Shonna Le Mayes

Remains of Capitola resident found by hunters. Had been shot in the head.
In the rural quiet of Siskiyou County, California, the spring of 1987 was shattered by a brutal crime that has remained unsolved for decades. Shonna Le Mayes, a 22-year-old woman, was found murdered alongside her companion, 29-year-old John Beasley Mabe. Their deaths left a lasting scar on the community and a legacy of unanswered questions for their families. While official records detail the grim circumstances of the crime, little is publicly known about Shonna’s life—her hopes, her passions, or the path that led her to that fateful moment, leaving only a partial picture of the young woman whose life was cut short.

The last day anyone reported seeing Shonna and John alive was Monday, May 4, 1987. What happened in the hours that followed remains a mystery. The next day, Tuesday, May 5, their bodies were discovered near the Mill Creek Bridge in the Quartz Valley area, a remote location along Quartz Valley Road near Mugginsville, about six miles west of Fort Jones. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office immediately determined that both had been victims of a homicide. While an early news report stated they had been shot, the sheriff's office has not officially released the specific cause of death or the condition in which their bodies were found.

The investigation into the double homicide was launched by the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, with the case assigned the numbers 87-2114 and 87-2569. From the outset, investigators were candid about the victims' associations. According to the sheriff’s office, both Shonna Mayes and John Mabe were members of the Misfits Motorcycle Club and were believed to be involved in the sales of illicit drugs. This connection became a central element in the public understanding of the case, though no specific motives or suspects have ever been formally named.

For years, the investigation continued with few public developments. The trail seemed to go cold, and the murders of Shonna and John became another haunting cold case in the files of Siskiyou County law enforcement. The rugged, sparsely populated landscape of the Scott Valley that served as the backdrop to the crime held its secrets close, yielding no easy answers for the detectives assigned to the case. The lack of arrests meant that whoever was responsible for the violent deaths of two people was never held accountable, leaving a void of justice.

Decades later, the case has not been forgotten. In a renewed effort to solve cold cases, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office included the double homicide of Shonna Mayes and John Mabe on its "Unsolved Siskiyou" website, which was launched in February 2025. This platform brought fresh attention to the case, presenting the known facts to a new generation in the hope that someone, somewhere, might hold the missing piece of the puzzle. The public listing marked one of the first official acknowledgments of the case in many years.

As of today, the investigation into the murders of Shonna Le Mayes and John Beasley Mabe remains open and active. No arrests have ever been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office continues to ask for the public’s help. Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact the sheriff's 24-hour dispatch center at (530) 841-2900. For the families and a community still waiting for answers, the hope for justice endures, nearly four decades after that tragic day in May.