Stretching from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, is Interstate 80, or, more simply, I-80. This critical transcontinental artery traverses through the northern part of Nevada where some of the most unforgiving and lifeless areas in the entire country are. There are times people could travel along this road and see nothing save for desert and tumbleweeds. As a result, this part of I-80 has earned the sad nickname "The Big Lonely." Tragically, however, there has been a string of unsolved murders and disappearances along this Nevada highway which lead some to wonder whether a sinister serial killer—or killers—is the culprit.
Interstate 80, or I-80, is a long, desolate stretch of road that cuts across northern Nevada. You could drive for hours and never see another vehicle or person.
The area between Lovelock and Winnemucca valley has seen several disappearances over the years.
On 21 September 1978, 73-year-old Nan Dixon was en route from California to Seven Troughs, Nevada, to visit her brother. She would never arrive. Her vehicle was eventually found in 1982 near Seven Troughs in an area that had previously been searched. Despite a strange note and several empty cartons of cigarettes which were not the brand Ms. Dixon smoked, there were no other clues as to her disappearance.
Then, on 14 February 2006, also near Lovelock, 62-year-old Judith Casida disappeared.
Her vehicle was found in perfect condition a few weeks later on a dirt road on the Pumpernickel Valley exit of I-80. The last time she was seen was at a Lovelock McDonald's right before she disappeared. Ms. Casida has never been found.
On 13 April 2011, 86-year-old World War II veteran Patrick Carnes was pulled over by Nevada Highway Patrol on I-80 near Wells while driving back home to Reno.
Nine hours later, Carnes' green Subaru was spotted 150 miles away near the I-80 exit to Pumpernickel Valley. Neither Carnes nor his 100-pound Akita Lucky have ever been seen again.
At the time Carnes was pulled over, he was following an 18-wheeler who had also been pulled over at that time. Carnes told the officer he was following the trucker because he didn't like driving at night and the trucker was going to Elko. Officers had no clues as the dash cam footage of the truck was blurry and nobody ever came forward.
Also in 2011, a young man disappeared near Dugway, and an elderly hitchhiker vanished in Humboldt County.
Humboldt County Undersheriff Curtiss Kull was investigating Carnes' disappearance, and he also believes these other two cases are related.
Over the past three decades, there have been hundreds of mysterious disappearances and deaths along the stretch of I-80 that runs through Utah, Nevada, and California.
In some cases, human remains have been found, sometimes burned beyond recognition.
Other murders were committed along I-80 years ago.
In July 1972, a nude woman in her early 20's was found murdered and posed in a cross-like manner. She had been shot by a .22-caliber gun.
Then, on 16 November 1993, an unidentified woman was found at the Shafter exit.
The nude body had been beaten, shot with a small-caliber gun, and posed in a cross-like manner as well. Both of these murders remain unsolved.
These disappearances have led some people (including law enforcement officers) to surmise that, perhaps, a killer or killers who are working as long-haul truckers might be prowling desolate I-80 and committing thrill kills.
Because of the large number of disappearances and deaths, the FBI has created a task force dedicated to investigating I-80 cases.
Have you heard about these unsolved murders and disappearances? Do you have any information to share? Please comment below.
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