Account
Oct 30, 2014
Feb 10, 2023
Sally
Rawlings
76
34
67 inches
120 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
On May 26, 1982, 34-year-old Sally J. Rawlings began her day in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with her usual routine. She had breakfast with her young daughter, Kimberly, at the Kirkpatrick Hotel where they were living, and then dropped her off at daycare. Sally, a secretary at the Kerr-McGee Corporation, never arrived at work that day. She also never returned to pick up her daughter from daycare or went back to her hotel. Sally Rawlings was never seen or heard from again. Her disappearance marked the beginning of a grim mystery that would eventually point toward a meticulously planned act of violence. The investigation into Sally's disappearance soon focused on her ex-husband, Gary Lee Rawlings, a commercial airline pilot. The couple had divorced just a few months prior, in early 1982, after a marriage marred by domestic violence. Sally had even sought refuge in a battered women's shelter before moving into the hotel with her daughter. In the days leading up to Sally's disappearance, Gary had traveled to Oklahoma City from his home in Colorado. He rented a Plymouth Fury and, on the morning of May 26th, he also rented a Cessna 150 airplane. His activities on the day Sally vanished were suspicious; he made fuel stops in Dallas and Houston, Texas. During one stop, he purchased velour cleaner, and a fuel attendant in Houston noticed a large cloth bundle in the plane's baggage compartment. That same day, a man identifying himself as Kimberly's father called the daycare to inquire about the protocol if Sally failed to pick up her daughter. The evidence against Gary Rawlings continued to mount. Investigators discovered blood in the rental car and the airplane. While DNA testing was not available at the time, analysis concluded the blood was not Gary's but was consistent with Sally's genetic markers, which were found in only a small percentage of the population. A search of Gary's mother's home, where he had been staying, uncovered a .44 Magnum handgun, also with blood on it, along with letters purportedly from Sally resigning from her job and authorizing movers to collect her belongings. However, fingerprint analysis revealed Gary's prints on the envelope and a money order inside. His mother, Loretta, became suspicious and contacted the police, believing her son had killed Sally. In 1987, Gary Lee Rawlings was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The prosecution's theory, which the jury accepted, was that Gary had killed his ex-wife, placed her body in a sleeping bag, and disposed of it from the rented airplane into the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the conviction, Sally Rawlings' body has never been found, leaving a painful void for her loved ones and an enduring testament to a life cut short by violence.
May 26, 1982
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
Oklahoma County
23612
Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
Oklahoma County
73102
Michael Burke
Investigator
320 Robert S Kerr Avenue # 505, Oklahoma
4057131600
County
Law Enforcement
Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office
Blond/Strawberry
Unknown
Unknown
06/17/2026
