On August 5th 1986, Deputy Lowell Carlton from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office described the skull location of Donna Lass as "Location: Interstate 80 to State Route 20 north, 3.5 miles to dirt road just prior to Drum Canal Crossing, approximately 500 feet above the intersection in a winter water drainage along Pacific Gas and Electric Company property boundary lines" (as shown on the Donna Lass Casefiles website). The northern section of Interstate 80 and State Route 20, where Interstate 80 merges with State Route 20, is 3.5 miles east of the dirt road just prior to the Drum Canal crossing, called Bear Valley Road and shown here on Google street view.

Taking into consideration an excellent contribution by "Bobby Smith" in the comments section of my previous article, it is much more reasonable to conclude that the skull of Donna Lass was found approximately 500 feet south of State Route 20, close to Bear Valley Road (rather than 500 feet to its north by the Bear Valley Campground). Everything he outlined makes perfect sense.

​"Bobby Smith" wrote "I would like to add that "500 feet above the intersection", likely means that little dirt road (Bear Valley Rd.) back to the southwest instead of to the north into the woods. The reason is the road increases in elevation as you go southwest back towards I-80 giving it the "above" characteristic, whereas the elevation drops off to the north of 20. Also, there is no intersection on the north side of CA 20 at that location. My interpretation is up that hill to the southwest. This area would have been accessible from the I-80 service rd. and exit 158". 

This means that the skull of Donna Lass was probably found by two PG&E workers in 1986 somewhere close to the yellow line on the above map. They were likely working on drainage associated with the Drum Canal. The description offered by Deputy Lowell Carlton stated "500 feet above the intersection" rather than "500 feet along Bear Valley Road", which I have pinpointed on the map below. 

Of course, we do not know if, and how much the skull had moved from its original position after deposition, but the area around the above red circle is easily accessible by driving 0.4 miles along Bear Valley Road from State Route 20. A short distance into Bear Valley Road would be an ideal location to quickly dispose of a body from the main highway. Alternatively, a body dumped (or buried in a shallow grave) alongside the service road by Interstate 80, after decomposition, could have descended northwards until it settled in "winter water drainage" shy of the Drum Canal.

​Over the duration of 16 years, animal predation may explain the lack of body parts in this particular location, as well as the slope leading to the Drum Canal, which could have carried skeletal remains away from the area, particularly during the wet season (or thawing after winter months). Whatever the case, this area of Emigrant Gap, 1,550 feet south of the Bear Valley Campground, is a 73 mile drive from the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road, Lake Tahoe residence of Donna Lass, meaning that her killer seemingly went to great lengths to conceal her body from any future searches. 

​Winter water drainage on a hillside, often addressed in PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) safety guidelines for landslide prevention, refers to managing heavy seasonal rainfall and snowmelt to prevent soil saturation and slope failure. It involves directing surface water away from slopes, clearing drainages to prevent erosion, and maintaining stable terrain to prevent damage to utility infrastructure. The Drum Canal is a major part of the PG&E Drum-Spaulding project, which includes 10 powerhouses, 29 reservoirs, and a massive network of canals that transport water for both power generation and municipal/agricultural supply by the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA).

Two skulls were found in the region of Lake Spaulding in 1986 and Deputy Lowell Carlton was integral to both investigations. The first skull was found on January 19th 1986 by Deputy Lowell Carlton using search dogs after they had previously found a jawbone in the same area on December 31st 1985. The skull was found near to the jawbone, which was sitting alongside a mountainous county road by a fisherman on his way to Yuba Gap, a mile northeast of Interstate 80. This places the skull slightly east of Chubb Lake. The second skull was found by the Drum Canal Crossing on July 31st 1986 by two PG&E workers, approximately 500 feet above State Route 20 and 3.3 miles west of the first skull. 

The skull found close to the jawbone by Chubb Lake appears to have no further mention on "missing people" sites. The NamUs page detailing the jawbone (maxilla) found on December 31st 1985 makes no mention of the skull being found in its proximity, despite newspaper coverage clearly detailing this. In fact, the NamUs page makes a point of stating "head not recovered", when this is patently not true (irrespective of whether the body parts are related to one another). The NamUs Unidentified Persons database was launched in 2007, with the NamUs case regarding the jawbone created on March 12th 2018, yet no skull was attributed alongside the jawbone. Recently, these two skeletal parts (primarily the skull) have been accepted as not those belonging to Donna Lass, in favor of the skull found by the Drum Canal Crossing, because the Agency Case Number 13226-86 of this skull listed on The Doe Network matches the number allocated to the desth certificate of Donna Lass, as correctly pointed out by Travis Miller.

Emigrant Gap, California, experiences a mountain climate with warm, occasionally hot summers with cool nights and cold, snowy winters. Situated in the Sierra Nevada, the region typically experiences pronounced seasons with significant winter precipitation, often reaching freezing temperatures, and mild to warm weather during the summer months. The soil around Lake Spaulding in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California is generally acidic to slightly acidic, consistent with the region's granitic and volcanic bedrock. The area is primarily underlain by granitic rock (Sierra Nevada Batholith), volcanic, and metamorphic sedimentary materials, which are generally resistant to weathering and tend to produce acidic soils. During spring snowmelt, the soil and lakes experience episodic acidification due to low concentrations of base cations and higher concentrations of acid anions in the meltwater. The high precipitation (approximately 65.8 inches annually) and coniferous forest vegetation (ponderosa pine-sugar pine-white fir) also contribute to the creation and maintenance of acidic soil conditions.

