Elizabeth Ann Campbell-Missing 26 Years

Elizabeth Campbell, Photo Credit: CharleyProject.o

ON April 25, 1988, 20 year old Elizabeth Ann Campbell attended classes at Central Texas College. Good things were ahead for Elizabeth-she was a month shy of her 21st birthday, and was planning to transfer to A&M University the fall of that year to study marine biology. After her classes, she left for her part time job at the 7-11 store on Rancier Avenue in Killeen, Texas, by the east gate of Fort Hood Army Base. After working her shift, she left to go to her boyfriend's house 30 miles away from her own home in Lampasas to attend a group study session to study for finals. Throughout the group study, the two got into an argument, and Elizabeth said she wanted to leave. Her boyfriend refused to take her, so she left by herself on foot sometime between 9:30 PM to 11:00 PM. Her direct route home would have been 30 miles down Highway 190. Elizabeth never made it home, and has not been heard from since.

Elizabeth has brown hair, brown eyes and is part Caucasian, part Korean. She was 5'2", had a light complexion and weighed 100-105 pounds. She has one inch horizontal scars under her chin and on her forehead by her hairline. She has a scar on her elbow and another scar on her right eyebrow. There is a small mole in the center of her back between her shoulder blades, and a small birthmark on her right buttock. Her ears are double pierced and she is right handed. She wore eye glasses or contacts for far distance vision, but her contacts her left at her family's residence the day she went missing. She can speak some Spanish and knows some Korean words. In 1988, Elizabeth smoked Virginia Slims and Capri cigarettes. She goes by the nickname Liz.
That evening, Elizabeth was witnessed carrying a yellow faded jacket, her college textbooks, papers and her 7-11 smock with her name tag attached to it. She wore a white T-shirt with a design imprinted on the front, along with blue jeans and white sneakers. She also wore a Diamond Wittnauer and a ten karat gold ring with three imbedded sapphires in the center surrounded by two diamonds. She is known to have problems with her sinuses and is allergic to Cola beverages.

 Elizabeth was last at a pay phone outside of a 7-11 along the highway. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Elizabeth lived with her family at the time of her disappearance, and they did not realize she was missing until during the morning hours. When her parents could not find her, they tried to report her missing, but since she was an adult, they would not accept a missing persons report until 72 hours later. During those three days, her family conducted their own investigation into the disappearance of their missing daughter. They went to Central Texas College and tracked down the man who dropped her off at the 7-11 after she left her boyfriend's house on foot. The guy had to stay late working in the computer lab, and happened to see Elizabeth near the exit to the college walking down the road upon his departure. When he recognized her as a fellow student, he offered to give her a ride to the 7-11 on Highway 190 in Copperas Cove, which was 17 miles from her home. The clerk who was working that night mentioned seeing a man driving a light green Gremlin drop her off. For some reason, she identified him as being a Central Texas College student. The 7-11 employee let Elizabeth use their phone around midnight to call her boyfriend, but they got into another fight. She decided to call her brother instead. This call would have been a long distance call, so instead of using the store's phone, she went outside to use the pay phone. This is the point where Elizabeth vanishes from.
Four years later, in 1992, Elizabeth's maroon purse she was carrying the night of her disappearance was found 180 miles away off I-10 in Ozona, Texas. The purse had been located in the property room in the department, but authorities have no recollection of who turned it in. It is estimated to have been there since April 1988 or January 1989. Authorities confirmed there was no physical evidence that could be found in the purse, except for her Social Security card, credit card and military ID. Her lipstick, hair brush and keys were missing. After her disappearance, authorities released a sketch of a person of interest in her disappearance.

 The search for Elizabeth was held back 72 hours since she was an adult. Her parents searched for their daughter by themselves for those 72 hours. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

The question is, what happened to Elizabeth after she went outside to use the nearby pay phone? Did the young man who gave her a ride leave as soon as he dropped her off, or did he wait to see if she needed a ride else where? Did she successfully get in touch with her brother to give her a ride home? Is there any way she went back to see her boyfriend, or did her boyfriend come looking for her? If not, did she continue her long walk down the dark, desolate Highway 190, where 7-11 was directly located on? Being she was willing to walk to her home, 30 miles away from her boyfriend's house, it is likely that she could not get anyone on the phone during those late hours, so she set off on foot again. Her family has described her as a naïve and trusting young woman, so is it possible she would accept a ride from someone else? After all, she accepted a ride from the first young man, but she may have known him from the college. Would Elizabeth accept a ride from a stranger?

