Latest news with #SusanRogers
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jane Doe no more: Remembering the unsolved murder of Dorothy 'Marie' Garlington
Editor's Note: In the video above, Susan Rogers of Odessa Crime Stoppers explains how local law enforcement actively reviews cold cases. She addresses the challenges of decades-old investigations and the time involved in processing evidence and DNA with today's technology. ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – On a spring afternoon in 1977, three men were out hunting rattlesnakes in a remote patch of West Texas when they stumbled upon something far more unexpected than a serpent. Among the mesquite bushes, weeds, and caliche, they found a decomposing body, abandoned, beaten, and forgotten in the brush northeast of Odessa. It would take weeks before authorities could even identify the young woman. But nearly five decades later, we know her name: Dorothy 'Marie' Horton Garlington. She was just 19 years old. She was known to many as 'Marie.' She had only been in Odessa about six months and worked as a go-go dancer at the Kon Tiki Lounge off 14th and Grant. The last time anyone reported seeing her alive was around May 4, 1977, walking away from the club. She never made it home. Dorothy's body was found on May 22, 1977, in a field near Loop 338. 18 days after she was reportedly last seen. She had suffered massive trauma to her head, her jaw shattered, her skull crushed. A blood-covered rock was discovered near the body and is believed to have been the murder weapon. Her cause of death was from blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Medical Examiner's reports. At the time, law enforcement had no way of knowing who she was. There were no missing person reports, no one waiting at a police station, no frantic phone calls from a family member. Days passed, and her body, which was badly decomposed, was ultimately buried under the name 'Jane Doe' in an Odessa Cemetery. More of The Big 2 Files: After 44 years and a dig through concrete, Judie Munguia is still missing According to Ector County Sheriff's records from the time, she was wearing black shorts, one sandal, and costume jewelry rings. A white blouse was found nearby. From the time she was found (May 22) until July 8, 1977, when deputies found her fingerprints in their files, Dorothy's identity was a mystery. It was only by chance that a sheriff's investigator decided to sift through fingerprint records at the Odessa Police Department. A minor shoplifting arrest two months prior, Dorothy had stolen a $5 small set of cosmetics, which provided the only fingerprint match…She was finally identified. 'The investigator at the time went over to the Odessa Police Department and was going through some fingerprint files, just seeing if they could find anything, and he just stumbled upon these fingerprints from this case a few weeks earlier,' Rogers said. Dorothy 'Marie' Garlington was born to Mr. Eston W. Horton and Mrs. Neida Gay Henry, who at the time reportedly lived in Nederland, Texas. At just 19 years old, she had recently moved to Odessa, where she lived intermittently in local motels and worked in several bars under the name 'Marie.' According to previous reports from that time, she had previously been married and divorced. Though she had few known local connections, she was still someone's daughter, a young woman navigating early adulthood in a new city. Her life, like so many who at the time came and went in oilfield towns, left behind only fragments: a fingerprint from a petty arrest, a white blouse found near her body, and scattered recollections from those who briefly crossed her path. But behind those pieces was a person. A young girl who never made it home. According to archived reports, Garlington had been working at several local clubs. Investigators interviewed bar staff and fellow performers, but few remembered her personally. Contemporary coverage reflected a notable lack of empathy. One bar manager, interviewed in 1978, focused more on Garlington's appearance and popularity with customers than on who she was as a person. Few coworkers remembered her beyond her stage name, 'Marie,' or the fact that she could dance. Yet the absence of personal recollection does not diminish the fact that she was a person, a person whose life and death mattered. Law enforcement interviewed numerous individuals during the initial investigation. 'I know a lot of people were talked to because of the type of work she did,' said Susan Rogers of Crime Stoppers. 'She came across a lot of people… There have been hundreds of hours of investigation on this case.' Reports had also shown that prior to her death, she had been in a relationship with a man that others described as 'physically abusive' and who had previously threatened her life. But according to those same reports, he had been ruled out as a suspect for unspecified reasons. When her identity was eventually confirmed weeks later, law enforcement notified her family. According to officials, her parents chose not to have her remains moved. Dorothy Marie Garlington remains buried in Odessa, in the same grave that was originally marked for a Jane Doe. 'She's still buried here in Odessa,' Rogers said. 