Victoria Vickie Lynne McDonough was 22 when her body was found on November 27, 1974, concealed under an old mattress near a railroad access lane in Clay-Township, Indiana. An autopsy showed two gunshot wounds to the back of her neck, described as execution-style; the body had been there for several days. Identification was slow because of decomposition and the victim’s dental records had been destroyed by her recently retired dentist. A friend recognized a sandal in released photos, and anthropologists from Indiana University later confirmed her identity.

Vickie had moved to the South Bend area about a year before her death. Her parents publicly accused local police of a botched investigation and suggested a possible cover-up, citing rumors of her involvement with a city or county official; no evidence supporting those claims is reported. In June 1975 investigators named a person of interest, William J. Billy Mack, who had left the area for Monterey, California, and was later questioned while incarcerated for auto theft, but no evidence linked him to the crime and no charges were filed. The case remains unsolved.

Did anyone in the community have contact with Vickie in late November 1974 or information about her relationships that could help investigators?