A skull buried or sitting on the surface in this region of Placer County will be exposed to these conditions throughout the year. Assuming that Donna Lass was not kept alive by her abductor for 13 or 14 years and then murdered, it is extremely likely she was murdered on, or slightly after September 6th 1970. If her body was dumped (or buried) in the area around Lake Spaulding in 1970, her skull would have been exposed to almost 16 years of weathering before it was found on July 31st 1986. The skull would have been exposed to constant wetting and drying, leading to increased bone degradation, brittleness and fracturing, with the acidic soil accelerating this process. On The Doe Network, the skull found in a drainage ditch by two PG&E workers on July 31st 1986 by the Drum Canal Crossing was given an estimated time of death for the person as 2 to 3 years and described as "partial skeletal". In other words, they estimated that Donna Lass died in 1983 or 1984, rather than 1970. If Donna Lass was murdered and dumped near Lake Spaulding and the Drum Canal Crossing in September 1970, her skull would have been far more degraded than the estimate given. The skull condition was only an estimate, but there is a big difference between 2 to 3 years and 16 years under the conditions experienced in this region. 

​Osteology determines time since death (post-mortem interval, PMI) by analyzing skeletal decomposition, bone weathering, and chemical changes, particularly when soft tissue is gone (typically weeks to years post-mortem). The accuracy of osteology for estimating the time of death is generally low and highly variable, often relying on "best guess" estimates rather than precise dates, particularly when the body is skeletonized. The completion of skeletonization usually takes 3–5 years in average conditions, meaning a skull with no remaining soft tissue likely indicates a death at least 3 years prior. The "state of the remains" found by the Drum Canal Crossing were categorized as "partial skeletal" and given 2 to 3 years as the post-mortem interval. Therefore, something about the skull's condition must have indicated a death closer to the time of its discovery, with possibly some soft tissue remaining or a minimally weathered appearance. A scenario much more unlikely after 16 years.

​"With more recent sets of remains, there may still be some tissues present on the body to help pinpoint the age of the body. Certain soft tissues and ligaments can last for up to 5 years, so the presence of these may at least be able to narrow down time since death to the last few years. Typically, isotope analysis can prove to be particularly beneficial in establishing the likely age of remains. Among the most common elements to be studied in isotope analysis are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, strontium and hydrogen. This branch of study, which can be focussed upon unstable or stable isotopes, is based on the principle that many elements within the body exist as various isotopes, many of which are taken into the body by eating, for instance". Forensic Anthropology. 

​I am not saying the skull found at the Drum Canal Crossing was not that of Donna Lass, but the absence of any clarity or further mention of the skull found on January 19th 1986 in the Yuba Gap area near Chubb Lake and its approximate post-mortem interval, makes me question which skull the DNA came from in December 2023 that finally identified the remains of Donna Lass---and how each skull was labeled back in 1986 (in terms of location). The conclusions arrived at by Travis Miller are undoubtedly the right ones, but the lack of information about the "first" skull found on January 19th 1986 is deeply confounding. To achieve some sort of clarification, I contacted the Placer County Sheriff's Office on June 5th 2024 and received the following response: "Donna Lass was located in the Yuba Gap area". For now, I am sticking with the Drum Canal Crossing, slightly west of Yuba Gap, as the location of the skull attributed to Donna Lass, despite some lingering reservations.

The death certificate of Donna Lass indicating the location of her skull reads "State Route 20, 3.5 miles north of Interstate 80 near Drum Canal Crossing, Emigrant Gap". However, this is somewhat in conflict with a report by Deputy Lowell Carlton on August 4th 1986, who recalled "Location: Interstate 80 to State Route 20 north, 3.5 miles to dirt road just prior to Drum Canal Crossing, approximately 500 feet above the intersection in a winter water drainage along Pacific Gas and Electric Company property boundary lines" (as shown on the Donna Lass Casefiles website).

​The northern section of Interstate 80 and State Route 20, where Interstate 80 merges with State Route 20, is 3.5 miles east of the dirt road just prior to the Drum Canal crossing, called Bear Valley Road and shown here on Google street view. If we then measure 500 feet above (north) of the intersection of Drum Canal and State Route 20, we arrive at the location somewhere within the white ellipse shown on the map below  The word "above" and "approximately" carries some leeway, so the skull of Donna Lass was probably found in this region, sandwiched between Bowman Lake Road and the Drum Canal. 

We cannot know for certain whether the murderer of Donna Lass placed her body (or body parts) at this location subsequent to September 6th 1970, but had he done so, there are only two accessible routes by vehicle from the Drum Canal crossing. The first is through a locked gate alongside the canal in 2026. What access was available in 1970 is not currently known. The second is via Bowman Lake Road about 660 meters west of the Drum Canal Crossing. A body dragged or carried into the undergrowth from either of these routes could have resulted in body parts eventually finding their way into a drainage ditch over time. The primary purpose of a drainage ditch is to collect, channel, and redirect excess surface water—such as rainwater, irrigation runoff, or melting snow—away from areas where it is not wanted, such as roads, fields, and building foundations, to a natural watercourse or water storage area.

​The report issued by Deputy Lowell Carlton appears to be the most logical. A killer wishing to dispose of a body 3.5 miles north of Interstate 80 (as stated in the death certificate) has innumerable opportunities to perform this task along the way, making this length of journey unnecessary. Additionally, 3.5 miles north of Interstate 80 near Drum Canal Crossing could have been described in many better ways, such as "near Fuller Lake" or "west of Fuller Lake". The distance of "500 feet above" mentioned by Deputy Lowell Carlton aligns more satisfactorily with "near Drum Canal Crossing". A quick departure off State Route 20 to the Bear Valley Campground, may have been a location familiar to the murderer of Donna Lass, who could easily have parked up in the darkness and disposed of her body. The Bear Valley Campground is part of the PG&E Drum-Spaulding Watershed/Emigrant Gap Area. I believe Travis Miller of the Lawrence Kane Wordpress site has reached the same conclusion to the one outlined above - which indicates the skull of Donna Lass was found by two PG&E workers about 650 feet southeast of Bear Valley Campground. 

