Loretta Skinner Phillips, 74, was driving from Indiana to California to stay with relatives when she was last seen on August 3, 1980. More than three weeks later, on August 27, her car was found abandoned near Murphysboro, Illinois, by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. After that discovery, her family in Indianapolis reported her missing to the Indiana State Police. The case is listed with ISP case number 52-15976 and remains an active cold case.

Physical description is incomplete: she is a white female reported between 5 feet 5 inches and 6 feet 0 inches tall and between 115 and 150 pounds. The abandoned vehicle is the last known trace of her journey and the circumstances of her disappearance remain unexplained.

Did anyone in or near the Murphysboro area remember seeing Loretta or her car in August 1980?