SYLLANNIA EDWARDS - 15 yo (2003) - Albuquerque NM/Lawton OK

The state Office of the Medical Investigator has identified an
eighth victim among the remains found buried on Albuquerque's west side
as a runaway from Oklahoma.
Albuquerque police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby said Friday Syllannia
Edwards was 15-years-old when she was reported missing in Lawton,
Oklahoma in August 2003.
Hamby said Edwards is the first of the identified victims to come from outside New Mexico.
Police unearthed the remains of 11 victims and a fetus in the mass grave in February.
The medical examiner's director of operations Amy Boule says
employees compared a forensic sketch they made of the victim based on a
skull with photos of missing children posted online.
Boule says they found Edwards' photograph and a positive identification was made through dental records.

Investigator said a serial killer known as the West Mesa Bone Collector is responsible for the murder of an Lawton teen.
Investigators in Nevada found 11 women and one fetus buried in the
West Mesa back in February. Seven of the victims were identified early
on, but on Friday, the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator
identified the eighth victim as a runaway from Lawton, Oklahoma.
Albuquerque police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby identified 15-year-old Syllannia Edwards as the victim.


According to the missing person report filed with Lawton police back
in August of 2003, Edwards ran away from a girls group home called
Parker Pointe in Lawton. The home is geared towards young girls who are
victims of neglect and abuse. Edwards was in DHS custody at the time
she went missing.
Investigators said the victim's family is based in Texas but have
been told Edwards entered Oklahoma DHS custody at the age of five after
her mother went to jail.
New Mexico investigators said not only is Edwards the youngest victim, but also the first to be from outside New Mexico.
The positive identification came after employees compared a forensic
sketch they made of the victim based on a skull with photos of missing
children posted online. They then used dental records to secure the
identification.
Three other women have yet to be identified. Investigators said the
West Mesa Bone Collector is still on the loose, and police have no
suspects.

West Mesa Serial Killer--$100,000 Reward


On February 2, 2009, Christine Ross and her dog Ruca left their home on Albuquerque's west side to go for a walk. Ruca found a large bone protruding from the earthen trail.
Christine felt that the bone didn't look normal. She took a picture of it and then sent a text message to her sister, a registered nurse. A little while later, Christine's sister contacted her and told her that the bone resembled a human femur.
Christine immediately notified the Albuquerque Police Department and it was quickly determined that the bone was in fact human. During the ensuing weeks, detectives uncovered the skeletal remains of 11 women and one unborn child, all buried in makeshift graves.
Forensic investigators have now identified all 11 victims. Ten of the victims; Monica Candelaria, Victoria Chavez, Virginia Cloven, Syllannia Edwards, Cinnamon Elks, Doreen Marquez, Julie Nieto, Veronica Romero, Evelyn Salazar, and Michelle Valdez; all have a common link. They have ties to both drugs and prostitution. The eleventh victim, Jamie Barela, has no known involvement in these particular activities.
Four of the eleven victims were identified within the last three months.
Using a sketch and dental records, the Office of the Medical Investigator identified Syllannia Edwards on November 13, 2009. Law enforcement authorities in Lawton, Oklahoma had classified her as an endangered runaway and reported her missing in 2003. In May of 2004, Edwards had been seen associating with prostitutes on East Colfax Avenue in Aurora, Colorado. She may have been staying at the Ranger Motel. Edwards was seen in the company of three other women: Lucretia, Ty and Diamond. She might have been using the nicknames "Mimi" or "Chocolate." Edwards was 15 years old when last seen.
Using DNA evidence, forensic experts at the University of North Texas identified the remains of Virginia Cloven and Evelyn Salazar on November 17, 2009. Both women were reported missing in 2004 and are from the Albuquerque area.
The eleventh victim, 15 year old, Jamie Barela, was identified on January 26, 2010. She was last seen leaving a family gathering with her cousin, Evelyn Salazar, during the month of April 2004. Salazar had been identified as victim of the serial killer approximately two months earlier. Both young women were heading to a park near San Mateo and Gibson in southeast Albuquerque when they disappeared.
Detectives are currently looking for leads and would like to know more about the victims. Investigators would like to hear from women who may have been working the streets of Albuquerque between 2001 and 2005, or anyone who may have solicited the victims during that period of time.
For more about this case visit West Mesa Bone Collector at America's Most Wanted.
A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this crime.
Anyone with information concerning the victims and/or potential suspects is asked to contact the 118^th Street Task Force at 1-877-765-8273 or Crime Stoppers at (505) 843-STOP.

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http://www.cabq.gov/police/ccw/victims/118_street/index_118th.htm

On This Day In True Crime A Woman Stumbles On A Serial Killer's Bone Collection

Sunday 2nd February 2014
By Niamh O' Connor

On February 2, 2009, Christine Ross took her dog, Ruca for a walk on the west side of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States.

When the dog started to dig up a large bone, she took a photo with her phone and sent it to her sister, a nurse, who thought it looked a lot like a human femur.

Christine notified the police and the subsequent investigation discovered the buried remains of eleven women and an unborn foetus in the immediate area.

The case is unsolved and the perpetrator has been dubbed the ‘West Mesa Bone Collector’.

The West Mesa is the name of the elevated area of land where the bodies were found.

No suspects have been identified, but a serial killer is believed responsible. All the women were young, most Hispanic, and most involved in drugs and prostitution.

Forensic investigators identified all 11 victims. Ten - Monica Candelaria, Victoria Chavez, Virginia Cloven, Syllannia Edwards, Cinnamon Elks, Doreen Marquez, Julie Nieto, Veronica Romero, Evelyn Salazar, and Michelle Valdez - had a common link.

They had ties to both drugs and prostitution. The eleventh victim, Jamie Barela, has no known involvement in these particular activities.

Syllannia Edwards  was a 15-year-old runaway from Oklahoma reported missing in 2003. In May of 2004, she had been seen associating with prostitutes on East Colfax Avenue in Aurora, Colorado. She may have been staying at the Ranger Motel.

Edwards was seen in the company of three other women: Lucretia, Ty and Diamond. She might have been using the nicknames "Mimi" or "Chocolate." Edwards was 15 years old when last seen.

Another victim, Jamie Barela was also only fifteen years old. She was identified on January 26, 2010. She was last seen leaving a family gathering with her cousin, Evelyn Salazar, during the month of April 2004.

Salazar had been identified as victim of the serial killer approximately two months earlier. Both young women were heading to a park near San Mateo and Gibson in southeast Albuquerque when they disappeared.

The authorities have also linked the murders to an annual state fair which attracts large numbers of prostitutes to the area.

An $100,000 reward has been put up for information leading to the West Mesa Bone Collector.

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/donal-macintyre-s-crime-cafe/true-crime-calendar-unknown-serial-killers-bone-collection-found