12 Creepy Unsolved Murders That Took Place at Rest Stops

Rest stops are supposed to be the “safe pause” in the middle of a long drive: bathrooms, vending machines, a stretch for your legs, and maybe a suspiciously heroic cup of gas-station coffee. Most of the time, that’s exactly what they areboring in the best way.

But rest areas and service plazas sit at a weird intersection of modern life: anonymous strangers, constant movement, and a built-in escape route that points in every direction. When something bad happens, the evidence can vanish as fast as a semi merges back onto the highway.

Below are 12 real, unsettling, and still-unsolved murder cases where rest stops were centralsometimes as the crime scene, sometimes as the last known location, and sometimes as the place where a victim was found. The goal here isn’t to sensationalize tragedy (the victims deserve better than that). It’s to understand why these cases go coldand what patterns keep showing up when highways become hiding places.

Why Rest Stops Can Be Hard Places to Solve Crimes

Short timelines. Rest stops are designed for quick visits. That means a narrow window to catch suspicious behavior on camera, collect witness statements, or even notice something’s wrong.

High turnover of strangers. Visitors are often from out of town, sometimes from out of state. Tracking witnesses later can be toughespecially if they didn’t realize at the time that what they saw mattered.

Easy exits. An offender can leave immediately and blend into traffic. By the time law enforcement arrives, the person may be countiesor statesaway.

Rest areas are “in-between” spaces. Jurisdiction can get complicated: state police, local sheriffs, highway patrol, and sometimes multiple agencies may be involved depending on where the incident happened and where the victim is found.

1) Frederick Allan Gourley I-20 East Rest Area, Conyers, Georgia (1985)

What’s known

Frederick Allan Gourley was found dead at the I-20 East Rest Area in Conyers, Georgia. The case is decades old and remains open, sitting in that frustrating category where investigators know something happenedbut not enough to name the right person.

Why it’s still unsolved

Rest areas are busy, but they’re also anonymous. If the crucial witness didn’t come forwardor didn’t realize they’d seen something importanttime works against the case. Evidence degrades, memories blur, and leads dry up.

2) Alfred Vernon Houle Baldock Rest Area, Interstate 5, Oregon (1985)

What’s known

Alfred Vernon Houle was found murdered at the Baldock Rest Area on I-5 in Oregon. According to investigators, the scene didn’t clearly point to a simple robbery, which makes motive harder to pin down.

Why it’s still unsolved

When a case doesn’t scream “obvious motive,” investigators often have to test multiple theories at once: was it a conflict with a stranger, a road-rage type escalation, or something targeted that just happened to intersect with a rest stop?

3) Jack Andrews Litchfield Rest Area, Route 8, Connecticut

What’s known

Jack Andrews was killed, and Connecticut authorities have publicly asked for help in solving the case. The Litchfield rest area connection matters because it suggests a meeting point: a place where someone could approach without raising alarms.

Why it’s still unsolved

Rest areas can erase the “social context” investigators rely on. At a home, workplace, or bar, there’s a web of relationships to map. At a rest stop, you’re often left with a list of vehicles and a timeline that’s mostly blank.

4) Jackie Liriano Last Seen at Southington Rest Area, Connecticut (1985)

What’s known

Jackie Liriano was last seen at the Southington, Connecticut rest area (eastbound). Days later, she was found along I-84 in Tolland. The rest stop is a crucial anchor point in the timeline: one of the last places where another person might have noticed who she was withor who was watching her.

Why it’s still unsolved

Cases like this often hinge on one detail: a car description, a conversation overheard, a person lingering too long. If that detail didn’t get reported quicklyor wasn’t captured clearlyinvestigators may be left reconstructing the past from fragments.

5) George D. Kemp Westwater Rest Area, Interstate 70, Utah

What’s known

George D. Kemp was killed at the Westwater Rest Area on I-70, a stretch of highway that can feel especially isolated. Isolation is a double-edged sword: it reduces witnesses, and it increases opportunity.

Why it’s still unsolved

If a crime happens in a remote location, the odds of a casual witness drop dramatically. Even if someone did see something, it may have looked like nothing more than “two people talking near a car,” which is basically the entire concept of a rest stop.

6) Bobby Dillon Interstate 81 Rest Area, Virginia (1977)

What’s known

Virginia authorities have kept Bobby Dillon’s case active as a cold-case homicide tied to an I-81 rest area. It’s the kind of case that feels like it should have a clean narrativeyet it doesn’t.

Why it’s still unsolved

Older cases can face unique challenges: technology that didn’t exist then (like modern DNA testing), gaps in records, and a smaller surveillance footprint. A rest area in the 1970s didn’t have today’s camera coverageand even today, cameras don’t always capture what investigators wish they did.

7) Clifton Wendell Marsh Highway Rest Area, North Dakota (1981)

What’s known

Clifton Wendell Marsh was murdered at a North Dakota rest area. In many cold cases, the hardest question isn’t “how,” it’s “why”and “why” is often tied to identifying the relationship (if any) between victim and offender.

Why it’s still unsolved

Rest stops can create “stranger-only” cases, where there may be no obvious link between victim and offender. Stranger cases are statistically difficult because they don’t come with built-in suspect lists or social networks to investigate.

8) David Willis Flay I-85 South Rest Area near the Catawba River Bridge, North Carolina (1998)

What’s known

David Willis Flay was killed at the I-85 South rest area near the Catawba River Bridge. The interstate context matters: traffic flow is constant, and a suspect can disappear in minutes.

Why it’s still unsolved

Investigators often have to solve a puzzle with missing pieces: limited witness contact info, unclear motive, and a suspect who may have traveled through once and never returned.

