Dean Marie Pyle Peters & Cold Cases: Jonelle Renee Matthews-Missing 29 Years!

Image Credit: CharleyProject.org

On December 20, 1984, 12 year old Jonelle Matthews got dropped off at the front of her home at 8:15 PM by her friends in Greeley, Colorado. Her friends watched her walk into the house before driving away. She had just returned from a Christmas choral concert program performed at the nursing home with her school mates. Her mother (Gloria Matthews) was out of town visiting relatives and her older sister and father were at a basketball game. Although her friends were the last to see Jonelle, an acquaintance of her father was the last person to ever hear her voice again, as he spoke with her on the phone at 8: 30 PM.

Jim Matthews, Jonelle's father, arrived home at 9:30 PM. He was principal of Platte Valley Elementary School in Kersey, and had attended a basketball game for his oldest daughter, Jennifer. When Jonelle's father entered the house, he found her stockings, shawl and shoes on the floor near a space heater. The television and lights were still on in the family room which was located in the basement. She had taken a telephone message for another family member as well. Other than that, Jim had found no trace of his daughter.

Suspiciously, the garage door was open. There were unidentified footprints in the garage and behind the house. It is suspected by law enforcement that intruders , known or unknown to Jonelle, had broke into the house and abducted her. There was no sign of a struggle, but according to a December 1984 article in the Denver Post, there were indications of foul play at the residents. Investigators say they can't disclose any of that information. There wasn't even a scuffle or signs of a struggle outside in the snow.

Jonelle's case went national. Her parents greatly publicized her case, volunteers scoured Greely and outlying areas and open fields. Neighbors, students and teachers were questioned. President Ronald Regan even spoke about Jonelle during his State of the Union Speech. Currently, Jonelle's DNA is entered into the National Database to compare against any unidentified remains.

Jonelle is adopted and her biological mother, Terri Vierra Martinez, was friends with the family and has been ruled out as a suspect.

There are two main theories out there. One is that she was sexually assaulted at her residence and murdered ( a main theory is that her remains were incinerated) by the unknown intruder or intruders. It is unknown if there could have been more than one abductor. Authorities think she was abducted and taken elsewhere. In 1994, her family held a memorial service for her and had her declared legally dead. They now live in the Philippines. They have kept everything Jonelle made from school such as Christmas ornaments. They also still celebrate her birthday. She is considered a murder victim instead of a missing person, but she has never been found. Her parents still live in Greeley, CO.

Jonelle was last seen wearing a light blue ski jacket, a red blouse, a dark gray sweater vest, a charcoal gray skirt and house slippers. She was last seen as 5'3" and weighed 115 lbs. She has brown hair, brown eyes. Jonelle has a scar on her chin, and wore a full set of braces on her teeth at the time of her 1984 disappearance. Her ears are also pierced.

Out of all the cases in Colorado, Jonelle's is considered to be one of the most baffling disappearances. (Photo Credit: Charley Project.org).

First of all, I know there is a lot of details that were left out in any of the public articles about Jonelle's disappearance. I also believe this was done on purpose to help sort out the real kidnapper from publicity seekers. For one, despite there being no sign of a struggle, there had to have been something inside of the residence to make investigators believe she was assaulted inside her home. Secondly, there also has to have been a reason investigators believed she was incinerated after she was taken from her home, such as things related to fire missing from the home. My question is, if that did happen, did they bring these tools on their own, or find it in the house? If they found it in the house, how did the person(s) know where to look so quickly? All this happened in an hour, with Jonelle being dropped off at 8:30 PM, and her father coming home around 9:30 PM. And with Jonelle watching TV, taking her shoes off, and taking two phone calls, the person could not have struck right away at 8:30 PM.

Jonelle could have answered the door to the person who took her, or the person could have been inside hiding. Was the garage door left open? Windows or doors unlocked? Could she answered the door to someone she trusted who incapacitated her, then took her away by car, which explains the lack marks in the snow? And I must add, it is not coincidence that the person decided to take Jonelle during that one hour time period of her being alone. This person(s) knew she was alone. They knew when she was coming back, and that the rest of her family was not home. And it's not like her father was always out on basketball games, or her mother was always out of town. That doesn't sound like a scheduled thing for an unknown stalker. I have always thought that whoever took Jonelle, knew her. I believe there was no sign of a struggle because she may have even let them in. They had to have known her enough to know she would be home alone this one time. Maybe this person even followed her home from her concert. Maybe it was a family friend, neighbor or someone from school.

Although I believe Jon Benet Ramsey's case has nothing to do with Jonelle's (or many others in Colorado), her tragedy is one of many other children who vanish from inside their homes who's disappearances were not as publicized. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia).

