CA CA - Robin Graham, 18, Los Angeles, 14 Nov 1970

[Markybug]

Wonder if re-interviewing the police that spoke to her would be possible? Assuming they are still with us.

 

[Lavender Moon]

I wonder. It's a really good idea, Markybug.

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Robin’s birthday.

 

[Markybug]

I wonder. It's a really good idea, Markybug.

They are the last people to see Robin , plus the ONLY people to see the suspect ?

 

[Seeker2022]

She was headed onto the freeway having no gas in her car.... She runs out of gas on the onramp.... She calls her parents saying she was out of gas... Police stops to help.... She tells him she called her parents. And a while later (?) the cop drives by AGAIN, sees a male out there...
She walked to a pay phone located where? and then back to her car? How long did that take?
Did the cop drive by earlier and see her, as she walked back and forth to a pay phone, before he offered to help? Did the "male" have a gas can? Was he old enough looking to be her dad? She said parents were coming....
I just think there are too many holes in this story...

 

[Beekarina]

She was headed onto the freeway having no gas in her car.... She runs out of gas on the onramp.... She calls her parents saying she was out of gas... Police stops to help.... She tells him she called her parents. And a while later (?) the cop drives by AGAIN, sees a male out there...
She walked to a pay phone located where? and then back to her car? How long did that take?
Did the cop drive by earlier and see her, as she walked back and forth to a pay phone, before he offered to help? Did the "male" have a gas can? Was he old enough looking to be her dad? She said parents were coming....
I just think there are too many holes in this story...

I cannot speak for California in the early 70s, but elsewhere in the US, even until the early 00's some places still had pay phones at mile markers along stretches of interstate highways in case of breakdowns. I always assumed, perhaps incorrectly, this is the type of phone used when I read about a highway breakdown in this era.

Edited: I just found this. It looks as though some sections of highway in California still have call boxes, but they have mostly been removed. Riverside County to remove 225 highway call boxes, some are never used "Call boxes are mounted on poles that are 14 feet tall. Yellow boxes like the ones we have today debuted in 1962 in Los Angeles County and spread to Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in the 1980s and early 1990s. Droves of distressed drivers have sought them out when broken down on the freeway. But calls have plummeted in recent years"

 

[Beekarina]

It is possible there was a police officer with bad intent. It seems just as likely to me though that having checked on Robin several times, and hearing she called home for help, then seeing her with someone helping her, they assumed it was a relative or friend. Everything I have ever read indicates the man was in his 20s, so I doubt LE thought it was Robin's father. I cannot fault them for not checking yet another time though, if she did not appear in distress and it looked as though he was helping her. They likely saw a young man and thought he was a brother, a boyfriend, etc.

And according to the Wiki, Robin actually DID use a call box.

"Graham had earlier used a call box to ask a CHP emergency operator to let her parents know she had run out of gas..."

Disappearance of Robin Graham - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Seeker2022]

It is possible there was a police officer with bad intent. It seems just as likely to me though that having checked on Robin several times, and hearing she called home for help, then seeing her with someone helping her, they assumed it was a relative or friend. Everything I have ever read indicates the man was in his 20s, so I doubt LE thought it was Robin's father. I cannot fault them for not checking yet another time though, if she did not appear in distress and it looked as though he was helping her. They likely saw a young man and thought he was a brother, a boyfriend, etc.

And according to the Wiki, Robin actually DID use a call box.

"Graham had earlier used a call box to ask a CHP emergency operator to let her parents know she had run out of gas..."

Disappearance of Robin Graham - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ok. And then the cop drives by again..... And claims to see a 25-26 yr old man.... This should have grabbed the officers attention, because she stated her parents were coming. That guy could not have been her dad... Was the cop that naïve or just acting stupid? There have been many officers who were actually killing people habitually in those days... They could usually get away with it...

 

[dotr]

980DFCA - Robin Ann Graham

''Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 8/12/22 - By: Htmlcnvtr''

Left: Graham, circa 1970; Right: Age-Progression by Wesley Neville
''Name: Robin Ann Graham
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: November 14, 1970
Location Last Seen: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: June 22, 1952
Age: 18 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6
Weight: 125 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Red blouse, blue jeans, red clog shoes, dark blue corduroy jacket.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Graham was last seen on November 14, 1970 by a California Highway Patrol officer. She was standing next to her disabled vehicle on the Hollywood Freeway near Santa Monica Boulevard, south bound.

The officer stopped to see if she needed help, but Ms. Graham said that help was already coming. She had just called her parents to say she had run out of gas at the Santa Monica Boulevard offramp.

Later, the officer noticed a white male, 25-26 years with dark hair, talking to her. A 1958-1960 light blue Corvette hardtop was observed parked behind her vehicle at this time. The officer later assumed the man in the Corvette was the help she had called for. She hasn't been heard from since. Ms. Graham was a student at Pierce College at the time of her disappearance.''

 

[CeCeMoore]

I cannot speak for California in the early 70s, but elsewhere in the US, even until the early 00's some places still had pay phones at mile markers along stretches of interstate highways in case of breakdowns. I always assumed, perhaps incorrectly, this is the type of phone used when I read about a highway breakdown in this era.

