CA CA - Dena McHan, 18, Stockton, 6 December 1981

New Posts

kemo said:
There were a number of women who were murdered or went missing in that general area in the late 1970’s-early 80’s but none bare any obvious similarities to this case. It is extremely unusual for a stranger abduction to result in a vehicle disappearance.

The report that she was “being bothered” by two men at the Lodi gas station is certainly worth noting. Still, she was almost home at the time and there was no stretch of road between Lodi and her home in the Stonewood area of Stockton that wouldn’t have had some traffic at that time of night.

According to Google Earth, there are no obvious bodies of water along her route today that she could have driven into ( were there in 1981?)

Anyone who follows True Crime understands the significance of a vehicle in a sexually motivated abduction case. If the victim is abducted from her vehicle, it is generally left at the crime scene. If the victim’s own vehicle is used in the abduction, it presents a problem for the abductor. If the vehicle is left at at the site of subsequent crime ( rape/murder/dump site), it would be very incriminating. Even if it is driven well away from any crime site it still might contain forensic evidence and the perpetrator must have transportation back. Torching the vehicle is the usual answer but dumping the vehicle where it won’t be found, such as a body of water, also works. Abandoned vehicles, when they are found, will generally have their VIN run by Law Enforcement but that might not be done if the vehicle has been there for years.

It is possible that two men staged a fender bender and then one forced her to follow the other to some site. Later the car was dumped where it wasn’t found. I am not aware of any other crime in the region, at the time that fit the pattern.
Click to expand...
Well, I can't dispute your first point, chemo. The separate clusters of abductions and homicides of young women during that particular era, and in that particular region, is mind boggling. And no doubt, you have even a better perspective than I, since the region is rather unfamiliar to me.

I'm glad that we agree the possibility of a two man attack, while somewhat uncommon, could lend itself to an MO not seen in singular attacks, i.e., the disappearance of the car, for instance, and the well-concealed remains and automobile.

While randomn violent attacks against women was short of a rarity during that time, and in that region, I would daresay that attackers acting in tandem is also rare, though not completely unheard of. Charles Ng and Leonard Lake are an example of two codependent psychopaths from the same era.

So while the participation of the Speed Freak Killers appears to be an anachronism, I, personally, don't believe that the time difference is such that the pair can be ruled out at this time. They were strong, strapping young bucks, and speed freaks at that. In their early manic states, they would have sported boundless energy. And they surely were accomplished at hiding things. Let's not forget the **excavation debacle. What a cluster cluck. I followed that until my eyes bled.

Anyway, I don't mean to re-hash all of it, but I have to keep in mind that Dena disappeared merely three years before their first documented homicide, was last seen being harassed by two men (in an area presumably familiar to the SFK's), and remains missing to this day, just as many of the the SFK's alleged and probable victims.

WS Thread: CA - Speed Freak Killers (Shermantine talks; Herzog commits suicide)

JMVHO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Stretching the bouonds of "ON TOPIC", but worth noting.

County Must Face Claims Over Handling of Mass Murder Grave
Courthouse News Service, Matthew Renda, October 13,, 2017

** Suit brought in the Eastern District Court, United States of Americe, by victim Hobson's mother against Joaquin County, et al for the "excavation debacle" (my words).

Motion denied by United States District Court Judge Mrrison C England, Jr., October 11, 2017. It's very lengthy, but a good read.
 
Last edited:
SMartian said:
She was wearing a thick white sweater, Jordache jeans that were three sizes too big for her, brown wool pants, nylons and open-toed heels

What a strange outfit for her to be wearing? Why would she have on jeans that were 3 sizes too big as well as brown wool pants? It looks like the Charley Project updated the clothing description in June of 2012 to say the wool pants were soiled. That is very odd to me.
Click to expand...
This is a bit personal but she had started her monthly and her pants were soiled so she had on a pair of jeans that were her boyfriends and 3 sizes too big,
 
zag said:
hi my name is david "greg" evans , me and my sister grew up with dena and her sister alison we live up the street on churchill i would like to talk with you about dena...i would like to help but i dont know where to start plz reply
Click to expand...
Hi Greg, I am a researcher on Denas case and am in touch with certain members of her family and I would love to speak to you about the case.
 
The fact that her vehicle has vanished with her leaves open the possibility that she ran off the road into a body of water. There are no bodies of water along the obvious route between Lodi, where she was last seen, and her home, that seem large enough to conceal a vehicle. There has been a lot of development since then and perhaps at the time there was such a body of water. There is, of course, the possibility that the Lodi sighting was incorrect. There are waterways she would have encountered between Sacramento and Lodi. Then, there is the possibility that she did not go directly home or she somehow got lost and encountered some hazard.

I do not know the protocol for handling a wrecked car that is encountered during dredging or construction. Presumably law enforcement would check out recent wreckage but any wreckage that had been there a while would be treated as any other debris; unless, of course, human remains are noticed.

