Did an anonymous caller kill this young woman over 40 years ago? Dorothy Jane Scott was a 32-year-old single mother from Stanton, California, who disappeared on May 28, 1980, after taking a coworker to the hospital in Anaheim. Dorothy had been attending a work meeting when she noticed her coworker, Conrad Bostron, needed medical attention for a spider bite. Dorothy, accompanied by another coworker, Pam Head, drove Conrad to the UC Irvine Medical Center. While Pam and Conrad went inside to pick up his prescription, Dorothy went to bring her car around.
Shortly afterward, her coworkers saw her car speeding past with the headlights blinding them, though they couldn’t see who was driving. Dorothy did not return, and a few hours later, her car was found burning in an alley about 10 miles away from the hospital, but she was nowhere to be found (sources: [27][28]).
Months before her disappearance, Dorothy had received disturbing phone calls from an unknown man, which started as professing love for her but later turned threatening. She had been frightened enough to take karate lessons. Shortly after her disappearance, the caller taunted her parents, stating, "I've got her," and hung up. The mysterious calls continued for years, always brief and usually occurring when Dorothy’s mother, Vera, was home alone. The calls only ceased in April 1984, but resumed after Dorothy’s remains were found in August of that year. Despite police efforts, the caller never stayed on the line long enough for them to trace his identity (sources: [27][28][31]).
On August 6, 1984, a construction worker discovered partially charred human and dog bones side by side near Santa Ana Canyon Road. A turquoise ring and a watch, both belonging to Dorothy, were found with the remains, which were identified through dental records. The remains were believed to have been there since 1982, following a bushfire that had swept through the area. However, due to the skeletal condition of the remains, the cause of death could not be determined, and Dorothy’s murder remains unsolved (sources: [27][29][31]).
A potential suspect emerged when a man called a local newspaper and confessed to killing Dorothy, claiming that she was his love, and he had killed her after catching her with another man. The caller also knew details about her attire and the circumstances on the night of her disappearance, which had not been released to the public. Despite this lead, no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection to Dorothy's death, and the case remains one of California's most chilling unsolved mysteries (sources: [27][28]).
