On April 9, 1987, a 22-year-old woman named Marilyn Joi Base was abducted while doing laundry at her apartment complex in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Her body was found at the bottom of a mountain 10 days later. It has been nearly 40 years since Marilyn’s murder, yet her case is still unsolved.
Marilyn was born on July 21, 1964, and grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a city just outside of Tulsa. She was half Sioux on her father’s side and proud of her Native American heritage.
Marilyn is dearly loved by her family and friends. She is described as a gentle spirit, kind, tender, and artistic. She loved singing and animals.
On April 9, 1987, she was doing laundry at around 9:00 p.m. at her apartment complex. She was barefoot at the time. She and her husband were estranged, and she had a boyfriend. When she did not return home after an hour, he went to check on her.
He found her car parked outside the laundry room with the key still in the ignition. The laundry basket was in the front seat. He reported her missing to the police at 10:30 p.m.
Authorities received an anonymous tip from a woman who claimed to have seen Marilyn being abducted from the parking lot. She described the suspect’s vehicle, but refused to give her own name. The police were never able to identify her.
On April 19, the police received another anonymous tip that led them to Highway 10 along the Arkansas River, near the small town of Braggs, Oklahoma. Camp Gruber, a training facility for the Oklahoma Army National Guard, is located in Braggs.
The police found Marilyn’s body in a ravine on the side of the road. She was hidden from view by traffic, indicating that she must have been thrown from the road.
She was unclothed and had been assaulted. She had also been strangled to death. Her body was badly decomposed.
Authorities believe that the anonymous caller who had reported the information leading to the discovery of her body was not involved in the murder. However, they did believe that whoever killed Marilyn had committed murder before and would strike again.
The investigation into Marilyn’s murder is still active and ongoing. Her parents and two siblings have all since died, never knowing what happened to her. Charlotte Autry, an old childhood friend of Marilyn’s, has been advocating for her and fighting for justice to be served.
“I’m sure her family would still be pushing,” said Charlotte. “And I am sure that if this had happened to me and she was still alive, she would be doing the same thing for me.”
Anyone with information about Marilyn’s case is urged to contact the Tulsa Police Department at 918-586-1357 or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at 800-522-8017.
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By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
