it was a time when a sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of new mexico's largest city. >> and i can understand it. and it's safe for puppies. Terms of Service (last updated 12/31/2014). The 11 victims whose remains were discovered at the West Mesa site in 2009. Paleontologists In China Just Discovered A Prehistoric Egg Fossil From A Nearly Human-Sized Turtle With A Baby Inside, How A 200 Pound Order Of Meat And A Nosy Upstate Cop Nearly Vanquished The American Mob, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. paws down. Confirmed to be the work of a serial killer that was active between 2001-2005. some of it seemed to take. >> it's taking all my time. everyone. lengthy delays in reporting missing people as missing. but by 2004 camille, the tag-along little sister, had had enough.on when michelle asked dan if she could move back home for a while, camille put her foot down. have a good weekend and have a good night from what is our nbc news head quarters here in new york. but that's not what she told the families when they called in, looking to hear something encouraging. >> it's like being in a race and somebody has a year ahead start. and every time the phone rang his heart stopped. >> last known police positive contact was in denver. >> reporter: finding a bone, even a human bone, is not unusual out here on albuquerque's west mesa. While the FBI created suspect profiles, Albuquerque police knocked on doors. >> no. One of the suspects, Joseph Blea, was arrested on Albuquerques Central Avenue for exposing himself to a woman. this date's lame. she's been arrested. it was so much going through my. we approached the vehicle, open the door, the first words out of this girl's mouth, who's a known prostitute, was that he was trying to kill her. advil pm. Ominously, Montoya was holding a flashlight when he died while his victim was wrapped in a blanket near his SUV. she'd come over and steal my things or, you know, i would se' how upset it would make my dad. >> reporter: the total body count stayed at 11 sets of adult remains and one fetus. and you never know how your skin will look. tired of seeing him hurt. that's why we're staying with homicidal violence. In 2015, Blea was found guilty of sexual assault in charges stemming from incidents in the 1980s and 1990s and was sentenced to 90 years in prison. >> it gathered a lot of attention because we had to utilize the fbi. whatever else draws that connection to him. California, 2010: Two actors, Rachel Buffett and Daniel Wozniak, are at the center of the investigation of two murders. [ chuckles ] i'm done with this class. The same evening, Wozniak went on to perform in his local theatre production of the musical Nine. or whatever, see somebody that may appear to be the size of michelle, a small person, and go around the block two or three times and me wondering who they were as well as them wondering who i was. lending tree made lenders compete for my business and i ended up with a loan that saved me over $9000 and no more credit card debt. >> reporter: over the years ida's career blossomed. Albuquerque Police DepartmentJoseph Blea (left) and Lorenzo Montoya (right). and all with the same name. [3] He was incarcerated at California's San Quentin State Prison until July 2021, when he was moved to Salinas Valley State Prison as part of the Condemned Inmate Transfer Pilot Program. According to police reports, she might have gone by Mimi or Chocolate while staying at the Ranger Motel. looking for michelle. >> reporter: michelle valdez. "It's really a sad and horrible anniversary," said Christine Barber, executive director of Street Safe New Mexico, a nonprofit that seeks to boost safety for women who live and work on Albuquerque streets. Case 27: The West Mesa Bone Collector. her nose and her eyes were very important. she started keeping a list of missing women who match that profile.wh that was the easy part. >> reporter: but some do. >> the reality is it was kind of like this is not happening. By 2016, only one detective remained full-time on the case: Mark Marany. >> she searched for the innocent. >> reporter: this michelle according to her sister camille was an all-american girl with a future as bright as the new mexico sun. how do you keep feeling your best all summer long? i wouldn't say he's a suspect. >> well, just a few minutes ago albuquerque police left the dig site after they say they'd met all of the goals that they set. They founded Safe Streets New Mexico in response to the threats sex workers face in the state and the lack of attention paid to violent crimes against them. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. >> there could be somebody up there right now. >> reporter: it was intended to be a low-key search of the man's home and offices. Produced, reported and maintained by Journal staff member. with the investigation now focused on finding a serial killer, ida thought back to her late-night chats with the women of the war zone. he opened up the door for all the wrong things. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time. Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz,. Dirk Gibson, a communications and journalism professor at the University of New Mexico (Det. >> reporter: before long michelle valdez stopped showing up in her father's videos. after three years angelica was sent to live with dan's mother, who lived nearby, and michelle took to living with a series of people she called friends. A sinister force seemed to be snatching women off the streets of Albuquerque. >> we believe that's him. than tylenol extra strength. The mysteries surrounding the West Mesa Murders, an unsolved case of 11 female bodies discovered in a desert graveyard near Albuquerque in 2009. when a stolen car rap in arizona landed michelle in jail, dan says he bailed her out and pleaded with her to change her ways. before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, marie could only imagine enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice. Dateline NBC also promises to reveal new details about the death of Stephen Smith, whose 2015 death investigation was reopened two weeks after the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.Smith's . >> so many young women missing. long. how do you keep feeling your best all summer long? The investigators were concentrating, apparently, on the females on the street. >> all of the victims buried out on the west mesa were buried naked, with no clothing on. he's just an individual that came to our attention that we had to follow through. The most notorious mass murder in Ohio's history happened on the night of April 21, 2016 in rural Pike County. With her call to the Albuquerque Police Department, Ross had begun to expose horrors the city had never seen. In 2005, she was handed two missing persons files including missing 25-year-old Michelle Valdez, who worked as a prostitute on the streets of New Mexicos largest city. now that's simple, easy, awesome. some of them chummed around with one another. who got an awful skin condition. Authorities believe that the women may have been involved in a large interstate sex trafficking operation. >> all six sets of remains were found within 20 yards of each other. love for your gut. >> in the whole wide world. but she was unable to find the aunt or to pin down the source of the rumor. Lopezs alma mater) who has written several books on serial killings, said: You cant have a colder cold case, Gibson said. here, hello! However, in the proceeding decades, a man named Gary Ridgway killed almost 50 women, most of them sex workers, but the case of the "Green River Killer" received much less attention. but the detectives knew simply finding the bones in the first place had been an incredibly lucky break. Daniel Wozniak was found guilty of the murders of Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi. a meticulous man whose grim will had brought him back to the mesa again and again to bury his victims. >> she didn't want to be found. The serial murders of 11 women in the West Mesa area of Albuquerque will be featured in a two-hour edition of NBC's Dateline tonight. [17] In June 2018, more bones were found near the site of the burials, but these were later determined to be ancient and not related to the West Mesa murders. In 2005, Ida Lopez, an Albuquerque police detective, also noticed sex workers vanishing. that changed when michelle failed to show up for angelica's seventh birthday party. we had them in the air. it's got to be that person. "Here is that mark of 10 years. >> reporter: according to police, montoya lured the woman to his home near the west mesa burial ground. >> she ran up ahead of me, and she was messing with something on the ground. so help heal your skin from within, with dupixent. had been booked. Investigators have said that nearly all the West Mesa victims, who were between the ages of 15 and 32, worked as prostitutes . they were able to get me a booking photograph of what syllania looked like around the time that she died, we believe. If you have any information about the West Mesa murders, or about other missing women related to this case, Albuquerque Police have a dedicated hotline. >> yes. He said. >> you think she came here on her own? and it's almost frustrating because you look at this picture, and you see the disturbed earth which later we learned are grave sites, and you see the tire tracks. There is a reward of up. with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, you feel like you're itching all the time. The acting lieutenant of the Albuquerque Police Department's Violent Crime Division, Holly Anderson, told KOAT Action News in February 2021 that police are still working the case, despite not having any new evidence to go on in recent years. but within a few months of receiving those remains the lab-coated sleuths at the office of the medical investigator began unraveling the riddle of jane doe number 7. Her organization recently gathered the notes from the women it meets with weekly. >> the biggest thing that makes syllania different is she's not a local girl. all of her other victims were local. | Dr. Phil", "Dr. Phil | Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder? "In