REVISED POSITION OF DONNA'S SKULL ALONGSIDE BEAR VALLEY ROAD

In many previous articles I have described how the Zodiac Killer may have sourced information from newspapers in the distant past, by periodically trawling through collections stored on microfiche in the library. Threats to school buses at Incline Village in Lake Tahoe in November and December of 1969 were received from somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, long before the "Pines" card was mailed on March 22nd 1971, pasted with an advertisement from Incline Village. This opens up the possibility that the Zodiac Killer may have had a connection to the Lake Tahoe region in Nevada prior to the disappearance of Donna Lass on September 6th 1970 from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino. Her skull (according to the certificate of death) was found in a drainage ditch by two PG&E workers near the Drum Canal crossing at Emigrant Gap on July 31st 1986, but not identified as her until December 27th 2023 through familial DNA.

If the Zodiac Killer was her murderer, it is unlikely he would be buying newspapers regularly from this region spanning 1970 to 1986 to see if any remains had been found in the general area he had dumped (or buried) her body, but it is not inconceivable that he may have occasionally visited a library and performed targetted searches over several months to see if any body parts had been found in the approximate location he disposed of Donna Lass. If the Zodiac Killer had placed her body in the surrounding area by Lake Spaulding, then any remains reported in the newspapers mentioning body parts found around the lake, such as Emigrant Gap, Yuba Gap or Yuba Pass, could be understood by the Zodiac Killer to be the remains of Donna Lass, even if they weren't. If he had found the two newspaper articles from the Auburn Journal on January 2nd 1986 and Roseville Press-Tribune on January 23rd 1986, reporting the finding of a jawbone and skull by Yuba Gap, it would be understandable that he drew the conclusion these were the remains of Donna Lass.

This is what makes the timing of the Zodiac Killer's May 6th 1986 letter so very interesting, coming 5 years and 2 months after he mailed the "Atlanta" letter in 1981 - and the first known letter to the San Francisco Chronicle after a hiatus of 8 years, arriving just over three months after the body parts were discovered by Yuba Gap and reported in the newspapers. The Roseville Press-Tribune newspaper article on January 23rd 1986 read "The skull was found by a sheriff's search party headed by Deputy Lowell Carleton, who used scent dogs in looking for remains of the body believed to have been murdered elsewhere and dumped in the Yuba Gap area". The 1986 letter stated "The body count is growing now 100+ all over the state of Ca and Na" (but almost certainly meant "Nv" for Nevada). The Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino, where Donna was last reported seen, was in Nevada. The area around Lake Spaulding is in California. Hence why the Zodiac Killer felt the need to mention both the states of Nevada and California, to indicate he was referring to Donna Lass.   

If the skull of Donna Lass was found by Emigrant Gap on July 31st 1986 by two PG&E workers, it is clear that the jawbone and skull found by Deputy Lowell Carleton and his search party on December 31st 1985 and January 19th 1986 did not belong to Donna Lass. But the Zodiac Killer would not have known this when he wrote the May 6th 1986 letter. However, he most certainly would have been aware that Yuba Gap in the area of Lake Spaulding was pertinent to the location of Donna Lass' remains, had he been the one that murdered and disposed of her. He may have mistakenly believed that the two finds on December 31st 1985 and January 19th 1986 were body parts belonging to Donna Lass, and why he chose his words carefully on May 6th 1986, writing "The body count is growing now 100+ all over the state of Ca and Nv" (corrected). The fact that the Zodiac Killer added the state of Nevada to his communications for the first time in 17 years, just three months after these remains were found in the general area where Donna's skull was ultimately found on July 31st 1986, is extremely unusual timing. Especially when you consider that Donna was last seen at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino in Nevada, and was almost certainly the person referenced in the 1971 "Pines" card by the Zodiac Killer.

On December 17th 1977 the strangled and naked body of Melinda Beardsley (30) was found in a snowbank at Emigrant Gap by a man and woman walking a dog, extremely close to the location of Donna Lass' skull found in 1986. The Roseville Press-Tribune newspaper on March 11th 1990 under the headline "Jane Doe still has no name after 13 years", reported that a witness came forward claiming they saw two white men driving a Toyota Celica unload something heavy from the back seat of the vehicle, parked at the location her body was ultimately found. The timing of this sighting was calculated to be only 3 hours before her body was discovered.

​The last address (in 1976) we have for Melinda Beardsley is documented in a police report as 3312 E. U.S. HIGHWAY 50, CARSON CITY, UNDER THE PROFESSION OF WAITRESS, which was the Desert Air Motel before it was demolished in the 1990s. Whether she was a waitress at this motel, or her profession was separate (but dependent) on this location is yet unknown. However, this address could prove pertinent to her murder. According to Inspector Johnnie Smith, who had worked the case from the outset, neither Ted Bundy or the Hillside Strangler were found to be responsible for this crime. He went on to say that her fingerprints were not in the system, despite physical evidence that she may have been a prostitute. His visits to nearly every brothel in Nevada using a photograph of the murdered woman, failed to identify Melinda Beardsley. That wasn't achieved until 2026 through a DNA match to family members.

Although the sighting of two men being spotted "attempting to drag something heavy out of the back seat" appears conclusive, we must remember that this testimony was given subsequent to the body being discovered. Eyewitnesses can often interject themselves into investigations due to fabrication, or what they thought they saw. The first-generation Celica (1970–1977) was manufactured exclusively as a two-door coupe. Whether Melinda Beardsley "operated" out of the Desert Air Motel and offered this as her residence has yet to be established, but this location is 75 miles from Emigrant Gap. If she was murdered at or close to the Desert Air Motel, the perpetrator (or perpetrators) made the effort to dispose of her body by driving 75 miles westwards, to possibly deflect attention away from this location. The skull of Donna Lass was found 73 miles from her apartment at 3893 Pioneer Trail Road, south of Lake Tahoe, where she was most probably murdered [1]. 

The Desert Air Motel was at 3312 Hwy 50 E, east of Carson City. It was about a mile and a half outside of town, near the intersection of Airport Road. When it was built, before 1954, it was practically all by itself. Carson City hadn't expanded that far yet. But the town soon caught up to it, and by the 1960s it was surrounded. It survived until the 1990s when it was torn down and a Long's Drug built on the site.

