YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.
May 24 will mark the 26th anniversary of when two young women were last seen alive in Arizona before their remains were discovered in the desert 20 miles east of Interstate 17.
Diana Shawcroft and Jennifer Lueth, both 19, had just moved to Glendale to live with Diana's sister in the summer of 1996.
The two young women left home on May 24 to visit a convenience store near 59th Avenue and Camelback Road. A store clerk observed Shawcroft and Lueth speaking to a man in a blue pickup truck. The best friends were never seen alive again.
Three months later, hunters discovered the remains of Shawcroft and Leuth in a remote desert area off Dugas Road in Yavapai County.
Investigators are still attempting to identify the killer more than two decades later.
The case was notably covered in a 2002 episode of "Unsolved Mysteries." Family members of the two women told the show's producers they believed more than one person was involved in the crime.
"Jennifer was a strong girl," Bob Lueth, Jennifer's father, said in the episode. "It wouldn't be easy for one person to overpower Jennifer alone. But with two of them, it's just sort of inconceivable to me that one person was able to do that to two girls."
Another strange element of the case occurred a couple of years after Lueth and Shawcroft were murdered.
Families of the victims created a memorial at the site where their bodies were discovered with framed pictures of Lueth and Shawcroft.
In September 2000, the photos had been mysteriously removed from the picture frames. Investigators believe the perpetrator may have taken the photos since not many people knew the exact location where the bodies were found.
Anyone with information about the case can call Yavapai Silent Witness at 1-800-932-3232 or submit a tip at www.yavapaisw.com. All tips are anonymous.
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