Darlene Russell was 21 when she was last seen in Connersville, Indiana, on the evening of September 19, 1981. That night she socialized at local spots including Jerry’s Bar and the Lamp Light Cafe and went home in the early hours of September 20, saying she planned to hitchhike to Kentucky. Her family never saw her again.

On September 22 a passing motorist on Fayette County Line Road found a pair of blue jeans caught on a barbed-wire fence and discovered Darlene’s partially nude body nearby. An autopsy determined she had suffered several blows to the head and a fatal knife wound to the neck; the pathologist estimated she had been killed about two to three days before her body was found.

The Indiana State Police, Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, and Connersville Police investigated but were unable to identify suspects or a motive. Renewed attention in 2013 produced a few new tips, two described as valid, but no arrests have been announced. If anyone knew Darlene, saw her on September 19–20, or has information that could help, please come forward.