​Thanks to Jibberjabber for sending me this newspaper cutting from The Press-Tribune.
ADDITIONAL READING: FOUR BODIES DUMPED AT EMIGRANT GAP? 

In 2024 I examined the "Pines" card mailed on March 22nd 1971, and the reasoning behind the inverted text of "around in the snow". Believing that this phrase, coupled with the punch hole, may have given us the directions to the disposal or burial site of Donna Lass, I flipped the postcard through 180 degrees to correct the inverted text and measured the distance (in inches) between the "Sierra Club" pasting (believed to be Clair Tappaan Lodge alongside Donner Pass Road) and the center of the punch hole. Using the same measurement scale as the Mount Diablo map of 6.4 miles to the inch, the distance was approximately 14 miles (see below). The punch hole landed at Lake Spaulding by Emigrant Gap, where the skull of Donna Lass was ultimately found on July 31st 1986 (according to the certificate of death). However, the entirety of the punch hole extended from Lake Spaulding to the Lake Valley reservoir (shown in the second image below)..   

The skull of Donna Lass was discovered in 1986 near the Drum Canal crossing in Emigrant Gap, shown by the red rectangle below. Because the directions given for the skull are less than clear, the location of her partial remains have been estimated as somewhere within this red rectangle at Emigrant Gap. The "Pines" card was mailed just 9 days after the Zodiac Killer sent the "Los Angeles" letter on March 13th 1971.

​This communication was mailed on the general US release date of the "Vanishing Point" movie (although it had a limited release in January), which stated "This is the Zodiac speaking Like I have allways said, I am crack proof. If the Blue Meannies are evere going to catch me, they had best get off their fat asses + do something. Because the longer they fiddle + fart around, the more slaves I will collect for my after life. I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there. The reason I'm writing to the Times is this, They don't bury me on the back pages like some of the others". The movie's trailer, released in January, carried the dialogue "They want to get him and put him away, but they'll have to catch him first". "And there goes the Challenger being chased by the Blue, Blue Meanies on wheels". It appears as though the "Los Angeles" letter was partially inspired by the film, mirroring the Zodiac Killer's continued evasion of the police.  

The fact that this letter appeared to reference the movie "Vanishing Point", just 9 days prior to the "Pines" card directions to the likely burial site of Donna Lass, who vanished from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino on Sunday, September 6th 1970, I considered the possibility that there was something pertinent in the "Vanishing Point" film that also pointed to the general area where Donna Lass may have been buried (or dumped). The lead character in the film, named Kowalski, met his death in Cisco, California, despite the filming location taking place in Cisco, Utah. The location of Cisco in Placer County is only 5 miles from Camp Spaulding, and just 3 miles from the right edge of the punch hole superimposed on the map. You will notice the close proximity of the punch hole and the location of Cisco to the Lake Valley reservoir. The death of the "vanished" Donna Lass (signified by her skull and deposition site) and the death of Kowalski from the movie "Vanishing Point" can both be shown to be present in this small section of map below. - and pertinent to two communications in March 1971, only 9 days apart from one another. Of all the films the Zodiac Killer could have chosen, he selected one that had its ending just a few miles shy of Emigrant Gap. It may be nothing more than coincidence, but an interesting one nonetheless.  

Strangely, the main car in the movie was a white 1970 Dodge Challenger, but a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro was used for the explosive final crash scene, resulting in the death of Kowalski. Donna Lass drove a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. 

The possibility of a serial killer using Emigrant Gap in Placer County as a dumping ground has to be considered after the breaking news (on March 18th 2026) that the body of Melinda Beardsley (30) has been identified after nearly half a century. Her strangled and naked body was found in a snowbank at Emigrant Gap on December 17th 1977, just next to Interstate 80 and slightly west of the intersection with State Route 20. This area is next to Chubb Lake Road, Forty Niner Way and Gonelson Canyon Road, which terminates close to where a jawbone was found on December 31st 1985 by a local fisherman, Melvin Bennett. Always on the move, she was last known to be living in Carson City, Nevada, and was last confirmed to be alive in 1976, after a DUI charge in Reno. This is when contact with her family ceased. Carson City is located on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe, about 25 miles by road (16 miles by crow) from where Donna Lass went missing from on September 6th 1970 (Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino).

If the reporting of the Sacramento Bee was accurate in 1977, the body of Melinda Beardsley must have been found somewhere by the red circle shown below, as this is the only location that Interstate 80 crosses Highway 20 at Emigrant Gap. This is approximately 500 meters from where a jawbone (maxilla) was found on December 31st 1985 (not Melinda's), and very close to where a skull was found in Yuba Gap on January 19th 1986. Further west of the intersection would place her body closer to the Drum Canal crossing.

​The skull of Donna Lass (according to the death certificate) was found on July 31st 1986, about 3 miles northwest of these locations, to the west of Lake Spaulding. The death certificate read "State Route 20, 3.5 miles north of Interstate 80 near Drum Canal Crossing, Emigrant Gap"..If the skull of Donna Lass (25) was found closer to State Route 20 and Interstate 80, nearer to the Drum Canal crossing (due to an inaccurate description) and the police report of Deputy Lowell Carlton on August 4th 1986, it would actually place her remains closer to the other skull, jawbone, and body of Melinda Beardsley. See here for explanation. Either way, we have the presence of "three skulls" in an approximate 3 mile radius of one another, including a jawbone. This opens up the possibility that four bodies have been dumped in the area of Emigrant Gap and Lake Spaulding over the years. All these individuals were potentially murdered prior to 1985 - and all may have been at the hand of one individual, who kept returning to this location, having eluded detection during previous visits. A killer will often revisit the same location (somewhere they are familiar with) to dispose of murder victims, if this has proved successful in the past.  

