Burleigh, circa 1977

Lou Ellen Burleigh
Missing since September 11, 1977 from Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

• Date Of Birth: October 26, 1955
• Age at Time of Disappearance: 21 years old
• Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8; 130 lbs.
• Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; hazel eyes.
• Clothing: A Iong-sleeved white blouse with blue and orange stripes, jeans and desert boots.
• Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Ellen Burleigh disappeared in 1977. She had graduated from Pleasant Hill High School and gone on to Heald Business College, where she had done so well that the school hired her. One day she answered a call from a man looking to open a new office for the Helena Rubinstein cosmetics company in Pleasant Hill.
Ellen set up an interview the following day, Saturday, Sept. 10. But when she arrived at the Regency Plaza Shopping Center on Contra Costa Boulevard, the man told her the shopping center was still under construction and he'd have to interview her in his van. Ellen was uneasy, but the man did nothing untoward. He called later and asked her to come back the following day, to talk again. Ellen went, but she never came back. Police have never publicly identified a suspect.
The "employer" is described as being 45 - 50 years old with a medium build. He was White and had graying hair, which he combed over to conceal a bald spot. His van was yellow / orange with multi-colored red and blue swirls painted on the vehicle's sides. The van had porthole-style windows. Foul play is suspected.

2008 Burleigh has been linked to the I-5 Strangler, Roger Reece Kibbe. He is being charged with the murder of six women.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Walnut Creek Police Department
925-935-6400

Agency Case Number: 77-6555

NCIC Number: M-648525385
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
California Department of Justice
The Contra Costa Times
Lodi News