Jonelle Matthews disappeared December 20, 1984 and her skeletal remains were discovered July 23, 2019 by construction workers putting in a new pipeline 15 miles from her home.
President Ronald Reagan mentioned Jonelle in a nationally televised speech March 7, 1985.
Jonelle Matthews was born on February 9, 1972, to 13-year-old Terri Vierra at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California. The infant was adopted six weeks later by James "Jim" and Gloria Matthews. Jonelle would join an older sister at the family home. Several years later, the family moved from California to Greeley, Colorado.