think you are right. From searching Ancestry all lead to that Annette as correct. It seems her son still lives there with his wife. I found her FB page and photo looks as if the man could very well be Johnnie's son.
Quick update and I hope I don't forget something. This is what I believe to be true, I think Bobby88 agrees, I can share all stuff if you PM me. I do not want to post all the stuff here unless others want me too.
From obituary we found name of Johnnie's parents, siblings and grandmother. He was one of 7 kids. I have an address where Herrera's lived, not sure if I can post it. It is less than 11 miles from what was until 1997, Camarillo State Mental Hospital. It was not a nice place:
http://users.resist.ca/~kirstena/pagecamarillo.html
I think Kraft's Oxnard entry was well after Johnnie disappeared. I cannot find any list of Kearney's victims, timeline could work.
I worked with a guy who went to same high school as Johnnie, probably a couple grades ahead of him. I emailed him to see if he knew the Herreras.
Quick update and I hope I don't forget something. This is what I believe to be true, I think Bobby88 agrees, I can share all stuff if you PM me. I do not want to post all the stuff here unless others want me too.
From obituary we found name of Johnnie's parents, siblings and grandmother. He was one of 7 kids. I have an address where Herrera's lived, not sure if I can post it. It is less than 11 miles from what was until 1997, Camarillo State Mental Hospital. It was not a nice place:
http://users.resist.ca/~kirstena/pagecamarillo.html
I think Kraft's Oxnard entry was well after Johnnie disappeared. I cannot find any list of Kearney's victims, timeline could work.
I worked with a guy who went to same high school as Johnnie, probably a couple grades ahead of him. I emailed him to see if he knew the Herreras.
branwynbreeze, thanks so much for this information and probable confirmation of Annette. I must admit I found that website almost by chance and thought she was a shade too young to be Johnnie's wife but thought it was worth posting as people did tend to get married much younger in the 60s/70s. So sad that if this is Johnnie's wife that she died so young.
The Kraft connection I know was mentioned earlier by Bobby88 in this thread but it did seem Johnnie's disappearance was too early to match his scorecard, but it's still a possibility IMO.
Please feel free to keep everything else you found private between you and Bobby88. I know Bobby will appreciate anything that can be found on this case as I'm sure you can see how much he has done to keep it alive. Bobby did you get any update on making this case a spotlight case? Might help you to get more views and who knows, it maybe could lead to some other further details. All the best.
I got a note from a mod a few months back saying they'd put in a request. So far, nothing has come of it.
Big news! Branwynbreeze recently sent an e-mail to the Ventura County Star newspaper in Oxnard asking them to do a story on the 40th anniversary of Johnnie's disappearance (which is this Saturday) and they are considering it. The reporter e-mailed me to get info about the detective and I gave her my phone number in case she needed to ask me anything else. About twenty minutes later, she called me and interviewed me over the phone about how I got interested in the case, what other info I'd found, and my theories as to what may have happened.
She seemed very interested in doing this story.
She seemed very interested in doing this story.