The Disappearance of Denise Kathleen Anderson, April 1971

At the time of her disappearance, Denise Anderson, 22, lived at the Auditorium Apartments, in Apt E at 925 16th St*** in Sacramento with two roommates, who were both also young women. Denise worked at a Wells Fargo Bank in the city. She was an aspiring actress, and was active in the Centerplayers theater group. She had been cast in the part of Simone Everad in the theater group's production of Marat/Sade, which was to open shortly after she disappeared.

Photo of Denise Anderson from NamUs.

Denise was last seen by one of her roommates at 5:30am on Tuesday, April 13, 1971. Denise was in bed, asleep at that time. That same roommate then borrowed Denise's car that day. When the roommate returned at 2:30pm, Denise was not home. She has not been seen or heard from since.

Denise left behind her car, a bank account, and "all of her personal belongings." No checks have been cashed on her bank account since April 13, 1971. She did not appear for rehearsals with her theater group after April 13. She also did not go to work on that date.

On September 6, 1973, almost 2.5 years after she disappeared, Denise was added to The Sacramento Bee's Secret Witness list, which regularly published a summary of Denise's case and offered a reward to anyone with information. The summary and reward offer were posted in the newspaper more-or-less every week until February 13, 1974.

Denise is a 5'2 to 5'4 white female who weighed 120 to 125 lbs at the time of her disappearance. She has brown eyes and straight brown hair that was longer than shoulder-length at the time. She was also known to wear a short black wig. One of her roommates stated that the wig was missing from the apartment after Denise disappeared. Denise is of Greek descent from her mother's side.

It should be noted that, according to the ZodiacCiphers site, at the time of her disappearance, Denise was living only 1.28mi away from the home of Phillip Arthur Thompson, who lived at 2526 V St. Two months after Denise's disappearance, Thompson raped and murdered 21-year-old Betty Cloer. Cloer's body was found in Cameron Park, El Dorado County, CA only 11-12hr after she was last seen alive. The ZodiacCiphers site used the reported address of 925 16th St (see below).

Despite the scant facts surrounding her case, there have been many theories put forth online. She is listed among the victims of the supposed Astrological Murders serial killer on Wikipedia. Some have speculated that Denise's case is related to those of Judith Hakari and Carol Beth Hilburn, as well as Betty Cloer. It's also been proposed online — not necessarily with any information to back it up — that Denise was a victim of: Ted Bundy, EARONS/GSK (Joseph DeAngelo), the Zodiac, her roommate(s), any male neighbors or associates, an ex-boyfriend, etc.

Photo from NamUs.

According to the Doe Network, Denise's dentals and DNA are available for comparison, while her fingerprints are not. While NamUs indicates that Denise has sixteen UID exclusions, one is a repeat, so she in fact has fifteen exclusions, including one that has since been identified as Anne Marie Lehman.

Denise's case is unsolved. Her NamUs page was last updated on November 6, 2023. In her mother's 2016 obituary, Denise is noted as neither surviving or predeceasing her mother: instead it simply states, "Helen had a daughter, Denise Anderson."

Anyone with information regarding Denise is urged to contact the Sacramento Police Department at (916) 808-0560 or (916) 808-4500. The agency case number is 71-12652.

*** Note:

Every Secret Witness posting in the Sacramento Bee about Denise states that she lived at 925 16th St. However, she is actually listed as a student living at 441 45th St in the 1970 and 1971 Sacramento Directories. Apt. E of 925 16th St is listed as Vacant in both directories.

On page 1096 in the 1970 Sacramento Directory the primary occupants of the Auditorium Apartments at 925 16th St are listed as the following:

A Mrs Anne Herzog

B Lloyd H Archer

C No Return

D Vacant

E Vacant

F Steph Neal

G Mrs Anna C Carney

H James B Aughney

I Mrs Marjory B Gyger

J Ken Seaman

The occupants of the Auditorium Apartments at 925 16th St according to page 1149 of the Sacramento City Directory:

A Mrs Anne Herzog

B William A Doyle

C No Return

D Lorrene Allen

E Vacant

F Steph Neal

G Mrs Anna C Carney

H James B Aughney

I No Return

J No Return

On pages 184 and 195 of the 1970 and 1971 Sacramento Directories, Denise Anderson is listed as a student residing at 441 45th St. She lived there with her mother Helen and maternal grandmother Sophie N Vassilopoulos, the latter of whom owned the house and was widowed in 1954. In the 1970 directory Helen Anderson's occupation is listed as a legal secretary for Pat McCarthy.

Sources

Whereabouts Still Unknown blog

ZodiacCiphers article

ZodiacCiphers site mention

WebSleuths

ZK Ciphers forum mention

Helen Anderson obituary