Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

Photo of Steven Downes published in the Feb. 6, 1976 edition of the  San Francisco Examiner . Steven William Downes was last seen on the afternoon of Sunday, February 1, 1976, when he was seen swimming at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. According to friends, Steven was only wearing gray shorts when he was last seen. He lived on Greenview Court in San Francisco at the time. Very few details are available in his case. Steven was a 22-year-old white male who was 6'0 to 6'1 and 160 lbs. He has brown hair, green eyes, and freckles. A photo of him posted in the SF Examiner shortly after he went missing shows him with chin to shoulder length hair, as well as a beard and mustache. His facial hair is curly, and his head hair is wavy in texture. His date of birth is February 8, 1953; if alive today he would be 72 years old. A less recent photo of Steven. From NamUs. Steven's dental x-rays are not available for comparison, while the availability of other identifiers, such as his finger...

Larry Dean Williams was born on March 5, 1959. Very little is known about him or his case. Larry’s date of disappearance is uncertain: some sources — Doe Network and NamUs — state that it was Tuesday, July 1, 1975, while all others state that it was Saturday, January 25, 1975; NamUs and DN both also mention his DLC as January 25. If Larry did in fact go missing in January, then he was 15 years old at the time; if in July, then he was 16. Photo from NamUs. On the date of his disappearance, Larry was last seen leaving his home in Long Beach, LA County, CA, to go to the beach. He frequently hitchhiked between Long Beach and Seal Beach, Orange County, CA. He has never been heard from again. Larry may go by the nickname Rabbit. He has blonde hair and brown eyes, and at the time of his disappearance he was 4’9 and 80 - 90 lbs. He has a chipped front tooth, as well as a hernia scar on his abdomen. Larry also has a burn scar on the crown of his head. It is unknown what he was wearing at the ti...

Despite growing up in Rhode Island, throughout her life 14-year-old Claire Penelope Hough would often travel to California to visit her grandparents, who lived just a few blocks from Torrey Pines Beach. This was just the case in the summer of 1984, when Claire, her brother, and Claire's best friend Kim Jamer went to visit Claire's grandparents in California. Claire Hough. Photo from FindAGrave. On August 21st or 22nd, the night before Kim was set to head home to Rhode Island, Claire convinced her to sneak out of her grandparents' house and go to the beach after dark. However, once they got there and settled near their favorite spot by the bridge, Kim had a panic attack, so they went back home. Kim made Claire promise not to sneak out by herself again. The next day, Kim went home to Rhode Island while Claire and her brother stayed in California with her grandparents, as planned. On Friday, August 24, 1984, Claire's body was found by a beachcomber named Wallace Wheeler ne...

Adam Ashley and his twin brother Marc Ashley were born in Palm Springs, Riverside County, CA on May 18, 1964. They have a sister named Terri who is one year older than them. Their father Arthur was killed in a plane crash in March 1968, and afterward their mother Martha struggled to care for her three young children alone. The brothers, "grew up surfing and skateboarding in the beachside community of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, near San Diego." Adam was a good-natured person who "knew how to relate to other people." He had a good sense of humor and was athletic and musical.  By the time they were teenagers, both twins began to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. Adam is said to have had anger issues, and would become violent during fights with his siblings. Adam Ashley. Photo from the City of San Diego Cold Cases page. In fall 1978 the twins began their freshman year at San Dieguito High School, and the family attended counseling. However, Adam still needed additional suppor...

Barbara Nantais. Photo from FindAGrave. On the weekend of Saturday, August 12, 1978, Barbara Jane Nantais's parents Ralph and Judy left San Diego to visit friends. A family friend was looking after Barbara and her three siblings. Practically as soon as Ralph and Judy left, Barbara, 15, and her boyfriend Jim, 17, as well as friend Rick Selga and his girlfriend, got together and drove to Torrey Pines State Beach, where they all hung out together. The Perseid meteor shower was visible in San Diego after dusk. Around 9:30pm the friends called it a night. Rick and his girlfriend decided to sleep in the station wagon that they had driven, while Jim and Barbara went down to the beach for some privacy. They zipped their sleeping bags together, crawled in them, had sex, and then went to sleep. Barbara was lying in Jim's arms when they fell asleep. The next morning, Jim woke up cold and alone, covered in blood. Blinded by blood and disoriented, he had to feel his way along a fence up the...