Elizabeth Miller--Abduction--8/16/1983--CO
Elizabeth Miller Elizabeth was 13 yrs old when she disappeared from Idaho Springs Colorado on August 16, 1983. Elizabeth's photo has been age-progressed to 35 years. She went for her morning jog and has not been seen since. She had no money or extra clothing. She was last seen wearing white jogging shorts, a faded blue T-shirt, and running shoes. She has a mole on the right side of her face above her eyebrow. She answers to "Beth." Elizabeth's picture and age progression, along with more information, can be seen at http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=603363&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

Details of Disappearance Miller was last seen jogging at 10:00 a.m. on August 16, 1983 in her hometown of Idaho Springs, Colorado. She was last seen in a park near her family's residence. Investigators believe that a male seen in the park at the same time as Miller may have been seen speaking to her. The man was driving a small red pickup truck with a white camper shell and out-of-state license plates. It has not been established if the man has any connection to Miller's disappearance, but police are interested in identifying him and questioning him. Miller's sister says a man in a red pickup truck had flirted with Miller a few days before she vanished, but the sister could not identify the man or remember very much about him or his vehicle; it is unknown whether it was the same person seen nearby when Miller vanished. Miller disappeared shortly thereafter and has not been seen again. She did not have any cash or personal belongings with her on the day she vanished. Miller normally left a note for her parents if she was going away for any length of time; she did not do so on the day of her disappearance. Miller was a basketball player at the time of her disappearance; she jogged regularly to stay in shape. She is one of seven children. At the time of her disappearance, she baby-sat to earn spending money; her baby-sitting earnings were left behind at her house when she vanished. An unidentified Ohio man has been under investigation for several years in Miller's case. Authorities believe he may have been involved in Miller's presumed abduction, but he has never been charged. Another suspect is deceased; he was murdered by his wife and mother-in-law in 1990. The man's girlfriend claimed she had helped him bury Miller in the mountains near Idaho Springs. Three cadaver dogs indicated the presence of human remains in the place the girlfriend indicated, but police excavations turned up no evidence. Miller's family believes, however, that the suspect did in fact murder her. In 1995, a serial killer from Mississippi claimed that he had killed Miller, but police did not find his story credible. In 1994, a missing children's hotline received a bizarre anonymous call about Miller's case. The caller stated that he or she had seen Miller together with Tiffany Sessions and Tracy Kroh and that the three young women were being held against their will in Austin, Texas and forced to work as prostitutes. Sessions and Kroh both disappeared in 1989, Sessions from Florida and Kroh from Pennsylvania, and no one had suggested the cases were related. The tipster claimed the three women were being held by a man named Thomas Stewart and traveling in a white van with Florida license plates and a blue/gray van with unknown license plates. Police from all three states investigated the tip but decided it was probably a hoax. In 1995, a woman police picked up in Tampa, Florida claimed to be Miller. Miller's parents flew to Florida to meet the woman, but she turned out to be someone else. Possible evidence relating to Miller's case was found in Empire, Colorado in 1994. Some bone fragments, a piece of fabric similar to canvas, and a single blonde hair was found buried near Interstate 70. The bone fragments have never been identified; police do not even know if they are human. The fabric was very degraded and appeared to have been buried for a long time. In 2004, the police sent the hair to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to test for mitochondrial DNA. They hope to conclusively link the hair to Miller's case. Miller's family had her declared legally deceased in 1994, but her case remains open and unsolved. If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Colorado Bureau Of Investigation 303-239-4222 Charley Project

