Ruth Louise Martin, a 51-year-old real estate agent from Lincoln, Illinois, disappeared under suspicious circumstances on the morning of June 2, 1976. Her husband was the last known person to see her alive when he left for work between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m.; she was expected at work by 9:00 a.m. but never arrived. A witness later reported seeing her car on U.S. Route 66 about 9:15 a.m., although the driver could not be identified.

That same day signs of foul play were found at the Martins’ home: bloodstains matching her blood type and a spent .22 caliber bullet were discovered on the garage floor, and someone had attempted to clean blood with material that was missing. Two days later her Pontiac Catalina was recovered with a flat tire in a Holiday Inn parking lot in Bloomington, about 30 miles away; the trunk mat bore a significant amount of blood and investigators determined the vehicle had been driven off-road. On June 8 a partially burned, blood-stained white T-shirt was found on a sandbar in Kickapoo Creek Park and linked to the garage and the car.

Martin had been subpoenaed to testify in a theft case against 21-year-old Russell Albin Smrekar; the third trial was scheduled for June 8, 1976.

Does anyone have information about Martin’s movements on June 2, 1976, or about the location she was allegedly buried?