The Disappearance of Denise Holly Dorfman, February 1980

Denise Dorfman, 28, was last seen at about 5:30pm on Saturday, February 9, 1980 at a neighborhood grocery in San Francisco, CA. She reportedly "purchased a few assorted items and appeared to those who saw her then as in good health and spirits." She has never been seen again since.

Denise was an Administrative Assistant in the Department of University Relations at the University of San Francisco (USF), where she was also a night student. When Denise didn't show up for work two days later, on Monday, February 11, her employer called her parents to notify them of her absence. 

Denise Dorfman. Photo from NamUs.

Her mother promptly went to Denise's apartment at Lake St and 22nd Ave in the Richmond District to check on her; the door was closed but unlocked, and there was no evidence of a struggle or forced entry. The lights were on and her bed was unmade, "as though she had just gotten out of bed." Her keys, purse, money, etc were still inside the apartment. It is thought that Denise perhaps stepped out of her apartment briefly to run a short errand, possibly to purchase cigarettes; she only took a small change purse with her. Her parents then reported her missing that day. 

The next day — Tuesday, February 12, 1980 — the secretary of Employee Relations at USF received a call from someone claiming to be Denise, who said that they were taking a leave of absence. "Officer Yasinitsky, head of USF Public Safety, said that the phone call was mysterious. 'It was unusual that she called Employee Relations instead of the office [that] she works for,' said Officer Yasinitsky." Denise has never been heard from again, and it's unclear whether the person who called the university was really her.

The first newspaper article about Denise was published on February 21, 1980, twelve days after she was last seen. Her parents hired a well-known private investigator to find Denise, and also posted a $5,000 reward for information in her case; the San Francisco Symphony, which her father used to play for, added $2,000 to the reward. Denise's parents revoked the $7,000 reward on June 4, 1980, because, according to her father, "We've had thousands of nuisance calls and ridiculous leads in the past four months. We just thought we'd let things calm down."

Denise lived most of her life in the Bay Area, and had studied at UC Berkeley and Santa Cruz; she is familiar with both cities. She is described as a skillful concert pianist and artist who loved to sketch along the SF Bay shoreline. She was also an accomplished dancer, and performed in the Nutcracker for the San Francisco Dance Troupe the Christmas before her disappearance.

Denise's father described her as "a very straight, conscientious, hard-working girl. She has very good posture and a soft, delicate voice. She is honest to the point of being naive." There was no evidence of Denise being depressed leading up to her disappearance, and she reportedly, "exhibited a positive attitude toward life." Both of Denise's parents have since passed away. She also has a sister, who seems to still be alive, and was posting about Denise as recently as 2014.

Denise is a white female with hazel-brown eyes and medium-to-long dark brown hair. At the time of her disappearance she was 28 years old, 5'2, and 100 to 115 lbs. She possibly had a mole or moles on the back of her neck. She was likely wearing a large pair of blue-tinted glasses, which she reportedly cannot function well without. It is believed that she was also wearing a rust-colored corduroy jacket, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Denise smokes cigarettes. Her date of birth is December 28, 1951. If alive today she would be 73 years old.

Denise's dental records — though not her dental x-rays — are available for comparison, while the status of her fingerprints and DNA is unknown. She has nine UID exclusions on NamUs. She is classified as Endangered Missing on the Doe Network and Charley Project. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance is urged to contact the San Francisco PD at (415) 553-0123 or 1-415-558-5508. The agency case number is 80-1154977.

On May 2, 2025 I submitted Denise Dorfman and Placer County Jane Doe 1980 as a potential match on Doe Network. Mary Bell of DN responded, "Thank you for the suggested match. I don't show any comparison of these having been done so I will have our panel look at it. If [it] is proven to be a positive match, I will contact you further."

On June 13, 2025, I asked Mary Bell about the status of various matches that I had submitted to the Doe Network over the past year. Regarding Denise Dorfman and Placer County Jane Doe 1980, Mary Bell stated, "inconsistent dental records, (NCIC only) distance and timing." 

On September 4, 2025 I submitted Denise Dorfman as a potential match to Palm Desert Jane Doe 1980 directly to the latter's investigating agency. The following day, I was told through email, "I will ask for a comparison to be completed. Thank you for reaching out." 

Sources 

NamUs 

CA DOJ

Charley Project 

Doe Network

WebSleuths  

SF Examiner 2/21/80, 2/23/80, 2/24/80 

USF Monday Bulletin 2/25/80

San Francisco Foghorn 2/29/80, 3/7/80

SF Examiner 3/23/80 

LA Times reward 5/3/80 + revoked 6/5/80 

Santa Rosa Press Democrat 6/4/80 

San Francisco Foghorn 3/7/80

2020 Facebook post

Note: I regularly revisit cases, fix any typos, check that I have exhausted all possible sources, etc. This write-up was last updated on September 7, 2025.