New hope in old case Grand jury could probe vanishing of Beth Miller By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News June 21, 2006 Lynn Granger has hope - once again. The former mayor of Georgetown is optimistic that a grand jury may be seated this year in the decades-old vanishing and presumed murder of her sister, Beth Miller. And if a grand jury is empaneled, Granger said, she believes her younger sister's case can be resolved. Granger said there are two suspects - one dead and one still living - that a grand jury should focus on. "The D.A. agrees, the Colorado state attorney general knows of this lead and the CBI agent who worked with us all say this lead is screaming for a grand jury," said Granger, 43. Her statement was echoed by Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, who spent several years working the case for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation before being elected to his current post in 1998. "I'm ecstatic about that," Alderden said of the grand jury possibility. "This is a crime that could have been solved years ago with a grand jury or a coroner's inquest," Alderden said. "There are people out there who have information about what happened, and they haven't been forthcoming with that information. I think this is the best bet to get all the information out there. There's a family that has been left hanging for over 20 years now, without having answers as to what happened to their daughter and sister." Mark Hurlbert, district attorney for Colorado's 5th Judicial District, confirmed Tuesday that he will soon file a motion asking Chief District Judge W. Terry Ruckriegle to approve a grand jury in Beth's case. If approved, a grand jury could begin its work by the fall. Beth, just past her 14th birthday, disappeared from Idaho Springs the morning of Aug. 16, 1983, when she went for a jog. She was never seen again. Although her body has never been found, Beth - who would be 36 if still alive - was declared legally dead in July 1994. Hurlbert said there is no new evidence in the case. But he agreed that a grand jury might unlock the truth of what happened. "I believe it certainly could be" solved, Hurlbert said. "But I believe what you really need is the investigative tools of a grand jury. We have run into a bit of roadblock on what we can do," absent a grand jury's powers. Specifically, Hurlbert cited a grand jury's ability to subpoena records and to offer certain witnesses immunity in return for their testimony. Granger, who is married to Clear Creek District Judge Russell Granger and who works as a police dispatcher for the town of Black Hawk, wrote to Hurlbert about six months ago, urging more work on a lead developed more than 10 years ago by Alderden. Alderden's casework led him to a man in New Mexico, Edward Apodaca, who was murdered by his wife and mother-in-law in 1990. A former girlfriend of Apodaca's, Granger said, now believed to be living in the Denver area, allegedly told police and others that she helped murder Beth and bury her remains. Granger, who is also a former Clear Creek County sheriff's deputy and has worked on her sister's case in cooperation with the CBI, hopes a grand jury will result in the indictment of Apodaca's onetime girlfriend. Granger knows the woman's identity but did not wish to state it publicly. "It will be a lot easier on everyone involved if she were to come forward with any information she has, now," Granger said. "If we have to get as far as the grand jury, I will personally push for the most harsh sentence allowed." Alderden said he had identified three strong suspects in the case but that Apodaca and his girlfriend were the most compelling. "The girlfriend, I believe, knows where Beth Miller's body is," Alderden said. So strong has the pull of the case been on Alderden that he spent some time digging at a suspected burial sight for Beth on his last day at the CBI. "That's what we were trying to resolve for the family, primarily. The primary issue was (to) recover Beth's remains to put her to rest." Hurlbert said that, if OK'd by Ruckriegle, this would be the first grand jury in his district for at least a dozen years. Judicial districts of more than 100,000 people in Colorado are required by law to always have a sworn grand jury available, whether there is work for them or not. The 5th Judicial District includes Eagle, Summit, Clear Creek and Lake counties but is home to just less than 100,000 residents, Hurlbert said, thereby requiring a chief judge's approval for a grand jury. Hurlbert did not want to speculate on whether Ruckriegle would endorse the grand jury or not. At the prompting of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Granger has started a nonprofit support group, Foundation for Siblings of Missing and Abducted Children. She said she hopes it can be a positive resource for people who have endured the type of pain and frustration the Miller family has endured since the summer morning she lost her kid sister. "We were requesting a grand jury years ago," Granger said. "We needed a grand jury to get the suspects to talk so that we could find the body. But without the body, we couldn't get a grand jury. "It was a Catch-22.'' brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2742 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4790358,00.html

Grand Jury Sought In 1983 Case Of Missing Idaho Springs Teen Beth Miller Disappeared While Jogging POSTED: 4:22 am MDT July 26, 2006 GEORGETOWN, Colo. -- Clear Creek County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert is seeking a grand jury investigation into the suspected 1983 kidnapping of a 14-year-old who disappeared while jogging near Idaho Springs. Hurlbert said he filed his request in Clear County District Court Tuesday the behest of Beth Miller's sister, former Georgetown Mayor Lynn Granger. Granger, along with several law enforcement officials, said they believe people with knowledge of the case could be compelled to testify if subpoenaed by a grand jury. "Our investigation is kind of stalled at this point and this seems to be the best route to take," Hurlbert said. "Whether there's an indictment or not I think we should find the truth in this case." Miller disappeared on Aug. 16, 1983 while jogging along the I-70 service road east of Idaho Springs. Her body was never found and she was declared legally dead in 1994. "Somebody who we believe was involved in Beth's murder is finally going to see justice," said Granger. Hurlbert is the same D.A. who unsuccessfully prosecuted NBA star Kobe Bryant in Eagle County. "For the first time I'm letting myself think, 'We may get some answers," said Granger. "My thoughts have been nothing but getting the answers to what happened to Beth." "I just remember for weeks afterwards it was all over the newspapers (and) the fliers went up offering the $10,000 reward," said Miller's former classmate, Nanette Reimer. "As a parent I think of her every so often, when I drive through the town and when I send my daughter to the park." Granger asked for a Grand Jury investigation in 1995 but she was denied because Miller's body was not found. Miller would have been 37 years old Thursday. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9576283/detail.html