'Her family decided to leave her where she was.' The case is now more than four decades old. Despite hundreds of hours of investigative work, no arrests were ever made. Garlington's death was part of a troubling pattern of unsolved cases in West Texas during the late 1970s and early 1980s. A 1978 Odessa American report listed eight violent deaths that remained unsolved, including another dancer, 26-year-old Eula Mae 'Kay' Rogers Miller, who was found stabbed in her Odessa apartment in July 1970. Her murder, like Garlington's, remains open. While no known connection exists between the two women, both worked in the city's nightlife scene and were killed under violent, unresolved circumstances. Miller's story will be featured in KMID/KPEJ's July Cold Case Spotlight. By the late 1970s, law enforcement agencies in the Permian Basin were battling a spike in crime. Overwhelmed departments struggled to keep pace with rapid population growth and an uptick in violent offenses. Sheriff Elton Faught acknowledged the burden, telling reporters in 1978, 'Investigations in cases like this are always continuing…' And Garlington's case is one of them: still open, still active, and still surrounded by questions her family hopes one day to have answered. 'She's got family that really are still interested,' Rogers said. 'I've talked with her sister, who lives down in Houston… they still have a lot of questions about what happened and why nobody's ever been arrested.' Garlington's murder was also among the earliest in what would become a deadly pattern. Just a few years later, Odessa would earn national infamy as the city with the highest murder rate in the United States. In March 1982 alone, four people were killed within three weeks, their cases still unsolved more than 40 years later. To learn more about how the wave of violence escalated, and the victims whose stories remain untold, read KMID/KPEJ's special investigation: Dorothy Marie Garlington was young. She was far from home. And though her time in Odessa was brief, her life mattered. More than 40 years have passed since she was found in a quiet field outside town, her name unknown, and her story nearly lost. But today, investigators are still searching for answers. Her case is still active. And her name is no longer forgotten. Anyone with information about the 1977 murder of Dorothy Marie Garlington is urged to contact Odessa Crime Stoppers at 432-333-TIPS or submit a tip anonymously through the P3 Tips app or on their website. Even the smallest detail could help close a case that's been open for decades and bring justice to a young woman who never got the chance to grow old. A reward may be available for information that leads to an arrest or resolution in the case. Gabriella Meza is a Journalist/Digital Reporter with ABC Big 2 News. This story is part of her monthly Cold Case Spotlight series in partnership with Odessa Crime Stoppers. If you or a loved one knows something regarding this case or others and would like to add something to an article, contact her at gmeza@ (Contact Odessa Crime Stoppers regarding case information.) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teachers' conference gives Kansas educators a place to connect, collaborate
CRAWFORD COUNTY, Kans. — Kansas teachers are gathering in Crawford County this weekend for a grassroots movement meant to connect and empower K-12 educators. 'I'm so excited to be here,' said Derby Hills Elementary teacher, Susan Rogers. Rogers made the three-hour drive to Pittsburg to join more than 200 Kansas teachers for the annual Kansas LEADS conference. 'LEADS' stands for 'linking educators across districts.' This two-day event is designed for teachers by teachers. 'We need each other. I mean, this profession is challenging. It definitely has its challenges, and the biggest thing is, we can't do it alone, we need each other and so I think that's the mission of the Kansas LEADS team,' said Rogers. The conference gives educators from across the 'Sunflower State' a place to connect, collaborate, and create new pathways for professional growth. 'Education is a funny thing. Once you get inside the four walls of your classroom, you're there from 8:00 a.m. till 3:15 p.m.. You do your work and then it's time to go home or go to a couple of meetings and then head home. So, it can feel very isolating, even though we're all in it together,' said Geary County Schools Teacher, Jennifer Farr. Educators say the conference will help create an open dialog, providing a space where teachers are the experts — openly sharing ideas and strategies, and taking those back to the classroom. 'Every time we leave this conference, we have some real-world takeaways that we can implement the next day, we can bring it back to our classroom, and in the end, that's the goal. We want to enrich our students and enrich our teachers,' said Rogers. Through professional development and support, teachers are able to provide a better learning experience. 'Anytime that Kansas teachers can get together, it's going to help the gains of students. Anytime our students are making gains, then they're going to go out into our communities and they're going to go change those communities, and they're going to go to other states, and they're going to lead those states,' said Farr. The conference continues Saturday (4/26) at Frontenac High School, where teachers will participate in a variety of workshops, interactive sessions, and networking. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Kansas teacher of the year finalists honored for excellence
