She Went To Meet A Boy And Never Came Home: Months Later, Her Body Was Found In The Woods
In January 1969, Deborah Shelton was 12 years old and in the seventh grade. She had moved to the Rio Del Mar area of Aptos, California, from Los Gatos with her mother and two sisters after her father died in an auto accident. Debbie was the oldest of the girls.
She disappeared on Friday, January 3, 1969. According to Debbie’s close friend, Loni Reeder, she had been planning a mini-bike riding adventure for about a week. Loni last saw Debbie at church around Christmastime.
During the conversation, Debbie told Loni about a “really cute” older guy she was interested in named Sherman. They planned to meet near the Aptos railroad bridge and ride their mini-bikes down to the beach.
At first, Debbie’s mother, Marcia Shelton, did not want to let her go because she had a dentist appointment later that day, but she finally relented.
Debbie agreed to be back home by noon. She left at around 9:30 a.m., wearing white shoes, blue Levis, a light blue turtleneck, and a purple jacket.
She was last seen on Rio Del Mar Boulevard at about 11:00 a.m., yet she never made it home for her dentist appointment.
Initially, Marcia was not too concerned. At around 2:00 p.m., she received a phone call. The voice on the other end sounded like a teenager’s, so she thought it was a prank call.
The caller stated that they had her daughter and demanded she meet them at Trout Gulch Road with $500. It was only later that Marcia realized the call had not been a joke.
The individual never called back and was never identified. Marcia began to worry by 3:30 p.m. She searched for Debbie and then notified the police. Over the next few days, officers searched for Debbie, but she was eventually classified as a runaway.
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On March 8, 1969, a young boy was shooting his BB gun in a secluded wooded area when he stumbled upon badly decomposing remains near the Aptos Bridge. Authorities identified the body as Debbie Shelton.
Her hands were bound behind her back with masking tape. Remnants of tape around her neck suggested that her mouth was also taped shut before her death.
Her disheveled clothing and other evidence at the scene indicated that the killer had strangled her with her underwear.
Debbie’s mom had her buried at Saratoga’s Madronna Cemetery, where her father was also buried. To this day, Debbie’s murder remains unsolved.
If you have any information, you can call the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office at (831) 454-7620.
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