MURDERED: Kelly Disney
Kelly Disney disappeared without a trace in 1984, leaving behind a devastated family brimming with questions and grief. Ten years later, some of those questions are answered; but the most important one remains: who killed Kelly Disney?
For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode.
Please contact the authorities if you have any information about the murder of Kelly Disney:
The Lincoln County cold case investigators
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Statesman Journal (Salem, Or): Newport girl turns up missing, by Adelle Altizer via Newspapers.com.
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, Or): Newport police suspect foul play via Newspapers.com.
- Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, Or): Teenager might have run away via Newspapers.com.
- Statesman Journal (Salem, Or): Newport girl still missing after 2 months, by Adelle Altizer via Newspapers.com.
- Statesman Journal (Salem, Or): Body found at coast via Newspapers.com.
- Statesman Journal (Salem, Or): Body found reportedly not Newport Girl via Newspapers.com.
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, Or): Case of missing Newport teen frustrates police department via Newspapers.com.
- Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, Or): Skull identified via Newspapers.com.
- Statesman Journal (Salem, Or): Skull tied to 1984 disappearance, by Steve Beaty via Newspapers.com.
- Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, Or): After ten years: ‘It’s final now’, by Jim Sams via Newspapers.com.
- Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, Or): Search seeks clues to girl’s death, by Jim Sams via Newspapers.com.
- Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, Or): Show seeks leads in the 1992 deaths of Linn County teens, by Carolyn Spencer via Newspapers.com.
- ABC News: Did A Serial Killer Murder Teen Girls in Oregon?
- KVAL.com: Oregon Coast murders: All girls, all unsolved via Internet Archive.
- KVAL.com: On Your Side: Investigation: Murder on the Coast, Looking for a Killer via YouTube.com.
- Oregon Live: Bobby Jack Fowler, suspect in death of Newport teen girls, may have killed 20 or more people, by Lori Tobias.
- YachatsNews: THE KELLY DISNEY COLD CASE: Four decades after the 17-year-old disappeared in Newport, her family still pushes for help and investigators still press for answers, by Quinton Smith.
- YachatsNews: Lincoln County investigators seeking Disney cold case closure will now be getting help from the state, by Quinton Smith.
- KLCC: 40 years after 17-year-old Kelly Disney’s disappearance, sister and investigators still seek answers and justice, by Quinton Smith.
- Dark Minds: The Coastal Killer (Season 2, Episode 3) via Discovery Plus.
- OregonLive: Ghosts of Highway 20: Melissa Sanders and Sheila Swanson, by Noelle Crombie.
Suggested Episodes
WANTED: Justice for Rhys Pocan & MMIW Part 1
In 2021, we set out to cover the case of Rhys Pocan, a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered in Wisconsin in the ‘80s. But while we were in the field, we uncovered a disturbing pattern of murders with similarities to Rhys’ that were just too blatant to ignore. So, we spent the next three years working with local and federal law enforcement to try and get to the bottom of it.
WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer
A family’s brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions.
WANTED: Justice for MMIP
May is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Month, and we want to highlight some of the many cases involving members of Native American communities that so often go underreported and underserved, and thus unsolved.
Join our Fan Club to listen to this episode and more!
Unlock all of the exclusive benefits and dynamic listening experience as a Crime Junkie Fan Club member.
Join the Fan Club now to reap the rewards!
