Myrtle Neal Childs was 78 when she was found dead at her home at 222 E. 30th St. North in Tulsa. Neighbors noticed her mail piling up on June 5, 1996, after the last sighting the day before when she had been tending her garden. Family members discovered her facedown on the floor of a converted garage bedroom; investigators determined she died from a blow to the back of her head and estimated she had been dead no more than six hours when found.

The back door to that bedroom had been pried open. Police initially reported no obvious sign of struggle or robbery, though a later search uncovered that some items had been taken from a trunk. Detectives never developed sufficient leads, and no one has been charged in the case. Myrtle’s family remembers her as a devoted great-great-great grandmother who loved her garden.

If anyone remembers Myrtle, her routine, or saw suspicious activity near 222 E. 30th St. North in early June 1996, please come forward with information.