Rosie Tapia

Rosie Tapia was an outgoing and independent six-year-old girl who loved to play dress-up and was excited about school. Her mother, Lewine Tapia, remembers her as a happy child who enjoyed waking up early to watch cartoons. In the summer of 1995, Rosie lived with her mother, her father Roberto, her teenage half-sisters Emilia and Esmeralda, and her four-year-old twin siblings, Robert and Angelica. The family resided in a basement-level apartment at the Hartland Apartments on Snow Queen Place in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The night of Saturday, August 12, 1995, began like any other for the Tapia family. After a family dinner of tacos, Lewine and Roberto went out to listen to live music, leaving the younger children in the care of 18-year-old Emilia and her friend. When the parents returned after midnight, Lewine checked on her sleeping children. She saw Rosie and the twins safe in their shared bedroom and partially closed their window to let in some cool air before going to bed herself. A few hours later, in the pre-dawn hours of August 13, an unimaginable horror unfolded. Lewine woke around 4:30 a.m. with a sense that something was wrong. She went to Rosie’s bedroom and found the window wide open, the screen pushed aside, and her daughter gone.

A frantic search began immediately. The family screamed Rosie’s name and rushed to print and distribute flyers throughout the neighborhood. Their desperate efforts ended in tragedy at approximately 9:30 a.m. when a body was discovered in a nearby canal, just a block from their home. It was Rosie. An autopsy later confirmed that the young girl, a female, had been sexually assaulted and then drowned shortly after she was taken from her room.

The Salt Lake City Police Department launched an investigation that has now spanned more than three decades without an arrest. Over the years, several leads have emerged, but none have led to the killer. In 2002, a rock with a note attached was left at Rosie’s grave, though police have not disclosed its contents. A composite sketch was created in 2015 based on the memory of a witness who saw a man with dripping wet pants coming from the canal area on the morning of the murder. In 2019, private investigators examined a Barbie doll that had been left on Rosie’s grave shortly after her burial, hoping it might contain DNA evidence.

Investigators have long believed that people who were at the Tapia apartment complex on the night of the crime hold the key to solving it. In August 2025, the Salt Lake City Police Department renewed their public appeal for information, specifically seeking to identify and speak with two teenage Hispanic males who had visited the apartment that night. The young men, estimated to be between 16 and 20 years old at the time, were seen drinking beer with the babysitters without the knowledge of Rosie’s parents. Police believe they may have been associated with a local gang and could possess vital information about what happened to Rosie.

Rosie’s family has never given up their fight for justice. Her mother, Lewine, has been a constant voice for her daughter, keeping her memory alive and pushing for answers. The case had a significant impact on law enforcement practices in the state. In 2018, the Utah Legislature passed Senate Bill 160, known as "Rosie's Bill," which established the state's first-ever Statewide Cold Case Database in her honor. This public database was created to centralize information on unsolved homicides, missing persons, and unidentified remains, allowing for greater collaboration between agencies and public involvement.

As of August 2026, more than 31 years after her life was cruelly taken, Rosie Tapia's murder remains unsolved. The Salt Lake City Police Department continues to investigate the case, holding out hope that a new tip or a long-held secret will finally bring a resolution. Detectives believe that the people who were at the apartment the night Rosie disappeared would now be in their late 40s or early 50s and urge them, or anyone who knows their identities, to come forward.

Anyone with information regarding the abduction and murder of Rosie Tapia is asked to contact the Salt Lake City Police Department at 801-799-3000, referencing case number 95-119190. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the CityProtect app.