Yvonne Lisa Weber, a 13-year-old girl, was one of the victims of the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders, a series of unsolved homicides that occurred in Sonoma County, California, between 1972 and 1973. On the evening of February 4, 1972, Weber and her friend, 12-year-old Maureen Louise Sterling, both students at Herbert Slater Middle School, visited the Redwood Empire Ice Arena. The two girls were last seen hitchhiking on Guerneville Road, northwest of Santa Rosa.
Hitchhiking was a common practice among young people at the time, and the girls were reportedly looking for a ride to meet someone at a bowling alley.
An acquaintance who had spoken with Weber and Sterling earlier that evening later recalled that the girls had mentioned a tall, slender man who had asked them to smoke marijuana. The acquaintance declined to join them and later described the man as resembling serial killer Ted Bundy. Another witness, interviewed in a 2024 HBO Max documentary, claimed that the man bore a resemblance to Jim Mordecai, a suspect featured in the documentary. Despite these accounts, no definitive suspect was identified.
Weber and Sterling were initially believed to be runaways, but their remains were discovered on December 28, 1972, nearly eleven months after their disappearance. Their bodies were found down a steep embankment approximately 66 feet off the east side of Franz Valley Road, 2.2 miles north of Porter Creek Road. The skeletal remains made it impossible to determine the exact cause of death. However, investigators found a single earring, orange beads, and a 14-carat gold necklace with a cross at the scene. Sterling's mother later identified the necklace and earring as belonging to her daughter.
The Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders remain unsolved, with no arrests or confirmed suspects. Investigators have explored various leads, including potential connections to known serial killers, but none have led to conclusive evidence. The case continues to be a subject of speculation and investigation, with authorities still searching for answers regarding the identity of the perpetrator.
