Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

Sandra JoAnn Rushing was born on August 27, 1960 in Denver, CO to parents Joe Bailey Rushing Jr and Shirley Joan Rushing (nee Otey). Sandra's mom's side of the family was from Denver, while her father's side was from Abilene, TX. Sandra had two older siblings, sister Brenda Kay Tate (nee Rushing) and brother Terry Joe Rushing. Brenda was a little less than four years older than Sandra, as she  was born in late 1956 . Terry was born in late September 1959, making him eleven months older than Sandra; despite this, the two of them were in the same grade in high school. This is likely because Sandra's birth date was on the cusp of the cut off; she was only seventeen years old when she graduated. Sandra's 1978 Lakewood High School senior yearbook photo. The Rushings lived in Denver proper up to at least 1969, though by 1973 they were living in Lakewood, Jefferson County, CO, a suburb of Denver. All three Rushing children went to Lakewood High School. Both Sandra and Terr...

Lorelee Lhotka was last seen in Seattle, Washington sometime in 1975. Both the Charley Project and some other secondary sources state that the specific date of Lorelee’s disappearance is unknown, while all other databases give her date of last contact as January 1, 1975, likely as a placeholder. She most likely went missing on Friday, January 3, 1975. Lorelee was reportedly last seen leaving home to go to a doctor’s appointment. While she was supposed to take the bus to the appointment, she was also known to hitchhike in order to get around, and may have hitchhiked instead of taking the bus. According to the Charley Project, Lorelee never arrived at the doctor’s office and has never been heard from again. Lorelee’s wallet was found at Blewitt Pass in the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state in 1978. The circumstances of this discovery are not given beyond that, and there are no newspaper reports whatsoever regarding Lorelee, her wallet, or her disappearance. Few details are av...