The Disappearance of Elizabeth Mary Byron, May 1978

Elizabeth seems to have been born Elizabeth Mary Underwood on March 21, 1942. At some point she married a man named Rodney B Winn; the pair divorced in November 1970 in Ventura County, CA. Elizabeth then remarried to a 25-year-old man named Robert N Byron in the same county on March 10, 1973; they had applied for/been granted their marriage license in late December of the previous year.

Photo from NamUs.

Some records on Ancestry give her first name as Mary and her middle name as Elizabeth rather than vice versa. At the time of her disappearance, Elizabeth's surname was Byron, though she may also use the surnames Winn or Underwood.

Elizabeth was 36 years old when she was last seen at her home in Oxnard, Ventura County sometime in May 1978. The exact date of her disappearance is unknown. Very few details are available in her case.

Based on the lack of information, including the uncertainty of the date of disappearance, it seems possible to me that Elizabeth was not reported missing until some years after she was last seen; however, I could not find any firm indications of when the missing persons report on her was filed. It should be noted, however, that, based on the agency case number — the first two digits of which often correspond to the final two digits of the reporting year — it seems that Elizabeth may not have been reported missing until 1979.

Elizabeth is a white female with brown hair and hazel eyes. At the time of her disappearance she was 36 years old, 5'6, and 115 lbs. She has a large scar on her right leg. If alive today she would be 83 years old.

Elizabeth is classified as Missing on the Charley Project and Endangered Missing on the Doe Network. Her dental records — though not her dental x-rays — are available for comparison, while her DNA and fingerprints are not. It is unknown what she was wearing when last seen.

Elizabeth has three UID rule-outs on NamUs, all of which were found in Virginia. Her NamUs case, #MP17693, was created and last updated on October 7, 2012 and December 20, 2020, respectively.

Anyone with information regarding Elizabeth's case is urged to please contact the Ventura County Sheriff's Office-Major Crimes Investigations Division at (805) 383-8704 according to NamUs, (805) 654-2369 according to CA DOJ, or (805) 654-2324 according to the Charley Project. The agency case number is 79-05792.

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 also use the email form here.

Sources

NamUs

CA DOJ 

WebSleuths 

Doe Network 

Charley Project 

List of CA cases, ZK Ciphers forum 

Note: While this write-up was originally published on August 1, 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. I then note when I have last edited the post, no matter how minor. When edits are extensive, I re-post the write-up. This post was last updated on October 26, 2025.