An 8-year-old South Florida girl disappeared in 1984. A new tip may lead to her remains
A new tip has revived a 35-year-old case involving the disappearance of an 8-year-old South Florida girl.
Calling it “one of the best and most credible leads” to date, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw briefly discussed the case Monday morning near the area where Christy Luna was last seen and investigators are now digging.
“We believe that this is another dot in connecting all the dots to hopefully solve this case and bring some closure here,” Bradshaw told a group of reporters standing in front the Greenacres Historical Society, just west of Lake Worth.
On May 27, 1984, the 8-year-old Greenacres girl left home and walked a few blocks to Belk’s General Store to grab cat food for her kittens. She was never seen again.
Bradshaw confirmed that a group of Florida Gulf Coast University forensic anthropologists were aiding investigators at the dig site near Belk’s but wouldn’t offer any additional information. A later press conference featuring the chair of FGCU’s department of justice studies offered some insight as to why their presence was crucial.
“Forensic anthropologists really study human skeletal remains,” said Dr. Heather Walsh-Haney, who focuses primarily on forensic anthropology. “So it’s the analysis of forensic anthropology methods to skeletal remains that we help read bones to figure out who someone was, how they died and when they may have died.”
The tip, according to Bradshaw, came from someone who watched a documentary about Christy’s disappearance. The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office’s social media team produced and released the documentary in May.
Bradshaw was joined by Christy’s mother, Jennie Johnson, who expressed her gratitude to PBSO for its continued efforts.
“It’s been 35 years, two months and nine days today,” Johnson said. “I think we’re going to bring Christy home. We are going to bring Christy home.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2019 at 8:34 PM.
