Left: Deborah circa, 1974
Right: Age Progressed to age 53
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: August 4, 1974
Missing From: Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: October 20, 1958
Age: 15 years old
Height and Weight: 5’4″ and 115 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Brown hair, Brown eyes, Deborah has a circular shaped growth on her right ear, she wears a full set of false teeth/dentures
NCMEC Number: 603810
Details of Disappearance
Deborah Meyer was last seen in Rawlins, Wyoming on August 4th 1974. She was reported last seen departing her family members residence near Seventh and Spruce Streets and was planning to walk to a local movie theater to see a movie. Deborah never arrived to the movie theater and never returned to her relatives house. She has never been seen or heard from again. Deborah did not live in Wyoming but was visiting a family member on the day of her disappearance.
Authorities initially treated Deborahs case as that of a runaway but after much time had passed, they believed she was the victim of an involuntary disappearance. They believe she was abducted by a non family member as she walked to the movies that day.
Deborah was the third female to disappear in Rawlins during a 7 week period. On July 4th 1974, two 19 year females, Carlene Brown and Christy Gross, attended the Carbon County rodeo and disappeared afterwards. Accounts differ as to where there car was found when they were reported missing.
Some agencies state that the car was found in the parking area for the rodeo while others stated that it was found in Worland, Wyoming, 200 miles away from the sight of their disappearance. Authorities also initially believed the girls to have left on their own accord but after about a week, they decided they did not.
On August 23rd 1974, 10 year old Jayleen Banker attended a Rawlins Rodeo when she became separated from her friends. She was last seen standing by a merry go round ride. She never returned home and was never seen again. Authorities immediately treated her disappearance as suspicious and her case became very publicized after it occurred.
On April 24th 1975, a man who was walking his dog through a field discovered Jayleen’s decomposed and partially clothed body face down in a brush. Jayleen was killed by a blow to the head and her death is classified as a homicide. On October 27th 1983, a pair of siblings who were testing their dads new truck discovered the skeletal remains of Christy Gross. She was murdered by two heavy blows to the head.
Authorities suspect that the cases are linked as they happened in the same time period and the same area. Authorities have named several local suspects in the cases but no one has been arrested in relation to them. Authorities and locals have also named Ted Bundy as a possible suspect in the cases. This possibility has been deemed unlikely because Ted was jailed in Colorado at the time of Carlene and Christys disappearance. There is also no evidence that links him to the crimes.
Authorities suspect that Royal Russel Long may have been involved in the girls’ disappearances. He is a convicted rapist and predator. In 1984, he abducted Sharon Baldeagle and her friend, Sandi, and beat them and raped them. Sandi escaped from his home but entire authorities could arrest him he fled with Sharon and she was never seen again.
Long was apprehended in New Mexico a year after Sharons abduction. He was charged with kidnapping Sharon and in addition to that, he was charged with the Oklahoma 1981 abductions and presumed murders of Cinda Leanne Pallett and Charlotte June Kinsey. Those charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence but he is the prime suspect in the case.
Long lived in the Rawlins area at the time of the disappearances and worked at the local fairs and carnivals that took place during those times. Long died in 1993 of a heart attack on the prison yard. He was never convicted of any case besides Sharon.
At the time of her disappearance, Deborah lived in Red Lodge Montana and was described as a well behaved teenager at the time. Her family never believed she had runaway. Her father, Donald Meyer, passed away in 2011 and her mother, Diane Meyer, passed away in 2018. Her siblings and extended family are still alive.
Deborah’s case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected. Some agencies might give her date of birth as October 20th 1959.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Carbon County Sheriffs Office 307-324-2776
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Rawlins Four, Cinda Palette, Charlotte Kinsey, Sharon Baldeagle | DARK MATTERS #49