For Colorado specifically, there are many cases of children or teens who just vanish from their residences, never to be seen again or only to turn up later as a homicide victim. One infamous victim who was also attacked in her home in Boulder, Colorado was little beauty queen Jon Benet Ramsey. (However, I do not believe her case is related to Jonelle's or many others in Colorado.) She was found later in the cellar of her family's basement hours later. She had been struck in the head and strangled. Her murder also remains unsolved. (I have always believed her parents to be innocent for a number of reasons, but that's a rabbit hole I won't jump into today).

The state of Colorado in particular, seems to have seen a trend of serial killers stalking young women and teenagers from the mid '70s and throughout the '80s. If you look at the list of women found in the Denver Post, it's astounding. Three known serial killers to have terrorized Colorado were Ted Bundy, John Agrue and Vincent Groves.

First, I will start with Vincent Groves. He had 15 victims between 1978 and 1988 and terrorized Denver, Colorado. He was a sexual predator and would strangle his victims. He was arrested in September of 1988. However, most of his victims were older than Jonelle, lived in Denver and were prostitutes, or vulnerable girls stranded out by their cars.

Then we have John Argue, who stabbed his 14 year-old sister-in-law in Illinois. He was paroled in 1982 and moved to Boulder, Colorado. His two victims are Susan Becker and Orma Smith. He attempted to abduct a college student at knife-point, and got caught. He was locked up at the time Jonelle went missing.

We also have Ted Bundy, who committed crimes all across the country. He confessed to killing Julie Cunningham from Colorado. He was arrested in 1978, so he was also locked up when Jonelle went missing.

And then we have the speculation that there were even more serial killers lurking during the time period that Jonelle vanished that were never identified. Although this is a slimmer possibility, it's one we can't rule out.

I also think it's a possibility Jonelle's abduction may be linked to other homicides or disappearances in the area if her abduction was a stranger abduction. However, if it was done by someone she knew, I think it's possible that person may have other petty crimes against them, but it'd be more doubtful her case would connect to one of the many Colorado ones, unless you could link an individual to knowing both Jonelle and another victim. This would be because the attack would become more personal than just random opportunity.

Elizabeth Miller vanished during the one time she went on a jog by herself. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org).

There are two cases out of the many in Colorado that I find interesting in relation to Jonelle. First we have Elizabeth Miller, who vanished from Idaho Springs, Colorado on August 16, 1983. She went on a jog that morning by herself. Usually, her sister would join her on a morning jog, but this particular day her sister had slept in. She was never seen again. Days before she vanished, her sister witnessed a man in a pick-up truck with a white camper shell and out of state license plates pull up beside Elizabeth and flirt with her while they were at the park. He said his name was "Claude". In 1994, there were some bone fragments and blonde hair found buried by I-70. In 2004, they were submitted to a lab for further investigation. Currently, police believe a man from Ohio may be involved in her disappearance.

Tracy Neef was abducted in 1984, near the entrance of her elementary school. Her remains were found hours later. Her murder remains unsolved. (Photo Credit: The Denver Post-blog).

Next we have 7 year-old Tracy Neef, who vanished in Thorton, Colorado. On March 16, 1984., around 8:15 AM, her mother dropped her off at Bertha Heid Elementary School. Tracy was late for school that morning, and the north entrance to the school was locked, so she walked through the gate towards the south side entrance to the school. No kids were present outside because they were 15 mintues late. Tracy never made it in the school, and teachers did not realize she was missing until her mother, Susan, came to pick her daughter up after school. Later that day around 5:00 PM, Tracy's body was found near Barker Reservoir, close to Highway 119. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Her school supplies were scattered around her body, and their were ligature marks around her wrist. Investigators believe the abductor meant to assault Tracy in the area she was found, but wanted to take her elsewhere to killer her, but killed her right there out of desperation.

In all three cases, the situation had been out of the norm for the girls. The one time Jonelle was home alone just for an hour, she vanished. The one time Elizabeth went out for a jog without her sister, she vanished. And the one time Tracy was late for school and by herself, she goes missing and turns up deceased. All girls went missing in close time frames between 1983 and 1984. And all girls' disappearances are thought to be homicides and remain unsolved.

Jonelle Renee Matthews (L) and Elizabeth Miller's age progressed photographs.

Please look at her picture and try to think if you could have seen her-at all! You may have very valuable information!
Please, if you have any information in the disappearances of Jonelle Matthews or Elizabeth Miller, please contact:

**Police Information:

Greeley Police Department

303-350-9670

If you have any information regarding the unsolved 1984 homicide of Tracy Neef, please contact:

Detective Doug Parker

720-977-5080

*Sources:

Jonelle Matthews:

http://www.truecrimereport.com/2009/12/jonelle_matthews_disappearance.php

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/matthews_jonelle.html

http://newschomp.blogspot.com/2010/04/missing-in-greeley-kayleah-wilson-2010.html