It is equally possible that she was abducted and murdered and the car was dumped somewhere it was not found or not found until it had decayed to the point it was not referred to law enforcement.

It could be that that Dena’s Toyota was found years later during some development related activity and disposed of in some landfill along with all other debris.

For whatever it is worth, on 9/26/80, another young woman, Gail Skelton, disappeared along with her vehicle, under similar circumstances just a few miles to the east of where Dena lived. She left a bar after an unknown male had been “ bothering” her and was never seen again. Her route home went along a large waterway so the possibility that she ran off the road into it was always suspected, but neither her car or body has been found. Gail Deann Skelton – The Charley Project

Besides the “speed freak killers” there were other known and unknown predators operating in the area at the time but none are know to dispose of the victim’s auto as part of their MO.
 
kemo said:
The fact that her vehicle has vanished with her leaves open the possibility that she ran off the road into a body of water. There are no bodies of water along the obvious route between Lodi, where she was last seen, and her home, that seem large enough to conceal a vehicle. There has been a lot of development since then and perhaps at the time there was such a body of water. There is, of course, the possibility that the Lodi sighting was incorrect. There are waterways she would have encountered between Sacramento and Lodi. Then, there is the possibility that she did not go directly home or she somehow got lost and encountered some hazard.

I do not know the protocol for handling a wrecked car that is encountered during dredging or construction. Presumably law enforcement would check out recent wreckage but any wreckage that had been there a while would be treated as any other debris; unless, of course, human remains are noticed.

It is equally possible that she was abducted and murdered and the car was dumped somewhere it was not found or not found until it had decayed to the point it was not referred to law enforcement.

It could be that that Dena’s Toyota was found years later during some development related activity and disposed of in some landfill along with all other debris.

For whatever it is worth, on 9/26/80, another young woman, Gail Skelton, disappeared along with her vehicle, under similar circumstances just a few miles to the east of where Dena lived. She left a bar after an unknown male had been “ bothering” her and was never seen again. Her route home went along a large waterway so the possibility that she ran off the road into it was always suspected, but neither her car or body has been found. Gail Deann Skelton – The Charley Project

Besides the “speed freak killers” there were other known and unknown predators operating in the area at the time but none are know to dispose of the victim’s auto as part of their MO.
Click to expand...

So true, there are some definite similarities between the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Dena McHan and Gail Skelton. Thanks for the link you shared in that post. That sketch! The unknown male seen pestering Gail whose sketch was drawn, resembles Loren Herzog, imo.
 
Last edited:
kemo said:
There were a number of women who were murdered or went missing in that general area in the late 1970’s-early 80’s but none bare any obvious similarities to this case. It is extremely unusual for a stranger abduction to result in a vehicle disappearance.

The report that she was “being bothered” by two men at the Lodi gas station is certainly worth noting. Still, she was almost home at the time and there was no stretch of road between Lodi and her home in the Stonewood area of Stockton that wouldn’t have had some traffic at that time of night.

According to Google Earth, there are no obvious bodies of water along her route today that she could have driven into ( were there in 1981?)

Anyone who follows True Crime understands the significance of a vehicle in a sexually motivated abduction case. If the victim is abducted from her vehicle, it is generally left at the crime scene. If the victim’s own vehicle is used in the abduction, it presents a problem for the abductor. If the vehicle is left at at the site of subsequent crime ( rape/murder/dump site), it would be very incriminating. Even if it is driven well away from any crime site it still might contain forensic evidence and the perpetrator must have transportation back. Torching the vehicle is the usual answer but dumping the vehicle where it won’t be found, such as a body of water, also works. Abandoned vehicles, when they are found, will generally have their VIN run by Law Enforcement but that might not be done if the vehicle has been there for years.

It is possible that two men staged a fender bender and then one forced her to follow the other to some site. Later the car was dumped where it wasn’t found. I am not aware of any other crime in the region, at the time that fit the pattern.
Click to expand...
Actually Gail Skeltons car was never found and she went missing from Lodi about 15 min from where Dena lived,
 
kemo said:
There is a somewhat muddled record of this case. Was it June or December? No one wears a "hick Sweeter" in Sacramento in June so I agree probably December. Actually news articles consistently refer to her as 19, which she would have been in December but not in June. I'm pretty sure it is December 6 1981.

One site mentioned that she was wearing Jordache jeans and had a pair of soiled brown pants with her (I.e. She was not wearing them). I'll bet she was wearing brown pants and somehow soiled them so her friend in Sacramento lent her a pair that was 3 sizes too big.
This information is irrelevant to locating her now but would have mattered at the time.

From what I can tell she was said to have left her friend's apartment near Sac State between 2:00 and 3:00 pm but she was reported to have called and spoke to her sister at 11:30 pm. (There were no cellphones at the time so it must have been from a pay phone but did the sister know where?). Sacramento and Stockton are only 50 miles apart and about an hour drive. What did she do after she left or is the information just wrong?

