Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

  Very little information is available online about Sean Kenneth Phelan. He was born on February 2, 1960, possibly in a state other than California, as I could not locate him in the CA Birth Index.  For his freshman (1974-1975) and junior years (1976-1977), Sean attended Newport Christian High School in Newport Beach, Orange County, CA. The 1975 yearbook misspelled his first name as "Sian." The 1975-1976 yearbook is not available on Ancestry, but it seems likely that Sean attended the same school his sophomore year. He is not present among seniors in the school's 1977-1978 yearbook; from this it seems that he likely either transferred to another school for that year, or dropped out entirely. According to Ancestry, at an unknown time Sean lived at 22 Lewis in Irvine, Orange County, CA. Other sources also indicate that Sean was recently divorced at the time of his disappearance. I could not find any further information related to his marriage or divorce.  One of the photos ...

Note: While this write-up was originally published on August 5, 2025, I regularly revisit cases, check for updates, 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 October 19, 2026.    From the Sept. 14, 1977 edition of the  Fremont Argus. Background   Kurt Theodore Kaikinger was born on November 18, 1948 in San Francisco, CA to parents Theodore Joseph Kaikinger and Elaine Barbara Botzer, who had married in April of that year. Theodore's parents were originally from France. Kurt was the oldest of three boys, with his younger brothers Karl and Christian being born in 1950 and 1956, respectively. By 1950 the family was living in Oakland, Alameda County, CA before moving to San Leandro in the same county. Kurt graduated from Pacific High School in San Leandro in 1966.  According to classmates of his, who posted on t...

Lynn Ruth Connes, 20, was from North Carolina. At some point seemingly after high school she left her mother and younger brother, Lee, to move to California, where she could foster her artistry. According to Lee, he always looked up to his older sister, who he described as loving, passionate, and naturally talented. At the time of her disappearance Lynn lived in an apartment at 2817 Regent St in Berkeley, Alameda County, CA and worked part-time as a telephone solicitor in Marin County. Lynn had recently advertised for employment as a photographer's model in the newspaper The Berkeley Barb , and a man who identified himself as "Jeff" called her, answering her ad. They agreed to meet at the Bateau Ivre Restaurant at 2629 Telegraph Ave, four blocks from Lynn's home. Photo from NamUs. On Thursday, May 20, 1976, Lynn was last seen at her residence, which she then left to meet with "Jeff." This is considered the last definitive sighting of Lynn. An unidentified wa...

Steven Ericson was born on April 3, 1954 in Los Angeles County, CA. His mother's maiden name is Roeder. Very little could be found about him or his family. 1972 Woodrow Wilson High School senior yearbook photo. Steven attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, LA County, CA starting in at least 1970; he graduated in 1972. The high school yearbook lists him as "Steve Ericson." His junior and senior yearbook photos are available on this post, as well as on sites below; they were originally sourced from Ancestry.   Steven was last seen on Thursday, June 1, 1972 in Grass Valley, Nevada County, CA. It is unclear why he was in Northern California, as he was from Long Beach.  Very few details are available in Steven's case. He is listed among deceased alumni on his high school class's website, linked below. He is classified as Endangered Missing on the Doe Network, while the Charley Project simply lists him as Missing. Steven is a white male with blonde hair and ...

Thomas Gregory Cristiano was born on December 19, 1950 in Denver, Colorado, where he also spent much of his early childhood. He lived with his parents, Joseph Frank Cristiano and Verna Louise Cristiano (nee Place), and his siblings, David and Virginia. Thomas attended high school in Montrose, Montrose County, CO, where his parents were living at the time of their son's death. Some sources may spell the family's surname as "Christiano." Thomas's father had moved his family to Montrose "to get away from the crime and violence we saw there" in Denver. Thomas, however, eventually went back to Denver to be near a school where he was taking a "correspondence computer course." He  was employed at the Western Drive Inn on East Colfax Avenue in Denver. Thomas also had an interest in art. According to letters written to his family, he had planned to paint a night scene of the State Capitol Building at some point.  Photo from CBI. Late in the evening of F...

Andrew Mantheiy, 16, was last seen on Thursday, May 19, 1977, walking northbound on Interstate 5 in Redding, Shasta County, CA.  Photo from NamUs. Andrew was originally from Texas. His mother had passed away in July 1976. Very few details are available in his case.  Andrew is a white male with brown hair and blue eyes. At the time of his disappearance he was 16 or 17 years old, 5'9-5'10, and 125 lbs. According to the Charley Project, his date of birth is June 15, 1960. If alive today he would be 64 years old.  Andrew's DNA is available for comparison, while his dentals and fingerprints are not. He has 45 UID rule-outs on NamUs, including one found in 1978 that has since been identified as Kenneth Nevada Williams. The other two CA cases were found in the 21st century, and none of the other Does were found in other western states; the majority were discovered in VA.  Andrew is classified as Endangered Missing on Charley Project and Doe Network. His NamUs case, #MP23609...

At the time of his death, Everett Lloyd Bradley, a 19-year-old Black man, was employed as a cook. At either 7:00 or 7:41pm on Friday, February 1, 1974, Everett's wife Emma and her mother-in-law  — Everett's mother, Rosa  — returned to the couple's home at 80 West Point Rd in San Francisco. Emma had been in the hospital, and had not seen Everett since Wednesday, January 30. Upon returning home, Emma and Rosa discovered Everett's body sprawled behind a couch in the living room. He had been stabbed several times in the back. According to investigators, there was evidence of a violent struggle in the front room of the house. While newspapers don't state when he was last seen by anyone other than Emma, his death date is listed as February 1st on all records and clippings that I could find, so it seems that it is believed that he died on the same day that he was found. Everett Lloyd Bradley was born in Jefferson County, TX on September 2, 1954 to parents Robert Lee Bradle...

According to CA DOJ — as well as Doe Network and Charley Project, which use CA DOJ as a source — Rebecca Jean Dunn was born on March 21, 1958. Through research on Ancestry, I have found that Rebecca was born on that date in LA County, CA to a mother with the maiden name Newquist. This is the only information I could find matching Rebecca’s info on that site. Rebecca was last seen in April, May, or June 1979, possibly specifically Thursday, May 10, 1979. Either way, she was 21 years old when last seen. Rebecca Dunn. Photo from NamUs. In early 1979, Rebecca and a female friend left their residences in Las Vegas, NV and traveled to San Diego, CA together along with two men. The drive from Las Vegas to San Diego is about 5.5 hours. The friend eventually returned to Las Vegas, having last seen Rebecca in about April 1979. The friend told investigators that she and Rebecca had traveled to CA to act as prostitutes. At least one of the two men is believed to have acted as the women’s pimp whil...

On Thursday, November 1, 1973, Corinne June Groenenberg, 16, left her family's residence in Modesto, Stanislaus County, CA. A family friend told authorities that they saw Corinne walk to the highway and begin hitchhiking shortly afterwards. The family friend saw Corinne enter a blue or green truck with an unidentified male driver.  According to an update from the Charley Project on September 15, 2025, Corinne was carrying a sleeping bag and a "red Indian blanket" when she was last seen. She was also wearing a blue denim jacket and blue jeans.  Corinne Groenenberg. Photo from NamUs. Corinne is a 5'6, 115 lbs white female with straight brown hair and blue eyes. She has a strawberry birthmark on her back, as well as a surgical scar on her abdomen. Corinne was born on either October 4, 1959 (making her 14 at the time) or October 14, 1957 (making her 16); most agencies list her as 16 at the time of her disappearance. Some agencies may list her first name as Connie. Corinne...