Account
Jul 27, 2017
Jul 17, 2023
Kelly
Disney
57
17
64 inches
110 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
In the small coastal city of Newport, Oregon, the night of March 8, 1984, marked the beginning of a long and painful mystery for the family of Kelly Lynn Disney. A 17-year-old girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, Kelly was living with her 20-year-old boyfriend, Robert Ellis. That evening, the young couple hosted a small gathering, during which an argument erupted between them. Upset, Kelly's boyfriend left the apartment, and sometime after midnight, around 12:30 a.m. on March 9, Kelly also departed. Her boyfriend returned to find her gone and went out to look for her. He located her walking along Highway 20, just east of Highway 101, but she refused to get in the car with him. Shortly after, two men on their way to work also saw Kelly and offered her a ride, which she declined. A Lincoln County Sheriff's deputy was the last known person to see her, at approximately 1:00 a.m., still on the highway. Kelly told the deputy she was heading to a friend's house nearby and refused any assistance. She was never seen alive again. For a decade, Kelly's family and the community were left with unanswered questions and the ache of her absence. Then, in July 1994, a man walking near the Big Creek Reservoir outside of Newport made a grim discovery inside an abandoned car. He found a human skull wrapped in a piece of carpet and brought it to the Newport Police Department. Using dental records, authorities were able to identify the skull as belonging to Kelly Lynn Disney. Investigators believe the skull had been placed in the vehicle very recently, possibly just a day before it was found, as others who frequented the area had not seen it previously. This led police to surmise that someone had intentionally left it there to be discovered, perhaps prompted by recent media attention on the cold case. The rest of Kelly's remains have never been recovered. The discovery of her skull confirmed that Kelly's disappearance was a homicide, but it did not bring her family the complete closure they longed for. Decades have passed, and the case remains one of Lincoln County's most haunting unsolved crimes. Investigators have pursued various leads and theories over the years, including the possibility that Kelly was picked up by someone she knew, sexually assaulted, and then murdered. Her case is sometimes mentioned in connection with other unsolved homicides of young women in the Newport area during that era, though no definitive links have been publicly established. Kelly's family, particularly her younger sister, Angela Dodds, has continued to advocate for justice, working to keep her memory alive and to pressure investigators to find new leads. They have put up posters and spoken to the media, hoping that someone with information will finally come forward and reveal the full truth of what happened to Kelly that March night, bringing an end to their decades of uncertainty and grief.
Mar 09, 1984
Newport
Oregon
Lincoln County
No
33850
Lincoln County District Attorney's Office
Newport
Oregon
Lincoln County
97365
Linda Snow
Investigator
225 West Olive Street, Oregon
5412654145
County
Other
84-0404
Lincoln County District Attorney's Office
Blond/Strawberry
Blue
Blue
05/28/2026