We have the bodies of Melinda Beardsley and Donna Lass (skull) found in close proximity to one another at Emigrant Gap, likely murdered in 1970 and 1977. The unknown skull, jawbone and body of Melinda Beardsley are likely grouped in a 650 meter radius of one another. Little is currently known about the life of Melinda Beardsley (who apparently worked as a waitress in 1976 according to the police report), one year before her body was ultimately found on December 17th 1977, which is frustrating from the standpoint of trying to forge any potential links between the two murdered women. Had she crossed paths with her killer through her profession as a waitress in a casino or drinking establishment? The movements of Melinda in her final days and hours could have been extremely useful and enlightening, to see if any connection could be established pertaining to her killer - and maybe that of Donna Lass.

ADDITIONAL READING: TWO SKULLS WEST OF THE SIERRA CLUB  

According to the certificate of death, the skull of Donna Lass was found 3.5 miles north of Interstate 80 as it passes near the Drum Canal crossing at Emigrant Gap and State Route 20. They are not specific in terms of "north", so I have been a little flexible with the three lines below, but all are 3.5 miles from Interstate 80 and sit within 2 miles west of Fuller Lake. This lake is accessed from State Route 20 by driving along Bowman Lake Road, which runs from Bear Valley Camp at Emigrant Gap to Fuller Lake. Constant maintenance work happens at Lake Spaulding and Fuller Lake because they are operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) as part of its Drum-Spaulding hydroelectric system, so it isn't that surprising that workers from PG&E discovered the skull in a drainage ditch during their rounds.

​Of course, we have no idea how much distance the skull has moved in the 16 years since Donna Lass was dumped in this area in 1970 (assuming it was shortly after she was murdered). The skull could have been disturbed by animal predation or water flow, but let us assume it was found in the approximate position it was placed by her killer. A drainage ditch would a viable method of concealment preferable to digging a fresh grave, although one must stress, not necessarily where her body was initially placed. 

A killer arriving at Fuller Lake by vehicle along Bowman Lake Road (probably at night) isn't realistically going to drag or carry a body over great distance negotiating rough terrain, he would more likely dispose of the body just a short distance from the road, which is shrouded in dense undergrowth either side. Whether or not the skull moved considerably over time, we have no way of knowing, but below is the approximate position it was found in 1986. 

By road from State Route 20 to the above location is about 4 miles in a vehicle, so somebody disposing of Donna Lass in this area after likely murdering her at her 3893 Pioneer Trail Road apartment (or close by), would have to travel 72 miles to Bear Valley Camp, then head 4 miles north along Bowman Lake Road (a 76 mile journey). This is an extraordinary distance to travel when so much dense underground, and numerous other remote locations exist along the way. Why not choose somewhere 10, 20 or 30 miles away?

​One could argue that the murderer of Donna Lass knew well this location by Fuller Lake, and opted to dispose of her body in this region because he felt confident he was not going to be disturbed by the unknown. Maybe he was a PG&E worker, who understood the advantage of using a drainage ditch for concealment and the eradication of evidence. Another thing to consider, is that the least effort principle would be blown out of the park if the killer had lived in close proximity to Donna Lass. He would be obligating himself to a 152 mile round trip, with the greatest risk on the outbound journey. What is the possibility that the murderer of Donna Lase chose a deposition site he was familiar with, on his way home? Were there any "persons of interest" in the Donna Lass case who were residents of Placer County to the west of Lake Spaulding?

Two skulls and a jawbone were found in the area surrounding Lake Spaulding, so it's not out of the question that the murderer of Donna Lass had killed on more than one occasion. However, it must be remembered that the areas around Lake Tahoe are a popular dumping ground for nefarious individuals wishing to evade justice.  

ADDITIONAL READING: TWO SKULLS WEST OF THE SIERRA CLUB

Murderers will often dispose of bodies in areas they are familiar with because they can assess the risks of being caught in the act. Two skulls (one belonging to Donna Lass) and a jawbone were found in the general area surrounding Lake Spaulding and possibly Fuller Lake (3.5 miles north of Emigrant Gap and Interstate 80, where Drum Canal crosses State Route 20), and matching the location of the skull described in the death certificate of Donna Lass. The Lake Spaulding Dam and Fuller Lake are both part of the Drum-Spaulding hydroelectric system, operated by PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric Company). In fact, two workers from PG&E discovered the skull of Donna Lass in a drainage ditch according to The Doe Network and death certificate. The question being: was the murderer of Donna Lass familiar with these PG&E locations, such that he used them as relatively safe deposition sites? Could we have one killer who used this location to conceal a minimum of two bodies?

​This may appear like grasping at straws, until you consider that a skull fragment of Joanne Dolly Burmer (25) was found by a man cutting firewood on Chalk Bluff Road on May 30th 1993, and not identified until a DNA breakthrough in 2019, when matched through her son, who was 3 years old when she went missing. Joanne Burmer was belatedly reported missing on March 8th 1973, having been dropped off by friends nine days earlier at the junction of Highway 20 and Excelsior Point Road on February 27th 1973. This location is just 3 miles from Emigrant Gap, and 4.5 miles from Lake Spaulding.  

​On February 27th 1973, after she was dropped off by friends, including Ron Inman, she had planned to snowshoe to see her on-off boyfriend Robert Brownlee, who lived in a cabin about 3 miles away. She was never seen again, with detectives suspecting foul play. Philip Desmet, son of Joanne Burmer (adopted after her disappearance) thought that Robert Brownlee was a womaniser: “My mom was a hippie” he said, adding that she had been living in a Quonset hut just outside Colfax, bouncing between there and Reno, and had worked for a while at a local bar. At some point, Joanne married a man named Robert Burmer, but then became involved in a tempestuous relationship with Brownlee. "He was a womanizer, apparently”. Desmet said. “My understanding is, she was the other woman, and she was going up there to deliver an ultimatum (to him)".

