LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – More than four decades after her body was found in open field near Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police have finally identified a murder victim.
She was discovered face-down in the dirt on August 14th, 1979, in the area where the El Rancho Vegas Hotel and Casino once stood.
Technologies allowed the coroner to do little more than rule her death a homicide. Investigators came up empty when searching for any details on her identity, or on the circumstances surrounding her death. Detectives dubbed her Sahara Sue Doe.
The case sat unsolved for years, and eventually was assigned to Metro’s Cold Case Section. In the fall of 2022, its detectives asked that forensic genetic geneology be performed on the victim. That gave them the ability to identify and contact possible family members.
Then, in November, detectives finally got a match. Sahara Sue Doe was actually Gwenn Marie Story.
Story’s family told investigators she left Cincinatti in the summer of ‘79. They say she was on her way to California to find biological father with some male friends. Her family says, they were told, the men left her in Las Vegas. Her loved ones never heard from her again.
Metro’s Cold Case Section continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death. They urge anyone with information about Gwenn Marie Story, or the men she was traveling with, to call (702) 385-5555, or contact CrimeStoppers.
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