On June 11, 1982, 8-year-old Christie Mechelle Elms of Kermit, Texas, was abducted from a car wash along with her 30-year-old mother, Brenda Kay Broadway, and 14-year-old sister, Salina Kay Elms. The three were forced at knifepoint into a truck and driven about 26 miles into the West Texas desert by a man later identified as Michael Eugene Sharp.

At the remote location the victims were ordered to remove their clothes and were bound with rope. The mother and older daughter were sexually assaulted; the attacker began stabbing the mother, and Christie was murdered in the attack. During the violence, Salina freed her legs and escaped, running barefoot and naked through rough desert terrain for several hours until she reached a remote oil rig.

Anyone who knew Christie or the family, or who has information about that night and the route taken from Kermit into the desert, is asked to come forward.