Ron Inman and Burmer’s mother, Ruth Schroll, told investigators that Robert Brownlee and Joanne Burmer had frequent fights, sometimes violent. He was obviously a prime suspect in her disappearance and possible murder, but as of writing, this case is still unresolved. Robert Brownlee worked for PG&E to maintain the quality of their canals. The skull of Donna Lass, who went missing on September 6th 1970, was found in a drainage ditch by two PG&E workers in 1986 (if The Doe Network and death certificate are correct). See here. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) operates an extensive hydroelectric system in California that includes approximately 172 miles of canals. Did somebody like Robert Brownlee ever visit the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino in 1970 - a possible womaniser with a short temper according to accounts, who must have been knowledgeable of the locations around Lake Spaulding and the Drum Canal crossing due to his working experience with PG&E.

​PG&E honored 4,183 employees with long service awards in 1975, with Robert E. Broenlee of Emigrant Gap receiving a 15 year award according to the newspaper cutting below. However, newspapers reported he received a 15 year award in 1980 as well, followed by a 20 year award in 1985. Therefore, it's evident that the 1975 award should have been for 10 years service. This means he was first employed by PG&E in 1965, so would probably have been at least in his early 20s in 1970 and around his mid 20s in 1973. Indications through ancestry searches suggests somebody much older, who may have been 47 in 1973.  He was still employed at PG&E in 1985, so one would presume he still lived in the Emigrant Gap area at the time the 1986 remains were found. Thanks to Jibberjabber for this extra information and newspaper cutting below.

Once again we have the death certificate of Donna Lass doing the rounds, stating that her skull was found on July 31st 1986 by State Route 20, 3.5 miles north of Interstate 80, near the Drum Canal crossing by Emigrant Gap (which I have examined below on Google Maps). It has been argued that an upper jawbone (maxilla) was found near Chubb Lake on December 31st 1985 by a fisherman traveling towards Yuba Gap and Lake Valley Reservoir, followed by a skull discovered in the region of Emigrant Gap seven months later, which was identified through DNA as belonging to Donna Lass, with the two finds not necessarily related. On The Doe Network it states that the date of discovery of the skull in a drainage ditch was August 5th 1986 rather than July 31st 1986, but who's quibbling over a few days. The Agency Case Number: 13226-86 on this page matches the case number on the certificate of death, so it must be case closed - the skull of Donna Lass was found in a drainage ditch near the Drum Canal crossing by Emigrant Gap in July or August of 1986. The eastern edge of Drum Canal sits approximately 3/4 mile west of Lake Spaulding Campground (see map below). 

​There were newspaper reports in 1986 of a skull being found in a drainage ditch:between July 31st and August 5th 1986, like so: "Aug. 4, 1986 – PG&E workers found a human skull in a drainage ditch near Highway 20 and I-80. The skull is believed to be that of a Caucasian female in her mid-teens to early 20s". Drum Canal joins PG&E Road near the Blue Canyon (Pacific Gas & Electric Company). However, this skull wasn't found by the sheriff's search party headed by Deputy Lowell Carlton, who used scent dogs to look for further remains in the Yuba Gap area after the jawbone was discovered on December 31st 1985. It was found by PG&E workers (two men) seven months later, slightly west of Lake Spaulding near Emigrant Gap. After the jawbone was found near Chubb Lake (Yuba Gap) on December 31st 1985, a belated search of the "immediate area" (hampered by bad weather) was undertaken by Deputy Lowell Carlton, who found a skull on January 19th 1986 in close proximity to the jawbone. Sheriff Donald Nunez said in January 1986 after the discovery of the skull, that a jawbone was "also found along the road TO the Lake Valley Reservoir". Both skull and jawbone were found alongside Lake Valley Road, which is a county road running from Chubb Lake to Lake Valley Reservoir. 

Lake Spaulding Campground is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range near Soda Springs, California. The lake is surrounded by giant granite boulders and thick pine forest. Lake Spaulding offers a range of water activities including all types of boating and there is a boat ramp which allows for easy access. Walk-in tent sites and a limited amount of overflow parking spots in the boat launch parking area are available. RV's and trailers longer than 30 feet are NOT recommended for sites in the campground loops. Drinking water, vault toilets and picnic areas are provided. Lake Spaulding Campground is included in the recreation area managed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in Northern California. Lake Spaulding Dam is a dam in Nevada County, California. Owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electric for hydroelectric power generation, the 275-foot (84 m)-high dam was designed by John R. Freeman and completed in 1913. Fuller Lake is a 70-acre reservoir located in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Nevada City, California, that is owned and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) as part of its Drum-Spaulding hydroelectric system. The lake is located 3.5 miles north of Emigrant Gap and Interstate 80 (where Drum Canal crosses State Route 20), and can be accessed by Bowman Lake Road. Fuller Lake is a Day Use area just like the murder site at Lake Berryessa.​​

The NamUs page of unidentified persons in 2018 correctly identified the jawbone (maxilla) found by fisherman Melvin Bennett on December 31st 1985, but failed to mention anything about a skull being found in the "immediate area", by stating "head not recovered". One could be forgiven in believing the jawbone and skull, both found alongside Lake Valley Road, were very likely from the same individual, unless we make the argument that two separate victims were the product of one killer and one dumping ground. On The Doe Network, the skull found in Placer County in late July or early August 1986 in a drainage ditch by two PG&E workers, has been given an estimated time of death of 2 to 3 years (and was partial skeletal), meaning 1983 or 1984. The website states "The decedent's skull was discovered in a drainage ditch near Interstate 80 and State Highway 20". Realistically, Donna Lass was murdered in September 1970, at least thirteen years earlier than this estimate. If this was the case, she would have been fully skeletonized like the skull found at Yuba Gap. 

