Valerie Ann Larkin was 37 when she began a long bus journey from home to Virginia in early 1985. Petite at about 5 feet 2 inches and 120 pounds, she had brown hair, hazel eyes, a large chip in an upper front tooth, a slight overbite, and generally poor dental condition. Between February and May 1985 — commonly recorded as around February 1 — she called her parents from Needles, California, saying she had lost her ticket and money; her parents wired funds so she could continue. That call is the last confirmed contact the family ever had.

Family members say Valerie had been diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia and sometimes went off medication; some believe she may have walked into the desert during a manic episode. Other recollections suggest some or all of her belongings were left on the bus in Needles. No further confirmed sightings or contacts have been documented, and no specific evidence points to a suspect.

Does anyone remember seeing Valerie in Needles in early 1985 or have information about a woman matching her description on buses in that area?