The Disappearance of Sherry Elizabeth Roach, June 1976
Sherry Roach was born on February 4, 1959 in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA. Her parents are Daniel David Roach (b.1939) and Suzanne Elizabeth "Sue" Herron (b.1940), who married in Santa Rosa in October 1957. She has a younger brother, Jerry, who is still looking for her. Their parents, Dan and Sue, divorced in either 1968 or 1971.
Sue eventually formed a relationship with a man named James Stevenson. According to his Jan. 6, 2010 obituary, James "lived with his partner Suzanne Roach in Santa Rosa for 43 years"; based on this account, James and Sue had been together since about 1967.
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| Sherry Roach. Photo from NamUs. |
According to Sherry's younger brother Jerry, the two siblings were very close. They grew up in Santa Rosa in a violent household, according to Jerry. As a result, Sherry ran away from home often, and every time she did she would "call [Jerry] and let [him] know where she was at, what was going on."
Sherry bounced around different foster and group homes. At the time of her disappearance she was living at a halfway house called Pedregal House at 236 North San Mateo Drive in San Mateo, CA. Pedregal House has since become a dental office.
Sherry, 17, was last seen on Tuesday, June 8, 1976, leaving Pedregal House to take the bus to her part-time job in San Francisco. She has never been seen or heard from again. A counselor at Pedregal House reported her missing after she didn't return from work. CA DOJ erroneously gives her date of last contact as Tuesday, June 1, 1976, one week before the actual date.
The officers investigating her disappearance at the time did "a cursory interview with some people that either worked with her or that knew of her," however, "there weren't any substantial leads at that particular time."
In February 2020, Sherry's mother Sue found a photo at the family's home of Sherry with an unknown man. She reportedly did not like to have her picture taken, so it seemed unusual for this photo to exist. Written on the back of the photo was the year 1975.
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| Sherry with an unknown man. Photo from the San Mateo PD. |
Sue turned the photo in to the police, who released a community alert for help identifying the man, who they state is a person of interest. The man is Black and appears to be in his 20s and about 6'0 tall in the photo. Sherry's family had heard rumors of Sherry possibly having had a boyfriend, but none of them recognized the man in the photo. San Mateo PD is looking for information about this man in order to identify him, as they would like to speak with him about any information he has regarding Sherry and her disappearance.
While she was planning to take the bus on the day of her disappearance, Sherry also often hitchhiked, as many others did in the 1970s. Investigators have reportedly "cross-checked her name among victims of serial rapists and killers."
Sherry is a partially white female with some Native American background. Her tribal affiliation is unknown. Some sources list Sherry as simply white rather than both white and Indigenous. She has brown hair and blue eyes, and at the time of her disappearance, she was 17 years old, 5'5, and 115 lbs. She has pockmarks — sources state possibly acne scars — on her face. She may dye her hair blonde, and her teeth are crooked. It is unknown what she was wearing when she went missing, other than that she wears eyeglasses.
According to the Doe Network, Sherry's dentals — though not her dental x-rays, according to CA DOJ — and DNA are available for comparison, while her fingerprints are not. Age progressions to her 40s and 50s have also been published.
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| Sherry with her glasses on. Photo from NamUs. |
While NamUs states that Sherry has 38 UID exclusions, two of these are actually repeats, so in reality she has 36 rule-outs on her exclusion list. These rule-outs include LA Jane Doe Aug. 1980, Valencia "Older Doe" 1980, and Tucson Jane Doe 1979. Also on Sherry's list are four former Does who have since been identified as Karen Marie Heverly (fka Rancho Cucomonga Jane Doe), Judy Ann Shin Gifford, Elizabeth Ann "Lisa" Roberts, and Marion McWhorter (fka Swamp Mountain Jane Doe 1976).
Sherry's NamUs case, #MP6579, was created on April 15, 2010 and last updated on March 19, 2024. Her Charley Project page and Doe Network profile were last updated on February 24, 2020 and October 23, 2023, respectively. Furthermore, the NCMEC and NCIC case numbers are 800711 and M648417484, respectively.
Sherry is classified as Endangered Missing on the Doe Network and Charley Project. The agency case number is 95-0704-006. Anyone with information regarding her case is encouraged to contact San Mateo Police Detective Lee Violett at (650) 522-7662 or lviolett@cityofsanmateo.org. They can also submit a tip anonymously by calling (650) 522-7676, or by filling out the anonymous form found here. Alternatively, the San Mateo PD website provides (800) 547-2700 as the number for the Anonymous Tip Line. Some other sources also state that anyone with information can call Detective Tom Paulin of the San Mateo PD at (650) 522-7700.
Furthermore, according to the CA DOJ's missing persons database, "If you think you know the whereabouts of any person, BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION, please contact the law enforcement agency listed in the record, or the California Department of Justice at 1-800-222-FIND (24 hour nationwide toll-free Hotline) or (916) 210-3119, or email us [CA DOJ] at missing.persons@doj.ca.gov." According to the same site, individuals seeking to contact CA DOJ regarding a missing person can use the email form here.
Further resources regarding the MMIP crisis are available on the MMIP Resources page, which is also present on the side bar of this blog.
Note: Sherry went missing two days before Pentecost Sunday. See the Holiday & Events Reference Page for an explanation as to why this is being mentioned.
Sources
2020 San Mateo PD Community Alert
Lost & Missing in Indian Country Facebook post
February 2020 KTVU, CBS News, and SF Gate news articles
San Mateo Times article on Pedregal House 6/15/72
List of general CA cases, ZK Ciphers forum
Note: While this write-up was originally published on June 22, 2025, I regularly revisit cases, fix any typos or formatting errors, check for updates, hyperlink new posts, ensure that I have exhausted all sources, etc., and then make note of when I last did so, no matter how minor. When edits are extensive, I re-post the write-up entirely. This post was last updated on December 10, 2025.
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