It has been 45 years since Linda Ann O’Keefe, an 11-year-old Corona del Mar girl, vanished while walking home from summer school.
Her body, still wearing the white dress adorned with blue flowers that her mother had sewn, was found the next morning — July 7, 1973 — in Newport Beach’s Back Bay. She had been strangled.
“There were reports that a man in a van was seen stopped near Linda … and a bulletin was distributed with a sketch of this man, but he was never identified,” Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said Thursday. “Investigators have conducted interviews, gathered evidence and followed leads for 45 years, but none of them ever led to Linda’s killer.”
On Friday, the department began telling Linda’s story on Twitter in an effort to generate new leads in a case that has long grown cold.
“Hi. I’m Linda O’Keefe (or Linda ANN O’Keefe, if I’m in trouble with my mom). Forty-five years ago today, I disappeared from Newport Beach. I was murdered and my body was found in the Back Bay. My killer was never found. Today, I’m going to tell you my story.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/G25n2IppZb
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018
“I was 11 years old on the day I disappeared. It’s kinda strange… that year (1973), July 6 also fell on a Friday. It was a cool day. Cooler than usual. The high was about 70 degrees.” #LindasStory
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018
“Orchid Avenue. That’s the street I grew up on. It’s a small house, and we’ve lived here most of my life. At 8:00 am, I walk out my front door… and have no idea that it will be the last time. My piano teacher is giving me a ride to summer school.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/wts72nzCb1
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018
Read the full story on LATimes.com.
