A Gruesome Discovery

Meanwhile, alongside Highway 119 near the mountain town of Nederland, Colorado, (about 40 miles from Bertha Heid Elementary) a witness found Tracy's red school bag sometime between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. Inside was her Pacman lunchbox. Her coat lay nearby. The witness placed the coat in the bag and left it.

About 4:30 a tourist and his son that pulled over onto a gravel road overlook along Barker Reservoir to read a historical marker discovered Tracy's body lying on the snow, one shoe and some school supplies scattered about her. Horrified, they rushed to a Sinclair gas station in Nederland to call the police.

First on the scene was a Nederland police officer and a Nederland ambulance crew. This is where an unfortunate investigation error was made. The Nederland officer allowed the EMT crew to move Tracy's body to the ambulance to attempt resuscitation, though a Boulder police officer that arrived shortly afterwards claimed it was obvious Tracy was beyond help and her body should have been left where it was to maintain the integrity of the crime scene.

Tracy's body was fully clothed when found and she had a mark or scrape on her chin, ligature marks on her wrists, and an apparent gag mark on her face. An autopsy eventually came to the conclusion that Tracy died from asphyxiation. There were signs of attempted sexual penetration, though no semen was found. Also, several fibers and hairs were found on her body and clothing. A fingerprint was found on her thigh. Microscopic metal and glass particles were also found on Tracy's body or clothes. Her time of death was estimated to be somewhere between 10:30 a.m. and noon.

The Thornton and Boulder Police Departments conducted a seemingly very thorough investigation including apparently interviewing every known sex offender in Colorado. Several suspects were unearthed by investigators, including an especially interesting suspect developed several years later by Thornton P.D. cold case detective Jim Benish. But nobody was ever arrested for Tracy Neef's slaying and it remains an open homicide case and an unsolved mystery to this day. 

The Abduction

Please note: The following information was gathered primarily from two sources. A Denver Post Cold Case Blog and the book Closed Eyes by Jim Benish. Mr. Benish is a former Thornton police detective who investigated Tracy's case in 1993. A variety of news articles available on the internet also provided some information. 

Friday, March 16, 1984, was a typical weekday for the Neef family in the Denver suburb of Thornton. Tracy's mother Susan rose very early to do her job delivering papers, leaving about 3:30 that morning. She took her young son Gary Jr. with her. Her husband Gary Sr. was still sleeping. He worked construction in nearby Commerce City. Tracy sometimes accompanied her mother on the paper routes, but chose to sleep in that morning.

Susan returned around 6:30, dropped Gary Jr. off at home, and went back out to complete her paper deliveries. Gary Sr. readied Tracy for the school day and left for his job, presumably when Susan completed her deliveries. Tracy was dressed for that particular school day in jeans with a red and yellow belt, a t-shirt that read "I'm Not Looking For Trouble", and a jacket. 

Tracy was enrolled in Bertha Heid Elementary School in Thornton. Susan was running a bit late dropping Tracy off that morning, and the school grounds were empty by the time she pulled up on the north side of the school at about 8:15. Tracy got out and went through a gate or opening in the perimeter fence around the school. She was never seen alive again, except by her killer. 

It is thought that Tracy found the doors on the north end of the building were already locked due to her being about ten minutes late to school. She likely headed around to the southwest corner of the  school, assuming that the main entrance is in the same location then that it appears to be now. But she never made it to the doors and nobody inside the school saw her that morning. The school noted her missing that day but did not call the Neef residence. Remember, this was 1984. It was a very different time.

When Susan arrived at the school about 2:45 to pick Tracy up, she could not locate her daughter. Thinking she may have already begun to walk home, about 6 blocks away, Susan left the school and went home. Tracy was not there. Susan then drove back to the school and was told by Tracy's teacher that her daughter had never been in class that day.

Susan called her husband Gary to come back from work and the two searched their Thornton neighborhood in vain until about 4:00 p.m.

Tracy was gone.

Next Chapter: A Gruesome Discovery

A Forgotten Victim: Tracy Marie Neef

On Friday, March 16, 1984*, seven-year-old Tracy Marie Neef was abducted after being dropped off at  Bertha Heid Elementary School in Thornton, Colorado, by her mother. She was never seen alive  by anybody, except her abductor and murderer, again.

Later in the day near Barker Reservoir, just outside of the mountain town of Nederland, Colorado, Tracy's body was discovered.

That was 35 years ago today. Tracy Neef, right this minute, should be celebrating her 42nd birthday.

I first heard of this case while browsing through the Colorado Bureau Of Investigation Cold Case Files. As I was going through the unsolved cases one at a time, I came upon Tracy's page. Of course, like it would for anybody, the unsolved case of a seven-year-old victim definitely got my attention. I had lived in Colorado for a few years and live in the northern suburbs of Denver. How had I never heard about this girl? I had been Googling several of the other CBI cold cases I had viewed previously to get more info. When I typed in Tracy's name I got what I felt was a stunningly low number of results. A few pages with a short summary of the crime and some mentions in true crime message board forums (usually as a side note to the Jon Benet Ramsey case) were about it. The best online info by far was a Kirk Mitchell Denver Post blog entry.

So that is the main focus of this blog. To help keep Tracy Marie Neef's memory, and her unsolved murder, in the light. To make sure she is not forgotten. To show her family and those that knew her that, though her murder has unfortunately not gotten the attention many others have, that there is somebody out there who cares.

Though I have already come upon a couple of interesting rabbit holes in the couple of weeks since I first saw Tracy's CBI page, I am just in the beginning stages of following this case. I have no delusions about solving Tracy's case. I am not an investigator, but I plan to collect as much information about this case as I can and post it here.

 If you by chance have any information pertaining to Tracy Neef's murder, I suggest you contact Detective Doug Parker of the Thornton Police Department. If their Twitter page is accurate Detective Parker is still with the Thornton P.D. and if he is no longer in charge of Tracy's case, he will surely direct you to whoever is.

Next Chapter: The Abduction

*Their seems to be a discrepancy about the date of Tracy's abduction and murder. Kirk Mitchell's blog post and all other online sources I've seen have it as March 16, 1984. The Jim Benish book I am currently reading (more on that later for sure) also has the date as March 16, 1984, but I have found one instance in the book where it is 1983. The CBI cold case page has the date as March 16, 1983 and Tracy's age at the time as six.. I'm going with the former for now. I think the 1983 must have been a mistake on the CBI page and a uncorrected typo in the Benish book. Also, Tracy's headstone picture on Find A Grave says 1984.