Sonoma Sheriff Requests Help In Cold Case of Missing Woman's Murder From 1997
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- The Sonoma County Sheriff took to social media Friday to request the public's help with an unsolved murder from 1997.
The sheriff's office posted on its Facebook page Thursday asking for help in the case of 12-year-old Georgia Lee Moses, whose body was found next to Highway 101 along Santa Rosa's Petaluma Blvd. on-ramp on Aug. 22, 1997.
"She didn't match any missing persons reports and her body was badly decomposed. We began our investigation by collecting evidence, trying to determine her identity, conducting an autopsy, and releasing information to the public," the Facebook post read.
An anonymous tip to the Santa Rosa Police Department noted that Moses had disappeared two weeks before and the detective on the case used a picture of Georgia to identify the body. It was officially identified as Moses four days after the body was discovered.
Forensic work determined that Moses died from strangulation or smothering sometime between the night of August 13 and the morning of Aug. 14, 1997. She was last seen at approximately 10 p.m. on Aug. 13, 1997 near the intersection of Sebastopol Road and Dutton Avenue in Santa Rosa. She was a 12-year-old black girl, 5'4" and around 120 pounds, with shoulder length braided black hair. She was last seen wearing a white shirt with a white nylon windbreaker and blue jeans.
Witnesses last saw Moses with a 25-30 year old black man, approximately 6'2" to 6'4" and 200 pounds, with very short black hair. The man drove a small white four-door car. The sheriff's department made a sketch of the suspect but no one came forward to identify him back then. The sheriff's office reshared the sketch this week along with a picture of Moses.
No progress was made in the case back in 1997. Since then, the sheriff's office said that detectives never gave up on the case, following up on leads whenever they came in, yet it remains unsolved.
"We do our best to find justice for every violent crime victim and all their families. We are again asking for the community's help," the sheriff's office wrote.
The sheriff's office said that anyone with information about Georgia's murder should call 707-565-2185 or submit a tip at www.sonomasheriff.org/silent-witness. A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered by the Sonoma County Alliance Community Engagement and Safety Rewards Fund.
