Remains found in a river after a teen is last seen walking to an amusement park In the summer of 1975, a 17-year-old female named Laurel Jean Mitchell, was looking forward to her senior year of high school. On the evening of August 6th, she finished her shift at the Cokesbury Inn, a snack bar at the Epworth Forest Church camp in North Webster, Indiana. Declining a ride from a coworker, she set off on foot for a nearby amusement park to meet friends. Tragically, she never arrived. Her parents reported her missing in the early hours of the following morning.
A short time later, her body was discovered by a fisherman in the Elkhart River, approximately 17 miles away from where she was last seen.
An autopsy determined that Laurel's cause of death was drowning, but it also revealed she had put up a fierce struggle for her life. The investigation into her murder spanned decades, involving multiple law enforcement agencies. Despite thousands of hours of work, the case went cold, leaving her family and the community without answers for nearly half a century. Her sister, Sarah, remained a steadfast advocate for justice, consistently keeping the case in the public eye and maintaining contact with investigators.
A significant breakthrough in the long-dormant case came in early 2023, nearly 48 years after Laurel's death. Advances in DNA technology allowed investigators to analyze evidence from the clothing Laurel was wearing when she was found. This analysis led them to two suspects: Fred Bandy Jr., then 67, of Goshen, Indiana, and John Wayne Lehman, also 67, of Auburn, Indiana. Both men were arrested in February 2023 and charged with murder.
Investigators believe that on the night she disappeared, Bandy and Lehman abducted Laurel as she walked, forced her into a vehicle, and drove her to the Mallard Roost public access site where they ultimately drowned her in the river. In August 2024, John Wayne Lehman pleaded guilty to an amended charge of conspiracy to commit murder. As part of a plea agreement, he agreed to testify against Fred Bandy Jr. In October 2024, a jury found Fred Bandy Jr. guilty of first-degree murder, finally bringing a measure of justice for Laurel Jean Mitchell and her family after decades of uncertainty.
