Missing
Sharon Lee Gallegos
Sharon, approximately 1960
Date and time person was reported missing : 07/21/1960
Missing location (approx) :
Alamogordo, New Mexico
Missing classification : Non-Family Abduction
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Hispanic
DOB : 09/06/1955 (65)
Age at the time of disappearance: 4 years old
Height / Weight : Unknown
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : Pink shorts, white shoes, and no shirt.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Hispanic female. Light brown hair, brown eyes. Sharon has a birthmark on her right hip. Her nickname is La Huera.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Sharon was abducted as she was in an alley behind her home in the 500 block of Virginia Avenue in Alamogordo, New Mexico just before 3:00 p.m. on July 21, 1960.
Two children who were with her, stated a man and a woman drove up in a "dirty old green car", possibly a dark green 1951 or 1952 Dodge or Plymouth. They offered to buy Sharon candy and clothing if she would get in the car with them. When she refused, they dragged her into the vehicle and fled, turning west onto Fifth Street and disappearing.
The abduction was reported immediately and within about an hour police set up roadblocks to try and catch the green car at the Texas/New Mexico state border, but their efforts were fruitless. Sharon has never been heard from again.
The male abductor is described as a fair and thin Caucasian man with a long nose and straight sandy-colored hair. The female is described as short and overweight with dirty blonde hair and eyeglasses; she was in her thirties. Witnesses reported that a woman matching the description of Sharon's female abductor had been seen in the neighborhood, asking questions about Sharon, her mother and their home.
Authorities believe the couple had been stalking Sharon for at least a week prior to her abduction. They had been seen after church the Sunday prior to her disappearance, accompanied by two young children, a boy with freckles and a girl. The woman knocked on a neighbor's door to ask about Sharon's mother, Lupe Gallegos. She inquired where Lupe lived and what her financial situation was, and whether she had a little girl and whether she had a lot of children. The woman said she wanted to offer Lupe a job.
It's possible that the strange couple had tried to abduct Sharon before her disappearance on July 21. Sharon's mother stated Sharon suddenly stopped wanting to go to the grocery store around the corner; previously, she had enjoyed doing this. She also got upset when she saw a green car, and asked to be picked up and carried past it.
At the time of her disappearance, Sharon lived with her mother, her grandmother, her aunt and uncle, and six siblings and cousins. Her father, a soldier, had left the family when she was a baby and she had no contact with him. The family was not rich; Lupe supported them by working as a motel maid. They had no telephone at the home and no one ever contacted them with a ransom demand.
Sharon's abductors have never been identified and her case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Alamogordo Police Department
575-439-4300
September 2021 updates and sources
The Doe Network
The Battle Creek Enquirer
The Tuscaloosa News
The El Paso Herald-Post
The Alamogordo Daily News
The Clovis News-Journal
The Waxahachie Daily Light
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
October 12, 2004. June 14, 2019; Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: updated.
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