Edited: I just found this. It looks as though some sections of highway in California still have call boxes, but they have mostly been removed. Riverside County to remove 225 highway call boxes, some are never used "Call boxes are mounted on poles that are 14 feet tall. Yellow boxes like the ones we have today debuted in 1962 in Los Angeles County and spread to Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties in the 1980s and early 1990s. Droves of distressed drivers have sought them out when broken down on the freeway. But calls have plummeted in recent years"

IIRC, those call boxes were always free in SoCal. I am sure they saved lives. It is too bad they are removing them since some may not have a working cell phone when they need help. I can understand why they would, however, since that scenario may be relatively rare nowadays.

 

[theshadow45]

Robin has been missing for 52 years today.

 

[99SOphie99]

A podcast on the case, with quite a bit of info that was not mentioned before,

Link

 

[dotr]

Sept 2022

Unsolved Episode 305 - The Disappearance of Robin Graham | KFI AM 640

Tune in Saturday to hear the story of Robin Graham, who went missing on November 14, 1970.

kfiam640.iheart.com

''Unsolved Episode 305 - The Disappearance of Robin Graham

On November 14, 1970, 18-year-old Robin Graham left the parking lot of her job after a night out with friends. As Robin was driving home southbound on the 101 freeway her 1965 Dodge Polara ran out of gas. A CHP officer stopped and told her to use the callbox for a tow or to contact her father. Minutes later, the same CHP officer noticed a blue corvette behind Robin’s car.

That’s the last time Robin was seen.

How does a young woman with a full-time job, who’s a responsible college student and well-liked by her friends just vanish?

In this episode, investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Missing Person’s Unit offer a theory never discussed publicly. And learn about an odd connection between the case and a DJ on KFI Radio. Read about that connection here.

Access a transcript of this episode here.

If you have any information on this case, please contact the Unsolved Team by dialing #250 on your cell phone and use the keyword "Unsolved."

980DFCA - Robin Ann Graham

''Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 8/12/22 - By: Htmlcnvtr

980DFCA - Robin Ann Graham​

Left: Graham, circa 1970; Right: Age-Progression by Wesley Neville

Name: Robin Ann Graham
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: November 14, 1970
Location Last Seen: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: June 22, 1952
Age: 18 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6
Weight: 125 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Red blouse, blue jeans, red clog shoes, dark blue corduroy jacket.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Graham was last seen on November 14, 1970 by a California Highway Patrol officer. She was standing next to her disabled vehicle on the Hollywood Freeway near Santa Monica Boulevard, south bound.

The officer stopped to see if she needed help, but Ms. Graham said that help was already coming. She had just called her parents to say she had run out of gas at the Santa Monica Boulevard offramp.

Later, the officer noticed a white male, 25-26 years with dark hair, talking to her. A 1958-1960 light blue Corvette hardtop was observed parked behind her vehicle at this time. The officer later assumed the man in the Corvette was the help she had called for. She hasn't been heard from since. Ms. Graham was a student at Pierce College at the time of her disappearance.

Investigating Agency(s)​

Agency Name: Los Angeles Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Adult Missing Persons Unit
Agency Phone Number: 213-485-4061
Agency E-Mail: missingpersons@lapd.lacity.org
Agency Case Number: DR70687411

NCIC Case Number: M-678004778
NamUs Case Number: 32285''

 

[Beekarina]

Ok. And then the cop drives by again..... And claims to see a 25-26 yr old man.... This should have grabbed the officers attention, because she stated her parents were coming. That guy could not have been her dad... Was the cop that naïve or just acting stupid? There have been many officers who were actually killing people habitually in those days... They could usually get away with it...

I thought Robin said she called home and help was on the way, not specifically that her father was coming to help her? I may be mistaken though.

 

[Richard]

52 years missing...

 

[99SOphie99]

I thought Robin said she called home and help was on the way, not specifically that her father was coming to help her? I may be mistaken though.

Call boxes only connected you to an employee; so it wasn't a direct call home anyway. She did not speak to her family on that phone..

 

[Caring1]

13 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[jurewiczwoods]

I think Robin had more than one sister, based off what her mother says in this article.

'I just wanted to show she wasn't forgotten.' - December 15, 1987

She was one of 9 children

 

[Markybug]

Looks interesting, will give the transcript a read , thanks.

weirdly her car was a ex police car if i recall correctly (well her boyfriends)

 

[Markybug]

A podcast on the case, with quite a bit of info that was not mentioned before,

Link

https://i.iheart.com/v3/re/new_assets/632b75817e09857468cb2b64/?passthrough=1

This is very interesting reading. Didn’t know there was a petrol station very close by (detectives puzzled why she didn’t fill up that night) and that she was a regular there, so much so they interviewed staff.

It’s a consideration that her car was tampered with causing her to run out of petrol.

Ex boyfriend was polygraphed.

They are/were considering seeing if yearbooks were still available from her college to see if any names jump out or could be checked against corvette ownership etc.

In summary they lean towards her leaving with the poi as it was someone she knew or knew off, ie customer at her work, petrol station staff, fellow student.

Worth a read imo.