She was reported to have been bothered by two men in a gas station "near Lodi". Does anyone know exactly where and at what time it happened? Two men bothering her sounds very ominous but it is very unusual for a sexual predator to make a car "disappear". It isn't that easy to do and doesn't serve much purpose. I can think of only one case where this happened. (A serial killer in Wyoming buried a girl's car on his property).

There is a good chance she just drove off the road into a body of water but there are no obvious spots this might have happened. The route she would have taken was Hwy 99 south from Sacramento. On the northern border of Lodi is the Mokelumne River that during winter high water a small car might have been swept away to permanently deep water. From Lodi on, it is only ten miles or so to Stockton and no significant waterway. We do not know where Dena lived but there is a port area of Stockton with deep water channels. Would Dena's route home take her near any of these bodies of water? (Or would she have had any other reason to go near one?)

There is speculation that the Speed Freak killers did this, but could 2 16 year-olds pull of that kind of abduction and make the body and the car disappear? I really doubt it. There were other women from that general area who disappeared or were found murdered in the 1980's. Except for the known victims of the SFK's, I am not aware of any clear patterns. I plan to do a little checking.
Click to expand...
 
sO
kemo said:
There is a somewhat muddled record of this case. Was it June or December? No one wears a "hick Sweeter" in Sacramento in June so I agree probably December. Actually news articles consistently refer to her as 19, which she would have been in December but not in June. I'm pretty sure it is December 6 1981.

One site mentioned that she was wearing Jordache jeans and had a pair of soiled brown pants with her (I.e. She was not wearing them). I'll bet she was wearing brown pants and somehow soiled them so her friend in Sacramento lent her a pair that was 3 sizes too big.
This information is irrelevant to locating her now but would have mattered at the time.

From what I can tell she was said to have left her friend's apartment near Sac State between 2:00 and 3:00 pm but she was reported to have called and spoke to her sister at 11:30 pm. (There were no cellphones at the time so it must have been from a pay phone but did the sister know where?). Sacramento and Stockton are only 50 miles apart and about an hour drive. What did she do after she left or is the information just wrong?

She was reported to have been bothered by two men in a gas station "near Lodi". Does anyone know exactly where and at what time it happened? Two men bothering her sounds very ominous but it is very unusual for a sexual predator to make a car "disappear". It isn't that easy to do and doesn't serve much purpose. I can think of only one case where this happened. (A serial killer in Wyoming buried a girl's car on his property).

There is a good chance she just drove off the road into a body of water but there are no obvious spots this might have happened. The route she would have taken was Hwy 99 south from Sacramento. On the northern border of Lodi is the Mokelumne River that during winter high water a small car might have been swept away to permanently deep water. From Lodi on, it is only ten miles or so to Stockton and no significant waterway. We do not know where Dena lived but there is a port area of Stockton with deep water channels. Would Dena's route home take her near any of these bodies of water? (Or would she have had any other reason to go near one?)

There is speculation that the Speed Freak killers did this, but could 2 16 year-olds pull of that kind of abduction and make the body and the car disappear? I really doubt it. There were other women from that general area who disappeared or were found murdered in the 1980's. Except for the known victims of the SFK's, I am not aware of any clear patterns. I plan to do a little checking.
Click to expand...
 
Do you remember the site that said she had soiled pants ? I am working on this case for the family and want to know how anyone knew she had soiled pants with her?
 
Gpsywld said:
sO
Click to expand...
The information that she stopped at a market or gas station and two men were seen bothering her is not a fact it came from a psychic reading her father had done. After that the father told of the reading in the local newspaper ...hence people took it as fact. I have both the newspaper and the transcript and tape of the reading. Not saying the psychic is wrong, just saying it is not a fact.
 
If there is no verified sighting in Lodi then the last sighting would have been in Sacramento and she could have vanished anywhere between her starting point, near Sac State and her home in the Stonewood neighborhood of Stockton. It is also possible that she took I-5 rather than 99. Whatever route she took, there would have been bodies of water she would have encountered that would have been large enough for a vehicle to be lost. This greatly increases the likelihood that she ran off the road rather than was murdered by a predator. Still, the issue is not resolved.

If anyone has access to Satellite photos of the area in 1981, a particularly hazardous spot along any possible route might be identified. The terrain has been altered quite a bit since then so Google Earth would not be much use.
 
Gpsywld said:
The information that she stopped at a market or gas station and two men were seen bothering her is not a fact it came from a psychic reading her father had done. After that the father told of the reading in the local newspaper ...hence people took it as fact. I have both the newspaper and the transcript and tape of the reading. Not saying the psychic is wrong, just saying it is not a fact.
Click to expand...

I wondered about that. They never named a gas station or location of the gas station. Do you have a link for the newspaper?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 180 more.
Total: 4,545 (members: 181, guests: 4,364)

Online statistics

Members online
181
Guests online
4,364
Total visitors
4,545
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,522
Messages
17,970,296
Members
228,793
Latest member
aztraea
Back
Top