Sanford K. Sam Swift III was 31 and working the night shift as manager at the Roy Rogers on the 5200 block of Lee Highway in Arlington when he was murdered on the night of June 11, 1992. After closing, he was in the back office performing routine nightly tasks when an unknown person entered around 12:15 a.m. Swift was found fatally stabbed in the head in an office described as neat and orderly; an undetermined amount of the night’s cash was missing.

A witness about 1 a.m. saw a slender, medium-build Black man, late 20s, 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 11 inches, with short hair, a mustache, a goatee and a scar on his lower right jaw, running from the restaurant carrying a large Roy Rogers bag and leaving in an old white two-door Toyota Corolla with District of Columbia plates. Arlington police released a sketch but initial leads did not produce an arrest; investigators later showed the family a different person of interest believed to be in Florida. The case is cold, and a detective remains assigned for new tips.

If anyone knew Sam, worked at that Roy Rogers, or remembers seeing that Toyota on Lee Highway that night, please come forward with information.