Rachell Ward was 14 when she disappeared on her five-block walk to school in Red Bluff, California, on the morning of March 3, 1983. Her body was found later that day along Pine Creek Road, a few miles west of town in Tehama County. Investigators determined she had been bound, sexually assaulted, and shot in the back of the head.

Early in the probe authorities followed many leads, including a false confession from Henry Lee Lucas that was eventually dismissed. The case went cold for decades despite numerous interviews and preserved evidence. A preserved single strand of hair was reexamined with modern DNA methods and forensic investigative genetic genealogy. In 2022 that analysis pointed to Johnny Lee Coy, who lived in Red Bluff at the time of the murder and died in prison in 2019 while serving life terms for other violent crimes. Sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices say the DNA link would have supported charges if Coy had been alive.

Anyone who knew Rachell, her movements that morning, or remembers relevant details from 1983 is asked to come forward with information.