Case Details
- Photo URLs:
-
- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 06/01/1987
- Missing From:
- Missing From Fresno, California
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Female
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 04/16/1971 (53)
- Age:
- Age 16 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 5’5, 110 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A white t-shirt, blue jeans and laced sandals.
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Theresa’s upper front teeth protrude. She has a surgical scar on her lower right leg due to a childhood fracture. Her nickname is Sam.
- Details of Disappearance:
- In 1987, Theresa went camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains with a 43-year-old man named Russell “Skip” Welch. They were looking for Bigfoot. Theresa disappeared on June 1st. Skip told police different stories – first that Theresa ran away, then that Bigfoot took her.
Skip was charged with stealing a child, but the charges were dropped three days before his trial. The police wanted to charge him with murder if Theresa’s body was found, but Skip refused to sign a document that would let them do that. They dropped the kidnapping charge to avoid legal problems if they later tried to charge him with murder.
Despite searches, Theresa was never found. Police suspect foul play, but the case remains unsolved.
- Agency:
- Fresno Police Department 559-498-1265
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 06/01/1987