Melissa Alaniz was 12 when she disappeared from northeast El Paso on March 7, 1987. She left home to walk to a nearby convenience store on Rushing Drive to play video games and was last seen wearing a black Iron Maiden t-shirt, black and white checkered jeans, and white sneakers. Authorities quickly ruled out runaway as an explanation for this disappearance and suspected foul play.

Melissa’s case is linked to a string of 1987 disappearances of young women in the El Paso area; many of those victims were later found murdered and buried in the desert. She knew at least one of the other victims. A convicted serial killer, David Leonard Wood, was later sentenced to death for multiple murders in the area, but he has not been formally charged in Melissa’s disappearance and investigators have not reached a conclusion about his involvement. Melissa’s body has never been found and the case remains unsolved.

Does anyone have memories from northeast El Paso in March 1987 or information about Melissa’s movements that could help her family find answers?