Evelyn Joyce McDowell, 21, was last heard from on November 14, 1983, in a distressing phone call to a friend. In the call, McDowell stated that she was at a bar in the Napa, California area and that someone was "trying to get her" before the line went dead. The call was later traced to the Chatter Box Bar in Clear Lake, California. McDowell's friend reported her missing on December 12, 1983, to the Winters Police Department. Prior to the phone call, McDowell had reportedly been with friends in the Napa area and had left their car after an argument.
A few days after her last communication, McDowell's mother received her daughter's address book in the mail. The package included a note from a man named "Dave" who claimed to have found the address book on a beach in Lucerne. Investigators were able to locate the man who sent the address book and ruled him out as a person of interest in her disappearance. A search of the area where the address book was found uncovered a woman's sock that was tied at both ends and filled with sand and rocks.
Subsequent investigation by the Winters Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff's Office continued through 1984, with requests for assistance sent to surrounding jurisdictions. Investigators followed up on various leads and potential sightings between 1985 and 1988. The Lake County Sheriff's Office identified a person of interest, Tony Aguilar, who was extensively questioned but passed away in 2002. In a later development, the California Department of Justice and the Doe Network list a later "last seen" date of January 19, 1984, when McDowell was reportedly seen in front of the Yolo County Social Services office on West Main Street in Woodland, California.
At the time of her disappearance, Evelyn Joyce McDowell was described as a 21-year-old Caucasian female, 5'5" tall, and weighing 115 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo of a small blue heart on her shoulder. Her case remains unsolved, and DNA from her brother has been added to the national Missing or Unidentified Persons System in the hope of generating new leads.
Last Seen: Nov 14, 1983
