MURDER
CASE #: 1987-40
John Beasley Mabe
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Fort Jones, CA
Summary:
John Beasley Mabe, 29, was found dead near Mill Creek Bridge in the Quartz Valley area of Siskiyou County on May 5, 1987, together with 22-year-old Shonna Lee Mayes. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office determined both deaths to be homicides. Mabe was a member of the Misfits Motorcycle Club and, according to the Sheriff's Office, was involved in illicit drug sales. The double homicide has never been solved.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
John Beasley Mabe was 29 years old when he was last seen on Monday, May 4, 1987. The following day, Tuesday, May 5, 1987, he was found deceased near Mill Creek Bridge in Siskiyou County. The Sheriff's Office map places the scene along Quartz Valley Road near Mugginsville, about six miles west of Fort Jones in Scott Valley. Found with him was 22-year-old Shonna Lee Mayes; the two deaths are investigated together under the same pair of sheriff's case numbers. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office determined both deaths to be homicides. According to the Sheriff's Office, Mabe was a member of the Misfits Motorcycle Club and was involved in illicit drug sales. The agency photograph shows him bearded, wearing a cap reading "Misfits Forever". The Sheriff's Office has not publicly released the cause of death, the condition in which the two were found, or any information about suspects. The case was included on the Sheriff's Office Unsolved Siskiyou website when it launched in February 2025, which marked the first public listing of the deaths found during research for this page. No arrest has been publicly reported, and the deaths of John Mabe and Shonna Mayes remain an open homicide investigation. See also the case page for Shonna Lee Mayes.
Additional Details:
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office carries the deaths of John Mabe and Shonna Mayes under two shared case numbers and lists them together as a cold case on its Unsolved Siskiyou website. Anyone with information is asked to call the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office 24-hour dispatch center at (530) 841-2900 or to use the anonymous tip form on the Sheriff's Office Unsolved Siskiyou website (https://unsolved-siskiyou.hub.arcgis.com/).
Case Last Updated:
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Share what you learnTimeline of Events
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office launches its Unsolved Siskiyou website, listing the Mabe and Mayes deaths as an open cold case under two shared case numbers.
John Beasley Mabe and Shonna Lee Mayes are found deceased near Mill Creek Bridge in the Quartz Valley area west of Fort Jones. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office determines both deaths to be homicides.
Date last seen, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office.
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