Russell Duane Rugh was 15 when he was abducted and murdered on March 21, 1980. He had been waiting for a bus to go to his fast-food job when he was taken. After an estimated eight hours of captivity he was bound, beaten, and strangled; his body was found on March 23, 1980, in Cleveland National Forest near the Ortega Highway alongside Glenn Barker.

Investigators tied Russell’s killing to William Bonin, known as the Freeway Killer. Bonin was charged with multiple counts of murder and related offenses; he was convicted of 10 murders and received the death penalty. Authorities also arrested several accomplices in the broader investigation: William Pugh cooperated under a plea deal and served six years for voluntary manslaughter, and James Munro received a 15-to-life sentence for involvement in another victim’s death.

Russell’s death was one of a series of sexually motivated and violent murders that left lasting trauma for the victims’ families. Does anyone have memories of Russell or information about his life before March 21, 1980?