9) Chuck Porter I-85 Rest Stop, Cleveland County, North Carolina (1993)

What’s known

Chuck Porter, a North Carolina Department of Transportation employee working at an I-85 rest stop, was murdered on the job. The case includes witness accounts of two men leaving the area, but it remains unsolved years later.

Why it’s still unsolved

Even when witnesses exist, identification can be incredibly hardespecially across decades. People move, appearances change, and the “right tip” can get buried under time and noise.

10) Wanda Lee Walkowicz Rest Area off Route 104, Webster, New York (1973)

What’s known

Wanda Walkowicz was murdered and later found at a rest area off Route 104 in Webster, New York. The case is often discussed alongside other youth victims from that era, and it has remained painfully unresolved.

Why it’s still unsolved

Cases involving victims found at rest areas raise two hard investigative questions at once: where did the crime actually occur, and why was the rest stop chosen? A rest area can be a “dump site,” a staging point, or the last place someone was seeneach possibility leading investigators down different paths.

11) Father Reynaldo John Rivera I-25 Waldo Rest Area, New Mexico (1982)

What’s known

Father Reynaldo John Rivera was lured by a call to meet someone at the I-25 Waldo rest area south of Santa Fe. Days later, his body was found miles from the rest stop, and his car was discovered parked at an I-40 rest stop near Grants. The rest areas in this case aren’t backgroundthey’re key plot points.

Why it’s still unsolved

This case shows how rest stops can be used strategically: as a meeting location, a place to abandon a vehicle, and a way to confuse timelines. When an offender controls where clues appear, it can distort the investigation from the start.

12) Barry Marquart Exit 5 Rest Area, Interstate 81, New York (1980)

What’s known

Barry Marquart disappeared in November 1980. His car was later found at the former Exit 5 rest area on I-81 in the town of Dickinson, and his body was recovered nearby. The death was ruled a homicide, but the case remains unresolved.

Why it’s still unsolved

When a rest area is tied to both a vehicle and a body recovery, investigators have to determine whether the rest stop was the scene of the crimeor simply the place where the aftermath was staged. That distinction can make or break a case.

Common Threads Across Rest-Stop Cold Cases

1) The offender counts on “normal” behavior

Most people don’t memorize license plates at rest stops. They don’t take mental notes on strangers. Offenders know that, and they exploit it.

2) The clock is always running

In many cases, by the time anyone realizes something is wrong, the person responsible has already crossed multiple jurisdictions. That means evidence has to be strong enough to travel toostrong enough to identify someone who may never return to the area.

3) Motive is often unclear

Some cases may start as a robbery, a confrontation, or opportunistic violence. Others may involve planning. When investigators can’t quickly identify motive, the suspect pool becomes hugesometimes “anyone driving through.”

Rest Stop Safety Without Living in a Horror Movie

Reading about unsolved murders can make any roadside bathroom feel like the opening scene of a thriller. So let’s zoom out: millions of people stop at rest areas every day and nothing happens to them. Still, basic safety habits are like seatbeltsannoying until the day you’re grateful you used one.

• Choose the “busy and bright” zone: park near lighting, near other cars, and near entrances.
• Keep your phone ready: charged, accessible, and not buried under snacks like it’s hibernating.
• Trust your “this feels off” alarm: you don’t owe politeness to weird vibes.
• Limit distractions: rest stops aren’t the place to deep-scroll drama or answer a 27-part group chat saga.
• If you’re traveling solo: consider shorter stops, daytime breaks, and well-trafficked locations.

of Roadside “Experience” (Because Rest Stops Are a Whole Mood)

There’s a specific kind of quiet you only hear at a rest stop at night. Not the peaceful “library hush,” but the “everyone is awake for different reasons” hush. A truck idles in the distance like a giant metal animal breathing. Somebody’s door thunks shut. A line of headlights slides by on the highway, and for a second you feel like you’re standing next to a riverexcept the river is made of speed and people trying to get somewhere else.

In daylight, rest areas feel almost cheerful. Kids sprint to the grass like they’ve been released from car-seat jail. Travelers snap a photo of the state welcome sign like it’s a celebrity sighting. The vending machines glow with the confidence of a small casino, promising chips, soda, and the kind of candy bar you only buy on road trips because “vacation calories don’t count.” (Science has not confirmed this, but the theory is popular.)

At night, the same place can feel like a set. The bathroom lights are harsh, the shadows are longer, and the sound of your footsteps feels louder than it should. You notice details you’d normally ignore: the way the wind moves through trees, the way a stranger’s gaze lingers a second too long, the way your instincts do quick math without asking permission. Rest stops are designed for strangers to pass through without interactingand that’s usually fine. But the absence of community (no one “belongs” there) can make you feel like you’re on your own even when other people are nearby.

That’s also why rest-stop stories stick with us. A crime at a house feels contained. A crime at a rest area feels like it could happen anywhere, because it’s literally built to serve “anyone.” It’s a place where the ordinary rulesneighbors recognize you, coworkers remember you, bartenders know your orderdon’t exist. And when something terrible happens, the case can become a ghost story made of paperwork: a timeline, a sketch, a few facts, and a question that never gets answered.

Still, for most travelers, rest stops are just… rest stops. They’re the place you buy water you could’ve packed, the place you promise yourself you’ll stretch (and then you half-stretch), the place you look at the map and think, “We’re making great time,” even though you’ve said that in three different states. The trick is to keep the normal parts normalmake smart choices, stay aware, and remember that “creepy” is a vibe, not a destiny.

Conclusion

Unsolved rest-stop murders haunt us because they happen in the most everyday placeswhere people are just trying to get home, get to work, or get to the next state line. These cases also show why investigators fight so hard for small details: a vehicle description, a remembered conversation, a time estimate that suddenly matters. Rest stops aren’t inherently dangerous. But when violence intersects with anonymity and highways, solving the mystery can be brutally difficult.