SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Missing Since: September 1984 from Chama, New Mexico
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth: March 1968
Age: 17 years old
Height: 4'11
Distinguishing Characteristics: Hispanic female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance
Valdez was last seen on a Friday after school sometime in late September 1984. She and her best friend, Cindy Redwine, picked up their paychecks from the Branding Iron restaurant, where they worked as dishwashers, and then drank whiskey and visited the grave of Valdez's baby sister, who had died several years earlier. At the gravesite, Valdez told Redwine she loved her parents and was tired of hurting them. The friends separated afterwards. At approximately midnight, Valdez went to Redwine's house, accompanied by an older man. They invited her to go camping. Redwine refused and told Valdez not go either. Valdez and her male friend left in the man's Bronco.
Valdez has never been heard from again, but a few days later, her wallet was found in Chama. There were possible sightings of her in Colorado and the New Mexico cities of Albuquerque and Farmington after her disappearance, but none of these reports were confirmed. Redwine stated she knew the man Valdez was last seen with and asked him where she had gone, and he said he had left her at Redwine's house. She told him she knew his story was untrue, and he denied having harmed her. This individual apparently left the Albuquerque area sometime after Valdez's disappearance. He has not been publicly identified.
At the time of her disappearance, Valdez was scheduled to appear as a witness in the trial of a bar owner. He had been cited for allowing her into Ben's Lounge when she was underage. She disappeared before the trial took place. It is unclear whether Valdez's scheduled testimony has anything to do with her disappearance. However, after her disappearance her family and friends heard rumors that she was murdered at a party at Ben's Lounge on the night she vanished.
Valdez was a student at Escalante High School in 1984, and had five younger siblings. She dreamed of becoming a beautician. She drank occasionally and dated older men, and she had previously run away from home for short periods, but she has never been gone for this long. Her case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
New Mexico State Police
505-827-9126