Skeletal remains found in November 1980 in a shallow grave in a remote part of the Mojave Desert near Ludlow, California, were later identified as William Everette Lane, 19, and Pamela Dianne Duffey, 20. Both victims had suffered gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma; their bodies were unclothed and carried no identifying information at discovery. For decades they were known as John Doe 29 and Jane Doe 10.

In 2020 investigative genetic genealogy led to the identifications after a woman searching for her biological parents matched to Pamela Dianne Duffey and researchers then linked her traveling companion to William Everette Lane. Authorities named Howard Neal, a former Ludlow resident who left the area shortly after the killings, as the prime suspect. Investigators say Neal picked up Lane and Duffey while they were hitchhiking, took them to his home, an argument followed when Neal made physical advances toward Duffey, and Lane was shot; investigators believe Duffey was sexually assaulted and killed. Neal admitted picking up the couple but gave little information about the crime and was never formally charged in these deaths.

Does anyone have memories of that stretch of desert highway or knowledge of travelers in the Ludlow area in late 1980?