In the winter of 1982, a sense of unease settled over the small mountain community of Alma, Colorado, after the disappearance of 29-year-old Barbara Jo “Bobbie” Oberholtzer, a woman known for her love of training wild mustangs. On January 6th, Bobbie, who was born Barbara Burns, was out with coworkers at a local bar celebrating a recent promotion. Though her husband offered to pick her up, she decided to hitchhike home, a common practice in the area at the time.
It was a decision that would prove to be her last.
Bobbie never made it home that night. Her disappearance triggered an investigation that would grow cold over the years, leaving her family and the community with unanswered questions. The case, which became known as the “Rocky Mountain Cold Case,” was hampered by a lack of witnesses and the limited forensic technology of the era. For nearly four decades, the tragic end to Bobbie’s life remained a mystery, a dark chapter in the history of Summit County.
The silence in the case was finally broken in 2020, thanks to the persistent efforts of a retired Denver homicide detective. He enlisted the help of a company specializing in forensic genetic genealogy. This innovative technique allowed investigators to analyze DNA evidence from the crime scene and build a family tree that ultimately led them to a suspect. The trail pointed to Alan Lee Phillips, a semi-retired mechanic who was 70 years old and living just 35 miles from where the crime occurred. A crucial piece of evidence that had been overlooked for decades, a distinctive orange sock found at the scene, further solidified the connection to Phillips.
In February 2021, after weeks of surveillance, law enforcement officials conducted a traffic stop and arrested Alan Lee Phillips without incident. He was subsequently charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of assault, and two counts of homicide. The arrest, nearly 40 years after Bobbie’s death, brought a renewed sense of hope for justice and closure to a community that had long been haunted by the memory of her unsolved murder.
