Las Vegas Police Seek Ohio's Help Solving 1979 Murder

LVMPD is asking the public for more information about Gwenn Marie Story, a Cincinnati native found dead in Las Vegas in 1979. Credit: Photo: Provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

In a significant development following a 44-year investigation, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) cold case section has identified a female homicide victim as Gwenn Marie Story, a Cincinnati native.

According to a LVMPD news release, Story’s body was found on August 14, 1979 by a passerby walking through an open field, once the site of the El Rancho Vegas Hotel and Casino, near Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Clark County Coroner’s office ruled Story’s death a homicide, but her identity was unknown at the time. The murder case of “Sahara Sue Doe” remained unsolved for years, eventually falling under the purview of the LVMPD Homicide Cold Case Section.

In September 2022, LVMPD cold case investigators requested a genealogy investigation from Othram, a company specializing in forensic genetic genealogy to resolve unsolved murders. The test helped investigators identify potential Sue Doe family members, who offered their DNA for comparison.

On Nov. 15, 2023, Othram officially confirmed the positive identification of Sahara Sue Doe as Gwenn Marie Story from Cincinnati.

Story’s family told investigators that the 19-year-old left Cincinnati in the summer of 1979 with two male friends to locate her biological father in California, according to LVMPD. That’s when all communication with Story stopped. LVMPD said the two male friends returned to Cincinnati that August without Story.

LVMPD is asking the public for more information about Story and the two men who accompanied her to Las Vegas in 1979. Anonymous information can be shared by contacting the LVMPD homicide section at 702-828-3521 or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com.

Originally published by CityBeat.

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