When the news broke that Donna Lass had been identified in 2023 through DNA from the skull, many newspapers reported the following: [1] MSN: "A deputy sheriff found the remains near California's Sierra Nevada mountains, along Highway 20 and Interstate 80- 45 miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe in 1986. The skull was held on to until there were more forensic technology advancements". [2] SACRAMENTO BEE "In 1986 the Placer County Sheriff's office found a skull near Highway 20, not far from Interstate 80, in the Camp Spaulding area". [3] NBC NEWS: "A sheriff’s deputy found the skull in 1986 along Highway 20 and Interstate 80, 45 miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe, the Placer County Sheriff's Office said. It was preserved at the coroner's office as an unidentified person". Yuba Gap is exactly 45 miles from the south side of the lake. [4] FOX KTVU: "Placer County Sheriff's deputies later found an unidentified skull in 1986 and held on to it until there were more advancements in forensic technology, KCRA3 reported". These articles are but a small sample (I could have added many more) The Donna Ann Lass "Find a Grave" page states "In 1986, a sheriff's deputy found the skull of an unidentified person along a highway in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. In December of 2023, a match was discovered between DNA taken from the skull and that taken from Donna's sister The result was that the skull was identified as being that of Donna Lass, finally providing the evidence to prove that Donna was actually deceased". That "sheriff's deputy" was Lowell Carlton, who found a skull on January 19th 1986 at Yuba Gap in close proximity to the jawbone, not the PG&E workers who found a different skull slightly west of Lake Spaulding in July or August.

​I am assuming these newspaper outlets were given this information by Placer County law enforcement, who linked the skull found by Deputy Sheriff Lowell Carlton and his scent dogs, to the DNA identifying Donna Lass in 2023. Otherwise they should have mentioned the PG&E workers, which they didn't. I believe the death certificate and The Doe Network case numbers have been incorrectly linked together, but without any further information about the DNA from the jawbone, I will let you decide whether the skull of Donna Lass was found alongside Lake Valley Road in Yuba Gap, or somewhere north of ​the Drum Canal crossing by Emigrant Gap, west of Lake Spaulding. I am open to being wrong, as pointed out by Travis Miller, who successfully acquired the FBI files of Donna Lass through some excellent research. Either way, we have two skulls by Interstate 80 in close proximity to one another.
​
The murderer of Donna Lass, if he had after hours drinks with her at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel or another bar on September 6th 1970, had every reason to make a phone call on September 7th 1970 claiming she had been called out of town for a family illness - and to conceal the body many miles from her residence (70 miles). An immediate investigation into her absence from work (or immediate discovery of her body) would have meant police interviewing anybody in the company of Donna Lass after she was last seen at around 2:00 am at the casino. This would have been their prime focus and required interviewing any potential eyewitnesses to her movements that morning, whose memories and recollections would have been much more reliable after only a few hours and days, rather than weeks. The longer the perpetrator could delay the investigation into her disappearance (and murder), the better it was for him. The killer, if seen with Donna in the hours after her shift ended, needed to confuse the time of her death and make the timeline widen, had her body been found in the near future. This tactic worked, because the police investigation into her disappeaance was badly delayed and hampered. A random killer, with no backstory regarding Donna, who just entered her apartment on September 6th 1970 and was not present in her company in the previous few hours, had absolutely no reason to phone the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and concoct a fake story about her absence from work. This phone call had purpose. To widen the parameters of any future investigation, and to reduce the focus on the immediate few hours after 2:00 am on September 6th 1970. It appears that her murderer knew the importance of those few hours. 

A KILLER FROM THE CASINO [PART ONE]     A KILLER FROM THE CASINO [PART TWO]

​VISIT LAWRENCE KANE AT WORDPRESS FOR MORE INFORMATION 

In the last article I examined the likelihood of a killer who either worked at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino, or somebody who frequented the establishment regularly and knew well the details of Donna Lass, who worked at the casino as a nurse, The FBI files suggested that Donna Lass' vehicle had remained in the parking space outside her apartment when she left for work on September 5th 1970. This would make sense had she planned to go out for some alcoholic beverages after her shift ended at 2:00 am on September 6th 1970. By all accounts Donna Lass was a responsible young woman, who probably chose to walk the 3/4 mile (15 minute) journey to work that afternoon, to begin her shift at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel at 6:00 pm, rather than drink and drive. This has some validity, because just before the end of her shift she changed into a fashionable navy blue slack suit with matching shoes and purse/handbag. Investigators discovered that Donna occasionally went for drinks after work.

It was outlined in the previous article that many things about this case point to a killer who knew intimate details about the life of Donna Lass. The sinister phone call on September 7th 1970 stated that Donna Lass had been called out of town because of a family illness, that would have failed to have the desired effect of "buying time" had her family lived in South Lake Tahoe rather than Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The killer must have been aware of this personal information. The phone call wasn't made prior to 6:00 pm on September 6th 1970 excusing her absence from work, suggesting that the perpetrator knew she wasn't due in work that day. The phone caller (according to the private investigator's report) used the name of her new landlord, by claiming he was "Mr. Davis" (Nick Davis) when reporting Donna's absence due to a family illness. Nick Davis vehemently denied he was the one who made the call to Gordon Petrovich, a security guard at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel.

It should be pretty obvious the caller wasn't Nick Davis, because if he had murdered Donna Lass on the morning of September 6th 1970, he most certainly wouldn't have given his name over the phone and implicated himself in her disappearance (and murder) by giving a fake story of a family illness, which when uncovered during the resulting investigation would inevitably have drawn interest from law enforcement. The person who gave this fake story, not only knew her family lived "out of town", but knew to use the name of "Mr. Davis" when ringing the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 7th 1970, which would have added a level of credibility to her absence.

