Karren Etta Whiteside was 16 when she was found dead at Fairfield Elementary School, 3455 Royal Avenue in Eugene, Oregon. On the evening of March 21 or in the early hours of March 22, 1978, she was walking to a friend’s house and was attacked in an alcove at the school. The next morning school staff discovered her body before classes began.

Investigators determined Karren had been sexually assaulted and strangled. The Eugene Police Department investigated, but the case grew cold and remains unsolved. No definitive arrests have been announced and the identity of the person responsible is still unknown.

Anyone who knew Karren, was in that neighborhood on March 21–22, 1978, or has information about the attack is asked to come forward.