In the late summer of 1978, 29-year-old Linda Sue Peterson was eagerly awaiting the birth of her first child. A nurse at the University of Utah Hospital, she was five and a half months pregnant and, by all accounts, excited about becoming a mother. On September 16, 1978, her life took a sudden and unexplained turn. The last known person to see her was her husband, William “Phil” Peterson.
According to his account, Linda stopped by his workplace, a pharmacy near 700 East and 2100 South in Salt Lake City, to tell him she was leaving for a spontaneous trip to Kentucky with two female friends. He stated she left in a station wagon with the two women, one of whom he believed was named Susan or Suzanne. Linda, who had briefly lived in Kentucky for a few months years prior, had no known friends or connections in the state at the time of her disappearance. She has not been seen or heard from since that day.
Two weeks after Linda was last seen, her husband reported her missing on September 30, 1978. This delay in reporting, while not unusual for the time, has been noted by investigators as a complicating factor in establishing a clear timeline of events. The story of a sudden trip to Kentucky, relayed solely by her husband, has been met with skepticism by investigators. There is no evidence to suggest that Linda ever left the state of Utah. Friends of Linda who were contacted by police confirmed that she had no plans to travel to Kentucky. Further casting doubt on the story was the fact that Linda's mother was in the process of sending her furniture for the new baby, a delivery Linda would not have wanted to miss. Her mother, who lived in California, typically had weekly contact with Linda, and the sudden silence was completely out of character.
The investigation into Linda's disappearance has been ongoing for decades, facing numerous challenges. Linda was adopted, which for a long time prevented authorities from obtaining a DNA sample to compare against unidentified remains. However, in a significant breakthrough, investigators were able to identify two of her biological siblings and obtain DNA samples, which have been entered into national databases. Linda's husband, William Peterson, ceased cooperating with the investigation shortly after he reported her missing, eventually moved out of state, and has since passed away. The two women who were allegedly with Linda on the day she vanished have never been identified. At the time of her disappearance, Linda was wearing an orange maternity top and blue jeans. She wore eyeglasses, had pierced ears, and a distinctive scar tissue on the inside of her mouth. The Murray Police Department continues to actively investigate her case, hoping that after all these years, someone will come forward with information that could finally provide answers and bring a measure of peace to her remaining family members who are still searching for her. The case of Linda Sue Peterson is a long-standing and perplexing mystery, marked by an unverified story of a road trip and a family left without answers.Last Seen: Sep 16, 1978