​This detail is absolutely crucial, because Donna Lass only signed her tenancy/rental agreement on September 5th 1970, before she left for work that day. That means that the killer very likely learned this information from Donna Lass between the time she signed the rental agreement and the time of her murder, sometime before the phone call on September 7th 1970. It is certainly plausible that Donna Lass could have shared the information of her new landlord and apartment in the few hours after her shift ended at 2:00 am, with whomever she went for a drink with (if this transpired). The sort of information she would obviously have been excited about, having now secured an apartment of her own. If the person she went for a drink with was a colleague, friend or acquaintance, it is not unreasonable to assume she told them she wasn't due in work later that day. Hence why the malicious phone caller rang the casino on September 7th 1970 rather than the day before, and gave the name of "Mr. Davis" to add validity to the story and deflect suspicion away from themselves. This is why we should focus on colleagues and friends Donna had previously drank with.

If Donna Lass was heading off for a drink with individuals such as the ones described in the private investigator's report above, then these are the sort of people who could conceivably have known enough about Donna's life to make that phone call. Of course, these particular men may have played no part in the disappearance and murder of Donna Lass, but Ramon Vascuas admitted he saw Donna several times on the Labor Day weekend and had previously drank with her, just not during the crucial time period of her disappearance because he was "very busy". The Lowe's, who Donna Lass had previously lived with for several months, claimed that Ramon Vacuas, a worker at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, had once dated Donna Lass and attempted to kiss her, before being rebuffed.

A male by the name of Tony Chapman, who never "really" dated Donna, openly admitted to having after work drinks with her for several hours at a time. On one occasion up to 5:00 am in the morning. And another until 4:00 am, accompanied by his roommate Vern Lauflin, who both seemingly lived at 3608 Terry Lane in an apartment complex similar to Donna's (unless it was typed incorrectly in the report). The apartment at 3608 Terry Lane is 3/4 mile beyond the home of Donna Lass and sits close to Pioneer Trail Road.

​If Donna had drank with these gentlemen previously and was absent of her vehicle on those occasions, it is not unreasonable to conclude that she would likely have walked with both (or either) as they traveled home. After all, they shared a common route along Pioneer Trail Road. The alternative, is that she accepted a lift home from them (assuming they had a vehicle). If Donna Lass had left her vehicle at her apartment complex on September 5th 1970 and got changed into her civilian clothes on September 6th 1970 at 2:00 am, before meeting up with somebody for a drink, then it is not inconceivable she opted to walk, or accept a lift from such a person. Somebody who courteously escorted her directly to her front door - and possibly beyond. Her purse/handbag, with personal cosmetics, check book and money, apparently made it home that morning, but the clothes she was last seen wearing at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 6th 1970 at 2:00 am, just disappeared into the night. 

PREVIOUS ARTICLE: A KILLER FROM THE CASINO? [PART ONE]     

I am sure Donna Lass (25) was as fashion conscious as any other young women in 1970, so it isn't that surprising that she was described as wearing a blue slack/pant suit, blue shoes and carrying a blue purse (handbag) on September 5th 1970 by somebody at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino. A color coordinated selection of fashion accessories worn by Donna Lass before her shift began at 6:00 pm. This civilian outfit was missing from her apartment when belatedly searched by investigators when concerns grew about her absence from work, but her purse was found at her home containing her check book, car keys, personal cosmetics and a wallet containing less than $25. This strongly suggests that she arrived back to her apartment in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970, had removed her purse/handbag from her shoulder, but had failed to remove her clothing to go to bed.

​It is highly unlikely somebody entered her apartment in the middle of the night and forced her to get dressed into the same clothing she had worn just a few hours earlier, before abducting and/or murdering her. It is also noteworthy that her purse was seemingly untouched, still containing a wallet with some money (less than $25), a check book and the keys to her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. These items were seemingly not of interest to the perpetrator. 

The FBI files stated that Donna Lass wore contact lenses, that one would presume she wore to perform her duties as a nurse at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino. If these were missing from the apartment when searched by investigators, it should have become obvious that she had worn them during her shift, and had failed to remove them before going to sleep that morning (which most people do). This would mean that she arrived back at her apartment, separated herself from her purse/handbag, but had not yet removed her blue suit and contact lenses in preparation for bed (which obviously would both be missing).

​This may give us a narrow corridor of time for her murder and/or abduction, by a perpetrator who arrived home with her from the casino with malintent, or somebody in the vicinity of the Pioneer Trail residence who saw her arriving back on the morning of September 6th 1970, and seized the opportunity as she unlocked the front door of her apartment (or shortly afterwards). These two scenarios would explain why both her blue suit and contact lenses were missing from her 3893 Pioneer Trail Road home, but her purse/handbag and personal items were not. This would indicate that Donna Lass met her demise, whether by murder or abduction, shortly after arriving home. 

It was noted by investigators that Donna Lass had changed into civilian clothes just before the end of her shift, which she occasionally did when she went to one of the bars for a drink (see below). Why would she change into a fashionable, color coordinated set of clothing at around 1:50 am, if her only intention was to travel home and go to bed? This may have been one of those occasions when she met up with somebody for a drink, who either drove her home afterwards, or she invited them to her new apartment (in her vehicle). Somebody who knew her work schedule, knew she wasn't working the evening of September 6th 1970 and could phone the casino explaining her absence the following day, knew that Mr. Davis was the name of her new landlord when pretending to be him during the malicious phone call on September 7th 1970, and knew they had to confuse the exact time of Donna's murder by claiming she had been called out of town for a family illness. A family that the killer knew lived out of town (in Sioux Falls, South Dakota). A location he hoped would buy him time and delay any investigation, which it ultimately did. If the killer of Donna Lass thought there was any chance of him being recognised as being with Donna Lass on the morning of September 6th 1970 (possibly having a drink), then it would be greatly beneficial to him that she wasn't found murdered the same or following day. By delaying any investigation into her absence through a phone call and body disposal, it blurs the timeline and memories of any potential eyewitnesses, and the exact day and time of her murder (if she had been found a week or so later). It would have created reasonable doubt in the mind of investigators during any forthcoming interrogations and the ultimate pursuit of justice. If I had to roll the dice, I would expect the casino to hold the answer in the murder of Donna Lass.

FURTHER READING: A KILLER FROM THE CASINO? [PART TWO]