Maria Johnson was 15 when she and her best friend, Debbie Ackerman, disappeared from Galveston, Texas, on November 15, 1971. The girls were hitchhiking to Houston and were last seen near an ice cream shop on the island accepting a ride from a man in a white van. They never reached their destination.

Their bodies were found two days later in Turner’s Bayou near Texas City. An autopsy determined both girls had been shot and then tied down and drowned in the bayou. Investigators faced few leads or witnesses; canvasses and searches produced no significant evidence linking a perpetrator to the crime.

Over the years several suspects were considered, including a sheriff’s son from Hondo, a Florida drifter, and a man later convicted of another murder, but no arrests were made and the case remains unsolved. Renewed interest has prompted DNA testing and re-examination of evidence, but the identity of the killer is still unknown.

If anyone knew Maria or Debbie, or remembers seeing a white van near the ice cream shop on November 15, 1971, please come forward with information.