Wayne Leigh Rifendifer, 30, was found dead near Ravensburg State Park, Pennsylvania, on August 19, 1981. His naked body was left in a desolate, wooded area; an autopsy determined he had been shot execution-style with a single gunshot to the head and had suffered two severe blows to the head. His genitals were removed after death and were missing from the scene. Investigators believe he was killed elsewhere and his body dumped.

Rifendifer was a drifter who had been living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and had been seen around Lock Haven in the days before his death. He remained a John Doe for about a week until identification by fingerprints on August 27, 1981. On the day he was identified an anonymous caller told police he had picked Rifendifer up and had seen the victim’s social security number and a notebook with family information; some investigators later considered that caller potentially the killer.

Ballistics later linked Rifendifer’s murder to the killing of hitchhiker Marty James Shook in Utah in 1982; both victims were shot with the same .38 caliber pistol, found naked, and had their genitals removed, prompting investigators to consider a possible serial offender who targeted hitchhikers. No arrests have been announced and the case remains unsolved. Have any readers who knew Wayne or remember seeing him around Lock Haven in 1981 come forward with information?