MURDER
CASE #: 1987-41
Shonna Lee Mayes
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Fort Jones, CA
Summary:
Shonna Lee Mayes, 22, was found dead near Mill Creek Bridge in the Quartz Valley area of Siskiyou County on May 5, 1987, together with 29-year-old John Beasley Mabe. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office determined both deaths to be homicides. According to the Sheriff's Office, Mayes was a member of the Misfits Motorcycle Club and was involved in illicit drug sales. The double homicide has never been solved.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
Shonna Lee Mayes was 22 years old when she was last seen on Monday, May 4, 1987. The following day, Tuesday, May 5, 1987, she 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 her was 29-year-old John Beasley Mabe; 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, Mayes was a member of the Misfits Motorcycle Club and was involved in illicit drug sales. 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 Shonna Mayes and John Mabe remain an open homicide investigation. See also the case page for John Beasley Mabe.
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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