Crime Junkie MURDERED: Teresa Flores & Martha Mezo
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Nov 10, 2025 In 1979, two kindergarten girls vanished from a small town in California, igniting a decades-long mystery. A detective has recently reopened the case, uncovering chilling details from their last known movements. The investigation reveals dark community secrets and a list of suspects, including local troublemakers and a notorious criminal. Advances in forensic technology, including DNA testing, are breathing new life into the case. Efforts to raise awareness continue, with the victims' families pushing for justice nearly 50 years later.
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Daytime Disappearance On Main Street
- Two kindergarten girls, Teresa Flores and Martha Mezzo, left Mission Street errands and vanished around 11:30 a.m. on May 17, 1980, sparking a massive local search.
- San Miguel residents and 20 officers searched until the case shifted from finding them to finding suspects.
Search Turned To Suspects Fast
- The scale of the early search (helicopters, National Guard, dogs) suggested investigators believed abduction rather than wandering.
- Detectives quickly shifted strategy from recovery to identifying suspects after no sightings surfaced.
Bodies Found At Riverbed Bridge
- Camp Roberts soldiers found two small bodies surface-buried under a bridge on May 29, 1980, with maroon cloth ligatures around their necks.
- Autopsies showed strangulation, head trauma on one victim, and sexual assault on one, indicating early lethal violence.