On November 15, 1970, 18-year-old Robin Ann Graham was driving southbound on the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles when her car stalled. She pulled over to the side of the road, called her parents, and asked them to pick her up.
A California Highway Patrolman (CHP) stopped and asked if she needed any help. She told him that help was on the way. The next time the CHP passed by, he saw a white male in his mid-twenties talking to Robin.
He had dark hair and was wearing bell-bottom trousers and a white turtleneck. He drove a blue Corvette hardtop.
The man apparently assisted Robin with starting her car. They drove away together in his vehicle. That was the last time anyone had seen Robin.
It is unclear who the driver of the Corvette is. Robin’s parents arrived at the scene at around 2:30 a.m. They found her car locked and abandoned on the side of the road.
On the night Robin disappeared, she had a date, according to one of her former classmates, Marsha Hatem Gerro. Robin had parked her car in the Pier 1 Imports parking lot, where she worked part-time.
After the date, Robin was dropped off at her car. Then, she got on the freeway to go home. However, she ran out of gas and was stranded on the freeway.
When her parents couldn’t find her, they tried to report Robin missing, but were told that they had to wait 24 hours. Four days after Robin’s disappearance, her employer received multiple phone calls from a man who claimed to have Robin. He demanded $1,600 in exchange for her safe release.
The first installment of $800 was left for him somewhere in Santa Monica, and the other $800 would be given once Robin was returned home.
The next day, a 31-year-old man named Richard Denson was arrested for the ransom. He did not have Robin at all. The police don’t think he is involved in her disappearance.
After The Los Angeles Times published an article about Robin, a woman called the police to tell them that her car had broken down on the same night Robin vanished.
She was approached by a man driving a Corvette. He claimed to be an undercover police officer and offered her a ride, but she declined.
Later, the woman identified the man as Bruce Davis, a member of the Manson Family. Davis ended up turning himself in just weeks after Robin’s disappearance. He was charged and convicted of two counts of murder.
There was speculation that Robin was the victim of a serial killer. In 1969, a string of missing and murdered women began popping up in the Los Angeles area. So far, her case is still unsolved.
At the time of her disappearance, Robin was 5’6″ and weighed 125 pounds. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a red blouse, a dark blue corduroy jacket, blue jeans, and red clog shoes. She would be in her seventies today.
If you have any information about Robin’s case, you can contact the Los Angeles Police Department at 213-996-1800.
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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
