On August 26, 1989, 42-year-old Velma Faye Gray was stranded after a traffic accident about five miles from Travelers Rest, South Carolina. A man identified as Lesley Eugene Warren offered assistance; she entered his truck and was taken to a secluded wooded area. There Warren beat and strangled her. Her body was later placed in Lake Bowen in Spartanburg County and recovered the next day by two fishermen. Her vehicle was found abandoned in Greenville County; it had been stolen by someone unconnected to the murder, which complicated the early timeline.

Investigators eventually linked Gray’s disappearance and death to Warren, who was active in the Carolinas and New York during that period. He was taken into custody in July 1990, confessed to multiple killings including Gray’s, and in August 1991 was extradited to South Carolina to face charges. He was tried and convicted of first-degree murder in South Carolina and received a life sentence for Gray’s death.

Did anyone in the Travelers Rest or Spartanburg area recognize Gray or recall seeing her car or a truck matching Warren’s around August 26, 1989?