CA CA - Cindy Mellin, 19, Ventura, 20 Jan 1970

[Earth]

As soon as I saw her case, my mind lept to Bundy. I mean, it is possible.

 

[Richard]

This month will mark the 45 year anniversary of Cindy's disappearance.

 

[scriptgirl]

It's not Bundy. She doesn't fit his type and wasn't 1970 too early for him to have been killing?

 

[Redux]

I just came across an article about the "flat tire murders" (aka "South Dade" murders) of Florida - 5 unsolved murders that happened in 1975 where the killer deflates the victims tires and then offers their assistance.

From this wiki link, http://goo.gl/YG4C16

The possible victims of the killer include five women from South Florida: Ronnie Gorlin (27), Elyse Napp (21), Barbara Stephens (23), Barbara Schreiber (14) and Belinda Zeterower (14). The cases remain unsolved.

Sgt. Erwin Carlstedt of Sonoma County, California theorized that the suspect was a single killer, who moved coast-to-coast, and was responsible for more than 30 unsolved homicides. The Florida investigators did not comment on this theory: their suspect was someone who deflates the victims tires, and then offers them assistance.

BBM. The wiki link tracks back to this link to a book (on google books) called the Encyclopedia of Unsolved Murders..

http://books.google.com/books?id=gijG7fSwvjAC&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q&f=false

It's a very short article on the google books link, but I am curious why a Sgt out of California is commenting on the disappearances of women in Florida unless the two states were connecting the dots at the time, looking at whether the disappearances were related.

 

[Redux]

This site has some good articles on Cindy's disappearance-it appears her folks were very bitter re the cops and their handling of the case:

http://truthontatelabianca.com/threads/the-disappearance-of-cindy-mellin.4373/

From the above link, it says that the "investigation carried the (police) department as far away as Florida, north to Oregon and Washington and throughout California."

Doesn't give a timeframe on when they looked towards Florida in the investigation....the Florida murders came about 5 years after Cindy's disappearance.

 

[scriptgirl]

Thanks for that, but I don't think it's the same man. I think this guy was Cali based and targeted Cindy.

 

[Richard]

I wonder if Cindy's disappearance might be connected in some way to the disappearance of another California girl:

Christine Marie Eastin
Missing since January 18, 1971 from Hayward, Alameda County, California.
Classification: Involuntary
The Doe Network: Case File 275DFCA

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/275dfca.html

Note that Christine went missing almost exactly a year after Cindy did, and under similar circumstances regarding servicing of an automobile.

 

[Lavender Moon]

I wonder if Cindy's disappearance might be connected in some way to the disappearance of another California girl:

Christine Marie Eastin
Missing since January 18, 1971 from Hayward, Alameda County, California.
Classification: Involuntary
The Doe Network: Case File 275DFCA

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/275dfca.html

Note that Christine went missing almost exactly a year after Cindy did, and under similar circumstances regarding servicing of an automobile.

That makes two of us, Richard. I've been wondering the same thing for a long time now.

 

[Redux]

Thanks for that, but I don't think it's the same man. I think this guy was Cali based and targeted Cindy.

Given that the Florida murders/disappearances were about 5 years after Cindy & Robin's disappearances, couldn't this have been a serial killer who moved onto Florida? Or is there something in particular that leads you to believe that this was a person who knew and targeted Cindy?

Granted, the only thing linking the Cali & Florida disappearances is the modus operandi (which would be an convenient MO for more than one person to latch onto as an easy way to access women), but I haven't seen anything that negates the connection either.

 

[scriptgirl]

How far is Alameda from where Cindy went missing? Re not thinking Cindy is connected to the other cases-there are many cases of women's cars being disabled and the women disappearing. I just think this perp was cali based.

 

[Lavender Moon]

How far is Alameda from where Cindy went missing? Re not thinking Cindy is connected to the other cases-there are many cases of women's cars being disabled and the women disappearing. I just think this perp was cali based.

I googled the distance between Ventura and Alameda ; 348.5 miles. Depending on the chosen route, the driving time would be either five hours and five minutes or five hours and twenty one minutes.
I share your belief that the perp was, as you say , " Cali based".

 

[scriptgirl]

That is a fair distance to drive. Now, this guy could be a trucker, but I don't think so. Does Cindy have any family or friends still looking for her?

 

[Lavender Moon]

That is a fair distance to drive. Now, this guy could be a trucker, but I don't think so. Does Cindy have any family or friends still looking for her?

Scriptgirl, do you think Cindy Mellin's case may be connected to that of Christine Marie Eastin?

 

[scriptgirl]

No, this guy didn't seem like a long distance traveler. What we need to find out if any girls or women in the same area that Cindy vanished fromwere approached by a guy wanting to "help" them with their car and if any women in that area disappeared.

 

[Richard]

I googled the distance between Ventura and Alameda ; 348.5 miles. Depending on the chosen route, the driving time would be either five hours and five minutes or five hours and twenty one minutes.
I share your belief that the perp was, as you say , " Cali based".

Consider that it is possible that if an individual was the perpetrator in both of these cases, the distance from his home base to each crime scene could be only half or 175 Miles if he lived midway between them. Consequently, his driving time from home to either place could also have been half of your estimate.

It is also possible that he traveled a great distance in his work or leisure.

In the Zodiac case, there was a potential victim, a woman with a baby, whose car tire was sabotaged by a young man who followed and offered her a ride. This MO is similar to that of the unknown perpetrator in some other unsolved cases, including Cindy's.

Cindy's case has been suggested by others as potentialy connected to Zodiac. Although all of his known attacks and many claimed by him were in the San Francisco/Oakland area, it is also believed by many that he traveled and had other victims much further south and also northeast of the SF bay area.

 

[scriptgirl]

I love how every crime committed over the past 50 years is Zodiac related. Really? Come on, now. I think this guy was local and worked a small area. Like I said, were there girls who went missing right before, during and after Cindy in a 50-75 radius. Also, from what I have read of this, it seems like Cindy was purposefully targeted.

 

[Lavender Moon]

Robin Graham is the only one that I know of who disappeared within a 50-75 mile radius from the site of Cindy Mellin's apparent abduction.

 

[scriptgirl]

And Robin disappeared, what a year later or a few months before or after Cindy?

 

[Lavender Moon]

Robin disappeared after Cindy; Nov. 14, 1970.

 

[Lavender Moon]

Bumping for Cindy Lee Mellon; despite the distance between Hayward and Ventura , I think it's possible that Cindy and Christine Marie Eastin met their fates at the hands of the same monster.