Sylvia Lee Missing Person Case

Sylvia Ann Lee, a 17-year-old from Campbell, California, went missing on October 31, 1995. That afternoon, she was last seen by her boyfriend as she boarded a bus near the Campbell Police Department. She planned to take a light-rail train to her grandmother's home in San Jose, but she never arrived. Sylvia was described as being between 4'11" and 5'0", weighing around 110-125 pounds, with brown hair, sometimes dyed blonde or black, and hazel eyes. She had a tattoo of her nickname, "Shorty," on her left hand and was wearing a black sweatshirt and black pants when she disappeared.

Sixteen years after her disappearance, Wilbur Wade Atcherley confessed to murdering Sylvia. He was already serving a long prison sentence for a different crime when he provided details about Sylvia’s abduction and murder. Atcherley claimed to have met her at the light-rail station, taken her by taxi to a remote area in New Almaden, sexually assaulted her, and killed her before leaving her body by a creek. Investigators were able to confirm part of his story through taxi records, but searches of the area where he claimed to have left her body yielded no results. It is believed that her remains may have been washed away over time. Atcherley's confession led to an additional 15 years being added to his prison sentence, but Sylvia’s body has never been found, and her case remains open as a presumed homicide.
Last Seen: Oct 31, 1995

Sylvia Ann Lee | State of California - Department of Justice

Sylvia Ann Lee - The Charley Project

Sex Offender Pleads Guilty In '95 Campbell Cold Case Teen Murder

1287DFCA - Sylvia Ann Lee - Doe Network

Sylvia Lee | International Missing Persons Wiki - Fandom

Sylvia K. Plevritis, PhD - Stanford Profiles