Cheryl Lynn Vasquez, a 19-year-old White female, disappeared on June 28, 1987, in El Paso, Texas. She was last seen at a Circle K store on McCombs Street, where she had gone to buy cigarettes for a friend. Witnesses reported that Cheryl was speaking with a man in a striped beige pickup truck, later identified as David Leonard Wood, a known acquaintance.
Cheryl had recently married Robert Dismukes by proxy—a man incarcerated in Huntsville for burglary and attempted murder—just a week before her disappearance. She had worked at Whataburger and Matador Plastics and was described by friends as attractive and charming.
Cheryl Lynn Vasquez was never seen again after that day. Her disappearance occurred during a wave of violent crimes in Northeast El Paso in 1987, many of which were later linked to David Leonard Wood. Wood, a convicted serial rapist, had been paroled in January 1987 after serving seven years of two concurrent 20-year sentences for rape. He was later indicted for the murders of six young women in El Paso that same year. Cheryl's case was classified as an endangered missing person, and foul play was strongly suspected. Her family, especially her brother Pete Vasquez, expressed deep anguish over the lack of closure and continued to seek answers.
Although Cheryl Lynn Vasquez, a 19-year-old White female, was never officially declared dead, her disappearance is widely believed to be connected to Wood's string of murders. Several witnesses saw Cheryl speaking with Wood shortly before she vanished, and a manager at her workplace had previously warned her to stay away from him. Despite these connections, Wood has never confessed to involvement in Cheryl's case, and her remains have never been found. The case remains open and is considered part of El Paso's cold case investigations. Authorities continue to suspect Wood's involvement, but no new evidence has emerged to definitively link him to Cheryl's disappearance.