 To the left is Elizabeth's purse, found 180 miles away from where she was last seen. To the right is a sketch of a potential suspect sighted that evening. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Texas is well-known for all the crimes against women that occurred in connections to the many highways. There are many flyers of missing or unidentified women in Texas, which includes the haunting unsolved cases of the Killing Fields, possibly connected to other crimes located off the Highway to Hell, or I-45. I couldn't help but ponder if Elizabeth was a victim of one of the many criminals who were prowling the highways, looking for young girls on foot or stalled out. I poured through all the cases involving women, teens and girls in Texas from the NAMUS database, and there were two missing persons cases that occurred not too far from Copperas Cove, where Elizabeth went missing.

Angelica went missing as she was walking home to her family's house in Temple, Texas. A witness saw her inside of an unknown truck. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

On July 14, 1985, Angelica Maria Gandara went missing from her home town of Temple, Texas. Angelica was last seen walking back to her family's home from her grandmother's house. A witness placed Angelica inside an unidentified 1977 Chevrolet pickup truck accompanied by an unknown Caucasian male and female. The witness told authorities that the hood, front fender and bed of the truck were painted red and white. The doors were blue and white and the top of the truck was painted white. The vehicle looked dirty, dented and in need of some major repairs. This sighting of Angelica took place exactly two blocks from her grandmother's house in Temple, Texas. Angelica went missing three years before Elizabeth, and their abductions occurred in towns that were 37 minutes apart from one another. Child killer David Elliot Penton is a suspect in Angelica's disappearance, as well as many other missing children from Texas, but there are other suspects in the case of her disappearance as well. If David is Angelica's abductor, the case would not be related to Elizabeth's, as he was incarcerated for the murder of a young girl in Ohio in early 1988, and Elizabeth vanished in April of 1988.

David Pention, a convicted child killer, is a suspect in Angelica's disappearance, along with many others missing from Texas. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

This next case is one I find very sad because there is no information on this young woman besides what is written in her NAMUS case file, which was just recently added, despite the fact she has been missing since 1987. I believe she may have been an immigrant from Asian with possibly not much family here. I couldn't even find a picture of her to show you. Her name is Yun Cha Dainiak. She was 23 years old when she was abducted from Harker Heights, Texas on January 24, 1987. Early that morning, a witness saw two white Caucasian males assault Yun and force her inside an older Model Green 2-drive vehicle and speed off. The only account we have of her is what the witness has shared, and since there are no pictures of Yun, I will describe her to my readers. Yun was 60 inches tall and weighed 130 pounds. She had shoulder length black hair with brown eyes. She is of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. The witness remembers her wearing red, leather-like pants. Elizabeth and Yun vanished from towns 37 minutes apart from one another.

Elizabeth's family is still searching. Do YOU have any information that could solve her disappearance? Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Out of all the homicides and missing persons cases I have read up on, I felt Elizabeth's case seemed the most like Yun's and Angelica's because of distance of circumstance. Someone from out of town could have been cruising down the high way and picked up Elizabeth on their way, but it could have also been the work of someone from around the area. All three of these abductions targeted young, vulnerable women who were last seen walking down the street by themselves, in towns 37 minutes apart. Two cases have witnesses who saw these girls in a vehicle against their will. Given the circumstances, it is most likely Elizabeth was also enticed or forced inside a vehicle as she was by a desolate highway by herself during the night hours. All cases happened from 1985-1988, so not too much of a chronological gap. All women were petite, with brown eyes, tan complexion and long, dark hair. Whether or not they are all connected, something terrible was at work in this part of Texas, which is not too different from what was happening in other areas at the time.

Today, Elizabeth's family still keeps up the search for her, following leads and keeping her name in the public. They believe someone out there today knows what happened to her, and they want the responsible persons to come forward to put an end to this mystery. For them, time is frozen. If you know where Elizabeth is or know absolutely anything about her disappearance, please help this family by coming forward so they can bring their daughter home!

If you have any information about the disappearance of Elizabeth Ann Campbell, please contact

An age progression of what Elizabeth may look like today. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Copperas Cove Police Department

817-547-4273

OR

Texas Department of Public Safety

800-346-3243

If you know anything about the disappearance of Angelica Gandara, please contact

An age progression of what Angelica may look like today. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Temple Police Department

254-770-5506

OR

Texas Department of Public Safety

800-346-3243

If you have any information about the abduction of Yun Cha Dainiak, please contact 

Lt. Glen Borkowicz

254-953-5440

Sources:
Charley Project-Elizabeth Campbell
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/campbell_elizabeth.html
NAMUS
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/918/3
Doe Network
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/113dftx.html
Lampasas Dispatch Record
http://www.lampasasdispatchrecord.com/news/2010-06-08/News/After_22_years_search_continues_for_Elizabeth_Camp.html
Crimes of the Highway to Hell
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/can-you-help-solve-these-cases/
http://www.squidoo.com/unsolved-serial-killings-of-texas-i-45
Gosan Angelo Article
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/dec/11/accused-killer-awaits-hearing/
Yun Cha Dainiak
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/17232/6
Angelica Maria Gandara
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/g/gandara_angelica.html