Paula Perrera was 16 when she left Valley Central High School in March 1982 feeling unwell and hitched a ride to her boyfriend’s house. Hitchhiking was described as something she did often. The ride proved deadly: she was abducted, and her body was found 18 days later in a marshy area off a road. The investigation determined she had been raped and strangled.

Years later Michael Bruce Ross, already linked to other killings, confessed to a string of murders and was charged in Paula’s death in the fall of 2000. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in her death. Paula was remembered as a bubbly, carefree student whose family and community were left with a cold case until the later confession brought new answers.

Did anyone who knew Paula then or who lived near the marshy area remember anything unusual in March 1982?