MURDER
CASE #: 1980-23
Georgia Jane Crews
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Fern Park, Florida
Summary:
Georgia Crews disappeared from her neighborhood in Monteverde, Lake County, Florida in 1980. Eight days later, her badly decomposed body was found behind the Fern Park Shopping Center in Seminole County, Florida. Despite extensive investigations, Georgia’s murder remains unsolved.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
Georgia was last seen leaving her house on Highland Avenue in Monteverde, Florida on April 8th 1980. She told her two older brothers that she planned to walk to the Shop & Go convenience store located on County Road 455. She was going to get a snack before settling down to watch her favorite TV shows. Georgia never made it to the store and never returned home. About 30-45 minutes passed before her older brothers began searching for her and calling around to neighbors as well as friends, asking if they had seen Georgia. Their mother owned the convenience store that Georgia was walking towards and her father was a commercial fisherman. Her parents were out on a nearby lake checking out fishing equipment. Before midnight, a search involving over 100 people had begun but the only clue found were her footprints in the sand that stopped abruptly. Police believe she was likely abducted or entered a vehicle at this point. Two days after Georgia went missing, a man contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and said “ "Hello… yeah… you know that girl that you looking fo… yeah, the twelve year old… yeah… she's dead." The caller has never been identified and only the transcript for it is available.
Additional Details:
On April 16th 1980, a family was walking through the woods behind the Fern Park Shopping Center in Fern Park, Seminole County, Florida when they made a horrifying discovery. They were walking on the path as it was a short cut between their apartment complex and the K-Mart store in the shopping center. While walking, they noticed a foul odor and went to investigate the source. They eventually found the badly decomposed body of a young girl lying face up in the bushes and alerted police. The body was quickly identified as belonging to Georgia Crews via dental records and while no exact cause of death could be determined, police were able to determine she was murdered. Georgia had a stab wound in her back and showed signs of strangulation, indicating she was brutally assaulted and killed. Georgia was fully clothed but her pants were slightly undone, indicating she might’ve been killed in the course of a sexual assault. Georgia was known to wear a golden chain with a small cross pendant around her neck. When she was found, Georgia was wearing a silver cross necklace that appeared to be homemade out of the parts of a motorcycle. One of Georgia’s friends told investigators that the necklace belonged to her but detectives have since confirmed the necklace did not belong to her. None of her family recognized the necklace. It is believed the necklace belonged to whoever was responsible for Georgia’s abduction and murder. No arrests have been made and the case remains unsolved.
Case Last Updated:
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