Left and Right: Lynette circa, 1975
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: May 6, 1975
Missing From: Pocatello, Bannock County, Idaho
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: July 31, 1962
Age: 12 years old
Height and Weight: 5’2″ and 110 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Brown hair, Blue eyes, Culver has a small mole on her lower left cheek, she appeared older then her actual age in 1975
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A maroon jacket with a fur color, a red checkered shirt, a pair of blue jeans
NCMEC Number: 666695
Details of Disappearance
Lynette Dawn Culver was last seen in Pocatello, Idaho on May 6th 1975. She left Alameda Junior High School for her lunch break and she never returned to school afterwards. Later that afternoon, she was witnessed getting into a bus at Hawthorne Junior High School. She was never seen or heard from again.
Authorities initially believed that Lynette had left on her own accord and may have traveled to a nearby Indian Reservation. But when so much time had passed and no one had heard or seen Culver, authorities began to suspect that something else had happened to Culver. Authorities suspect that she was abducted and murdered.
Ted Bundy confessed to abducting and murdering Lynette before his January 24th 1989 execution. He stated that he took Lynette to a Holliday Inn where he raped her and drowned her in a bath tub. He told authorities that he dumped Lynette in what they assume to be the snake river. While Bundy did provide personal details about Lynette that only she could’ve told him, they have never confirmed his statements.
Authorities suspect that someone else may have been responsible for Lynette’s abduction. She was the first of a series of young females to go missing in Pocatello, Idaho during an 8 year span. On July 22nd 1978, two young females named Tina Anderson and Patricia Campbell both disappeared from a festival. Then in June of 1981, 14 year old Linda Smith was abducted from her home on Eighth Avenue in Pocatello. The final girl to disappear was Cindy Bringhurst who vanished while she was babysitting a 2 year old child at an apartment in Pocatello, Idaho.
The skeletal remains of Patricia Campbell and Tina Anderson were found in Oneida County, Idaho by hunters in October of 1981. An unidentified human skull was also found in the vicinity of that site years later and its speculated that the person may have been killed by the same person who murdered Tina and Patricia. The body of Linda Smith was discovered in a Ravine above Hospital Way in May of 1982. Cindy Bringhurst’s body was found in the vicinity of Mink Creek a month after her disappearance. Lynette is the only missing girl who has not been found.
All of the cases remain unsolved and authorities believe they may be connected. They have not been officially linked but it was noted how unusual it was that all of these girls vanished from the same area during an 8 year period. Authorities hope to use new technology to solve the girls’s murders and find Lynette’s remains.
Ted Bundy remains a suspect in Lynette’s disappearance along with the disappearances of Donna Manson, Georgeann Hawkins, Nancy Wilcox, Susan Curtis, Denise Oliverson, Vicki Hollar, Rita Jolly, Julie Cunningham, Nancy Baird, and Ann Marie Burr. He was also questioned in regards to the 1974 disappearance of Laurie Partridge but he’s not considered a suspect in that case.
At the time of her disappearance, Lynette was a 7th grade student at Alameda Junior High School and was a good student, she did have some problems with school truancy at the time. She had a good relationship with her family at the time and was the youngest of 3 siblings. One of her siblings passed away before she was born.
She had moved from Washington to Idaho in 1967 and lived with her family on Fairbanks Street. She was described as a normal preteen at the time of her 1975 disappearance and she made no indication of wanting to runaway.
Lynette’s disappearance remains unsolved and her case was never officially closed.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Pocatello Police Department 208-234-6100
Source Information
Idaho State Journal 02/05/2018
Idaho State Journal 04/17/2014
Oneida County Jane Doe – Unidentified Wiki
Idaho State Journal 08/20/2018