Beauty queen’s murder still unsolved 16 years later

Monday, Jan. 12, 1998 | 10:17 a.m.

The 18-year-old Harris, Miss Douglas County in 1981, was found strangled in her Carson City apartment on Jan. 6, 1982.

Carson sheriff's detective Fred Schoenfeldt said the department maintains open files on Harris' case, even when it has no new leads.

"Murder cases are never really closed; they are deactivated," he told the Nevada Appeal. "They are deactivated when there are no further leads to follow."

A maintenance man and old boyfriend were focuses of the investigation at one time, but evidence linking them to the crime failed to materialize.

Linda Bratton, the victim's mother, said she hopes her daughter's killer can be prosecuted someday with the help of technology, including DNA typing.

"I think it's important people don't forget," she said. "The first few years the pain was sharp and stabbing. Now, there is sadness always around."

Harris, a Gardnerville native, was a Western Nevada Community College student when she was killed. She had planned to enter the Miss Carson City pageant in 1982.

She was found in her nightgown in bed. Deputies said there was no obvious forced entry to her apartment, which could indicate she knew her attacker.

Despite the lack of leads in the case, District Attorney Noel Waters said, he's hopeful information will surface to lead detectives to the killer.

There's always the chance of a tip or someone blabbing or bragging in a bar or to a friend, he said.

Schoenfeldt said detectives new to the department are asked to review the case in hopes they can offer a different point of view or additional leads.

"There's no set (time) when the cases get reviewed," he told the Appeal. "Sometimes they don't get touched for a year. But they are always open."

In order to cope with the murder, Bratton helped start a northern Nevada chapter of Parents of Murdered Children.

"I couldn't have made it without it. It's a lifesaver," Bratton said.