MURRAY, Utah — Murray didn't seem to have a dark history in the 70s, but even when a 29-year-old pregnant nurse went missing, it didn't create the shockwaves many expected.
"A pregnant woman who's a nurse, who doesn't have any sort of red flags in her life goes missing? Right now, you can imagine what the reaction to that would be... cases from back then were not investigated as thoroughly as they would be today," said Karra Porter, co-founder of the Utah Cold Case Coalition.
Linda Peterson was last seen in September 1978. According to the Murray City Police Department, her husband reported she was last seen near 2100 South and 700 East, where she told him she was going on a trip to Kentucky with friends. She was never seen again.
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On Thursday, police said they had made a significant breakthrough in the cold case, identifying two biological siblings of Peterson's nearly five decades after she disappeared.
"Within the first week of opening this up, what we were able to do is identify two of her natural siblings, which is a big deal when we have a missing persons case," said Detective Kaylene Gruendell of the Murray City Police Department.
The case had stalled after investigators discovered Peterson was adopted in California with no father identified. However, after obtaining records from California courts, detectives were able to track down siblings who were willing to provide DNA samples.
"This is a huge thing for this case, and the reason is, is any unidentified body that we have had between 1978 and now we've never been able to test to find out if it is our missing persons case," Gruendell said.
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Porter, whose organization has been following the case closely, believes this development is promising.
"I know the power of DNA, and it's exciting," she said.
According to Porter, missing person cases seem rare for the Murray area. She noted she has only worked with one other missing person's case from Murray.
Police acknowledge they're racing against time to solve the decades-old mystery.
"It's 47 years later, so we are running out of time to find anyone who knew her that we could possibly interview," Gruendell said.
The department is urging anyone with information about Peterson to come forward, especially if it might help provide answers to her family.
"Families are always wanting answers...it mattered in their lives...the victim's photo was still on their mantle," Porter said.
Murray police remain committed to resolving the case regardless of how much time has passed.
"When you entrust us to find your loved one, it doesn't matter how much time goes by. That's our job," Gruendell said. "And our job that we were entrusted with was to bring her home."
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