Barbara Jo Oberholtzer

Ms. Oberholtzer was last seen at 7:50 P.M. on Wednesday, January 6, 1982 hitchhiking south out of the town of Breckenridge, Colorado. Ms. Oberholtzer's body was located approximately 3:00 P.M. the next day on January 7, 1982 on the summit of Hoosier Pass at 11,000+ feet elevation. A small parking lot is located at the pass summit and the body was found approximately 300 feet further south along the road to Fairplay, Colorado. The summit is approximately 10 miles south of Breckenridge, Colorado along Colorado State Highway 9. The shooting occurred outside in a rural, isolated, mountain area next to Colorado Highway 9. It would have been dark, possibly snowing, and very cold (-20 degrees F). Death was due to loss of blood from a gunshot wound of the chest, with a second grazing wound to the right breast, and appeared to have occurred at the location of the body. The body was found approximately 20 feet off of the highway, down a snow embankment, and was lying on her back. Items from Ms. Oberholtzer's back pack/purse were located approximately 20 miles from the crime scene along US Highway 285 south and east toward Denver, Colorado. The weapon used was a .38/.357 handgun using a Remington/Peters copper jacketed hollow point bullet. This weapon has not been recovered.