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Two teachers from south-central Kansas have been named Region 4 finalists for the 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year award. Susan Rogers, a first-grade teacher at Derby Hills Elementary, and Jason Peters, a high school math teacher at Hesston High School, were recognized during a ceremony held Saturday at the Wichita Marriott Hotel. The Kansas Teacher of the Year program, organized by the Kansas State Department of Education, honors outstanding educators in both elementary and secondary classrooms. Rogers and Peters now advance as two of eight finalists statewide who will be considered for the overall Kansas Teacher of the Year title, set to be announced Sept. 20 in Wichita. As regional finalists, each will receive a $2,000 award from Security Benefit, a longtime supporter of the program. They were selected from a pool of six Region 4 semifinalists, representing the state's 4th congressional district. Also honored during the ceremony were: Shanda Busby, sixth-grade teacher at Challenger Intermediate (Goddard USD 265) Todd Flory, fourth-grade teacher at Wheatland Elementary (Andover USD 385) Jamie Sundgren, science teacher at Flinthills Middle School (Flinthills USD 492) Lacey Woods, family and consumer science teacher at Andover Central High School (Andover USD 385) Each semifinalist received a commemorative red marble apple from The Master Teacher in Manhattan. In total, 136 teachers across the state were nominated this year, according to a news release from the Kansas State Department of Education. Regional panels select three elementary and three secondary semifinalists per region, with one finalist from each category moving to the state competition. Finalists in the Kansas Teacher of the Year program serve as education ambassadors, promoting teaching excellence statewide. The selected Kansas Teacher of the Year will also be a candidate for the National Teacher of the Year award. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Looking for the perfect Valentine's gift for your ex? Crime Stoppers has you covered
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Looking for the perfect Valentine's gift for your ex? Both Odessa and Midland Crime Stoppers have you covered; though, it might not be the traditional roses and chocolates. This Valentine's Day, they're offering a sweet deal for anyone who knows of a former lover or loved one with an outstanding warrant. According to Susan Rogers, CEO of Odessa Crime Stoppers, it's all part of a lighthearted approach to tackling a serious issue. 'Every year we try to do something fun around Valentine's Day, and this time, we're playing off the idea of 'ex-lovers' who might have some warrants out there,' Rogers said. 'It's a great way to clear up those warrants and bring a little fun to the process. Plus, we've got some pretty special perks for those who make the call.' For the Valentine's Day Weekend Special, Crime Stoppers is encouraging locals to call in anonymous tips about any ex-partners or current crushes who may have warrants. If you know where they are, Crime Stoppers will do the rest. Learn more about the 'Valentine's Day special' and what it offers by watching the video below: 'We'll send a vehicle with lights to pick them up, and we'll even put those pretty platinum bracelets on them,' Rogers explained, referring to the handcuffs that'll accompany the ride to the sheriff's office. 'Then, they'll get the full VIP treatment at the jail…think glamorous mugshots and a comfy stay in a local bed and breakfast.' With over 15,000 active warrants in Ector County, and more than 1,700 new ones filed just since the beginning of January, Crime Stoppers is hoping this special event will help clear out some of the backlog. 'There's a lot of old warrants out there, some going back to 1980,' Rogers said. 'If you think you or someone you know might have one, it's better to take care of it before you end up with a free ride to jail. We want people to handle it on their own, but we'll be here if you need to make an anonymous tip.' And while this promotion might sound like fun and games, the need for tips is very real. Crime, Cold Cases, & Closure: An inside look at Odessa Crime Stoppers According to Rogers, the Ector County Sheriff's Office is tackling a massive number of warrants, and Crime Stoppers is there to help clear them. The Valentine's deal offers rewards for tips provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers' tip lines, like the app P3Tips or their hotline at 432-333-TIPS. 'It's all in good fun, but we're doing it to help clear some of these serious issues. If you've got an ex out there that you know has a warrant, now's your chance to give them a 'Valentine's gift' they'll never forget,' Rogers said. The Valentine's Day special is also going on in Midland. To make your anonymous tip in Midland, submit it to Midland Crime Stoppers at 694-TIPS (8477), or the mobile app P3 TIPS. For Odessa Crime Stoppers, Call 432-333-TIPS or go to this website. So, if you've got an ex you know is avoiding the law (and maybe you're not feeling all that generous this February), take advantage of this 'sweetheart' of a deal. Crime Stoppers' operators are standing by, ready to take your anonymous tips and make sure this Valentine's ends with something memorable- or rather, a new mugshot. And for those who may have an outstanding warrant and want to get ahead of this Valentine's Day offer, Rogers said it is important to get it addressed before officials do it for you. Learn more by watching the video below: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