DNA Test Might Help Solve Beth Miller Case Idaho Springs Teen Missing Almost 21 Years POSTED: 9:59 am MDT July 29, 2004 UPDATED: 8:48 pm MDT July 29, 2004 DENVER -- Nearly 21 years after teenager Beth Miller disappeared, investigators hope that relatively new technology will help them find out what happened to her. Beth Miller has been missing since 1983 when she went for a jog in Idaho Springs. Miller was 14 when she disappeared after going for a jog on Aug. 16, 1983 in Idaho Springs. The only evidence discovered was found in Empire in 1994 -- a strand of hair, some bone fragments and a piece of fabric buried near Interstate 70. The strand of hair was recently sent to the FBI for genetic testing for mitochondrial DNA, a method that has been around since the early 1990s. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation only recently received funding for these expensive tests on old cases, spokesman Pete Mang said. Mitochondrial DNA is a mysterious strand of genetic material found outside the cell nucleus and apart from regular genes. Scientists believe each person's mitochondrial DNA is a thread passed through their maternal side of the family. The hair found can be compared with a sample from Miller's mother, Mang said. "We're doing this with a lot of old cases," he said. "In the last two to five years, we're doing a lot of things with DNA that we've never done before." Miller was legally declared dead at her family's request in July 1994. In February 1995, a woman picked up by police in Tampa, Fla. claimed to be Miller but that turned out to be a hoax. Miller's sister, Lynn Granger, is a dispatcher for the Black Hawk Police Department and the mayor of Georgetown. Her sister's case spurred her toward a career in law enforcement. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3592095/detail.html

Hurlbert seeks grand jury for 1983 teen missing near Idaho Springs Several law enforcement officials believe people with knowledge of the case could be compelled to testify if subpoenaed by a grand jury THE ASSOCIATED PRESS July 26, 2006 GEORGETOWN — Clear Creek County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, who also prosecutes in Summit County, is seeking a grand jury investigation into the suspected 1983 kidnapping of a 14-year-old who disappeared while jogging near Idaho Springs. Hurlbert said he filed his request in Clear County District Court Tuesday the behest of Beth Miller’s sister, former Georgetown Mayor Lynn Granger. Granger, along with several law enforcement officials, believe people with knowledge of the case could be compelled to testify if subpoenaed by a grand jury. “Our investigation is kind of stalled at this point and this seems to be the best route to take,” Hurlbert said. “Whether there’s an indictment or not I think we should find the truth in this case.” Miller disappeared on Aug. 16, 1983. Her body has not been found and she was declared legally dead in 1994. http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20060726/NEWS/60726018

Colorado teen never returned from morning jog Tue January 20, 2009 By Rupa Mikkilineni Nancy Grace Producer NEW YORK (CNN) -- Beth Miller, a high school student on summer break, went out for a morning jog on a bright August morning more than 25 years ago and never returned home. Beth Miller was 14 in August 1983, when she went out for a jog and never returned. The 14-year-old left her home in Idaho Springs, Colorado, about 10 a.m. August 16, 1983. When she wasn't back that afternoon, her family called police. Miller normally jogged in a nearby park. Investigators say she may have been seen last talking with a man who was behind the wheel of a red pickup with a white camper top and out-of-state license plates. Immediately after Miller's disappearance, many red pickups were stopped, but none could be linked to Miller's disappearance. Miller was not carrying any cash or personal belongings. Family and friends say she always left a note for her parents if she planned to be gone long. But on the day she vanished, Miller left no note, her family told police. She didn't take the money she earned babysitting. Her parents insisted she would not have left intentionally for such a long time. Over the years, the Beth Miller case has taken many twists and turns. Most recently, a grand jury investigation was called in 2007, but no indictments were returned. Several theories are still being investigated, but over the years, no clues have surfaced. No remains have been found that could be identified as Miller's. Police had suspicions that an Ohio man may have been involved in Miller's abduction, but he was never charged. A serial killer from Mississippi claimed he had killed Beth Miller, but police dismissed the lead because his story didn't add up. The most credible lead focused on a New Mexico man named Edward Apodaca, who is now dead. His former girlfriend claimed that she had helped him bury Miller in the mountains near Idaho Springs, but when police searched with cadaver dogs and excavated the area, no remains were found. Several sightings of women thought to be Beth Miller have been reported. In 1995, a woman who was picked up by police in Tampa, Florida, claimed she was Beth Miller. Miller's family flew down to meet the woman, only to find that she was not their daughter. Bone fragments, deteriorated cloth and a single blond hair were found in Empire, Colorado, in 1994. These items could not be identified. When newer forensic techniques were developed along with DNA testing a decade later, police sent the evidence to the FBI lab. "Those results were inconclusive and the bone fragments were identified as animal, not human remains," said Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert. "It is an open investigation, and with help from the public or tips, we may still be able to solve this case," Hurlbert said. Miller's family members say they believe the theory that Edward Apodaca murdered Beth with the help of his girlfriend. But there is no corroborating evidence besides the statement of Apodaca's girlfriend. Beth Miller would be 39 years old. She was described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall with blond hair, blue eyes and a mole over her right eyebrow. She was last seen wearing white jogging shorts, a blue T-shirt and running shoes. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Beth Miller may call the Eagle County District Attorney's tip line at 970-328-6947 http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/20/grace.coldcase.miller/index.html