This individual was recently confirmed to have been identified. Some details may change as more information is released publicly.
Anna Sylvia Just was a woman whose skeletal remains were found in a desert area four miles west of Henderson, Nevada, on September 7, 1970.
She was identified in 2025 via DNA comparison to her sister. Police suspect she was murdered in an organized crime hit.
Background[]
Just was from Calgary, Alberta, and worked as a stenographer. She disappeared from Calgary without a trace on August 17, 1966, after leaving a mental health facility, and a missing person's report was filed. Authorities later found records that showed she received treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles in October 1966 and was recorded staying at a hotel in Las Vegas in the same period.
In 1968, Just's suitcase and purse, containing identification, were found in the desert near Las Vegas. Other items, including a blood-stained blanket, were found, leading investigators to conclude she had been killed. Police connected her with the missing person's report from Calgary, but a search of the area did not find her body.
Further investigation into her disappearance uncovered that Just was an acquaintance of Thomas Hanley, a union leader from Las Vegas with connections to the Chicago mob. Police alleged that Just owed Hanley money and was taken into the desert and murdered, either by him or on his orders. Hanley died in 1979 in police custody after pleading guilty to a separate murder in 1977.
Case[]
Just's remains were found by children playing in the desert near Henderson, Nevada, in 1970.
She had been struck in the head by a blunt object and buried in a shallow grave in a sandy gully, which was uncovered by water flow. A boulder was present on top of her skull, which had been partially bleached by the sun.
Police investigating Just's disappearance in Calgary, Canada, contacted Las Vegas police in October 2024, after learning that Just might have been in the Las Vegas area in the late 1960s. LVMPD Cold Case detectives provided the name of Anna's sister, who arrived in 1968 to collect her belongings. Calgary police found she was still alive and obtained a DNA sample to confirm her identity.
Characteristics[]
- Possibly had blonde hair.
- Plastic upper denture plate with plastic teeth.
- Six teeth remain on the lower jaw.
- Three of those teeth had fillings.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Knit sweater.
- Blue Levi jeans.
- Bra.
- Panties.
Gallery[]
