1h 16min, jun 19, 1975 y - Mona Jean Gallegos ABDUCTION & HOMICIDE

Description:

Mona Jean Gallegos was likely born in 1952 or 1953. She went by the nickname "Tuni" among family, and she had five siblings, two sisters and three brothers. Having previously lived in Colorado, the Gallegos family moved to southern CA in 1968; Mona attended Wilson High School in LA. In 1971 the family returned to CO, which is where Mona graduated from high school that same year.

The Gallegos family eventually moved back to southern CA, where they lived at 4944 Vincent Ave in Covina, LA County, CA. Mona briefly attended Mt San Antonio College, then decided to go to work full time; she was a seamstress for awhile, then got a job as a waitress. For the last six months before her disappearance, Mona had been a waitress at Coffee Dan's in West Covina. She had reportedly planned to enroll again at Mt SAC in the fall, "probably to prepare for a career in social work."

At the time of her disappearance Mona, 22, lived at 4944 Vincent Ave with her mother, Alice Gallegos, and two of her younger brothers, Tony, 17, and George, 16. She also had two married sisters, Martha, 24, and Virginia, 20, as well as another younger brother, Sonny, 19, though it seems that none of them lived with the rest of the family.

On the night of Wednesday, June 18 1975, Mona and her mother were watching the news on TV shortly after 11pm, when Mona, "received a call from an auto salesman she had met while considering the purchase of a new car. She and the salesman had become friends and he asked if she would come over and see him. [Alice] said it was unlike [Mona] to leave the house that late at night and especially odd that she would want to drive to Alhambra to see a man she had met only recently. 'I didn't want her to go,' said [Alice]. 'I told her it was too late. But it was as if she had to go.'" Mona left in her car, a 1970 Pontiac.

She was last seen alive leaving the auto-salesman friend's residence in Alhambra, CA to return to her family's home; according to Google maps, the drive from Alhambra to 4944 Vincent Ave, Covina is about 31min long. While most sources state that Mona left the residence at about 1am on June 19, one clipping said that, "The friend later told police [Mona] had left to return home about 12:15am on June 19." This auto-salesman friend was cleared by police.

Shortly after 1am on June 19, Mona's car ran out of fuel. At 4:45am, her abandoned car was found by California Highway Patrol parked on the shoulder of the eastbound San Bernardino Freeway near the Santa Anita Ave offramp in El Monte. It was locked and still out of gas. According to one clipping, the car was found by CHP with its emergency flasher lights on.

There was an emergency freeway call box just a few yards away from Mona's car, and multiple others near the spot; however, officials stated that no calls were made about her vehicle. There was also an all-night gas station at the end of the off-ramp; however, the service station attendant there told police that he had not seen her.

Mona was reported missing by her family on June 20, 1975. Since early on the police have treated the case as a possible kidnapping. They theorized that a motorist possibly offered Mona a ride to the service station, and then abducted her. Mona's parents stated that there was no reason for Mona to disappear of her own accord. According to investigators, "There was no evidence of foul play, no signs of a struggle. And there was no reason for her to run off." Mona's disappearance was compared to that of Robin Graham by the media from the very beginning.

Mona was last seen wearing a red and white pants suit, white shoes, and a gold watch and chain. She was 5'1 and 128 lbs with brown hair. She also has small scars on her throat and the back of her right hand. Police conducted multiple searches for her and investigated thoroughly. By July 3, "widespread publicity about the case ha[d] produced numerous calls from persons who claim to have seen Miss Gallegos, but none could be verified."

According to Mona's mother, Alice, Mona's long-time boyfriend, a recent college graduate, had been traveling in Canada at the time and as of July 3 did not yet know that Mona was missing. I could not find anything else on this supposed boyfriend.

On the evening of Friday, November 28, 1975, a skeleton was found by two teenage boys who were hiking in a remote Riverside ravine. Five days later, the skeletal remains were identified through dental charts as being Mona's. Her body was found in a remote, brush-covered, hilly area on the southern edge of the city of Riverside. COD couldn't be determined, and no injuries were evident, but police believe(d) that she had been murdered. She had been dead for about 6 months.

According to Wikipedia, Mona Jean's case is thought to be potentially linked to those of Robin Graham, Cheri Jo Bates, Cindy Mellin, Rose Tashman, Kathleen Johns, Christine Eastin, and Ernestine Terrello. These cases are known by some online — and referred to in this timeline — as the Bad Samaritan Murders.

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CONFIRMATION OF COMPLETION DATE: June 1, 2025
LAST UPDATED: June 12, 2025

Cases mentioned above that are also/will be present on this timeline:
Bad Samaritan Murders
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LUNAR PHASE: waxing gibbous
ZODIAC SIGN: gemini
DAY OF WEEK: Thursday
EVENTS: June 21 = Summer Solstice (2 days later)

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