On August 23, 1972 the body of 25-year-old Ronald Thaisen, a Caucasian Marine Corps sergeant, was found inside a van on the shoulder of Interstate 40 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His remains were mutilated and had been placed in a sleeping bag, and investigators reported the scene yielded few immediate clues or a clear motive.

Police examined Thaisetn’s background and recent activities and followed up on a reportedly strange phone call he made before his death, but those inquiries did not produce an arrest. Decades later no suspect has been charged and the case remains unsolved, with many details of his final days unexplained.