this case, there was almost nothing but bones.". it's a lot of sifting and actually in the dirt. >> i needed to know where they were all the time. but if one of them had during the 2003 or 2004 festivals, they might have actually seen evidence of a murderer moonlighting as a grave digger. The Discovery On February 2, 2009, a woman walking her dog along the West Mesa came across what appeared. >> my personal opinion, i believe that that person is still out there. All rights reserved, Privacy Policy|Online Content Agreement, Seven years later, one detective remains on West Mesa killings, Albuquerque police release photos in West Mesa murders investigation. >> and sometimes they make a a mistake. activia. Between 2001 and 2005, 11 women were buried by an unknown assailant in an arroyo bank on Albuquerque's West Mesa, in an undeveloped area within city limits. >> reporter: over the years ida's list of the lost had grown to include close to two dozen women who fit the same basic profile -- young drug-addicted hispanic women who were known to wander the gritty streets of albuquerque's war zone. they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >> and whatever you tell us, it's no judgment at all. but you know, you have to have faith in your law enforcement. >> yeah. quickbooks. sad but common, especially for these dark streets where drug addiction and prostitution literally go hand in hand. local station as finding a femur bone. -what a sign, huh? and in spite of their example, they can't quit the life. >> it's a cold case. missing persons were attractive women in their 20s, with arrest records for drugs and prostitution.r both had seemingly vanished without a word to friends or relatives. [1] Wozniak and his then-fiance, Rachel Mae Buffett, lived in the same apartment complex as Herr in Costa Mesa, California. -keith used to be great to road-trip with. Awesome. [6], An extensive manhunt for Herr was launched by authorities who at that point still believed Herr was responsible for Kibuishi's murder and was on the run. Trish Hoffman, spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department. it's one of those timing issues we told you about earlier. what had i been doing? now that two women from ida's list had been identified, jolene had an idea. Article continues below advertisement >> he may be waiting in some other community to start doing the same thing again. When her boyfriend arrived, he shot and killed Montoya. forgotten by almost everyone but her. all the bones. That discovery of a single bone led to a months-long dig, as police used DNA and dental records to identify the women and girls. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The Piketon Massacre. some passed on grisly rumors to ida, that the missing women were dead and had been dumped in the desert west of town. The Untold Truth Of The West Mesa Murders. Mesa and their son were shot outside their home, their son was only injured. >> tonight they say the search is far from over. terry, can you take a selfie of me? Call the 118th Street Task Force at 1-877-765-8273 or (505) 768-2450. that was easy! maybe he knew where the money was going to go. Theres a sense of physical remoteness this place was very removed, said University of New Mexico professor Dirk Gibson, who has written two books on serial killers. missing persons, you know, was busy. i got scared. and i guess i just kind of wonder whether police and everybody else would have start of stepped up their game a little bit if that had been the case here. do not use in breeding, pregnant or lactating dogs. (vo) you earned it, we're here to make sure you get it. we had things that we wanted to keep very secret, or things that we didn't want released. Deadly House of Cards Air Date: September 16, 2011 tbd -or maybe he didn't know. the killer, whoever he was, and police naturally assumed the killer was male, had a five-year head start. >> she was on your list. [7], On February 2, 2009, a woman walking a dog found a human bone on the West Mesa, and reported it to police. >> reporter: as you will soon see, timing, both perfect and not so perfect, will play a critical part in the story we're about to show you. [9] Some of the women appear to be unconscious, and many share the same physical characteristics as the original 11 victims. but police think it wasn't just the balloons he was, photographing. -it's kind of like driving with his dad. -you're not even enrolled in this class. Police did promise the families of the victims that justice would be done. Euphoria Star Sydney Sweeneys White Hot Bikini Is Out of Control, Sydney Sweeney, Algee Smith, Euphoria, image: courtesy of HBO, 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC. jane doe number 8 had been four months pregnant at the time of her death. shadows prostitutes. After neighbors complained of flooding at the platted site (due to the burial of the natural arroyo), the developer built a retaining wall to channel storm water to a retention pond built in the approximate area of the burial site, inadvertently exposing bones to the surface.