It’s been 55 years since 18-year-old Robin Graham vanished in Los Angeles along the Hollywood Freeway.
More than half a century on, her classmates at John Marshall High School haven’t forgotten. One of her classmates sent the story to Dateline, asking us to feature Robin’s case. They then posted about our potential story in their alumni Facebook group. In the comments, old friends and classmates sounded off.
“Such a shocking and scary case,” one wrote.
“Robin was a special girl, and in recent years others from our school have expressed their memories of her and her mom, and many of us will never forget her,” another said.
A few more people reached out to Dateline after the post in the Facebook group. One was Marsha Hatem Gerro, who had known Robin for years before her disappearance. “We met in junior high,” Marsha told Dateline. “She was very sweet — very, very sweet.”
“I was looking at Facebook, and I’m on the John Marshall High School alumni group, and I saw her picture. I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, that’s Robin,’” Marsha said. “We were such good friends at one point. We were so close.”
Marsha says she and Robin had a lot of common interests, and they both came from big families. As they got older, though, they started to drift apart. “We were still friends, but we just had different circles of friends,” Marsha explained.
“It was definitely a pretty small community,” Barbara Wolke, another of Robin’s classmates, told Dateline. “We were friendly.”
“We graduated in June of ‘70,” Marsha said. By November, Marsha had gone off to college at UCLA. She learned her old friend was missing on the news. “It was shocking to — to hear about this.”
She recounted for Dateline what she learned about the night Robin vanished — November 14, 1970. “She had a date,” Marsha said. “She parked her car in the Pier 1 Imports parking lot,” where she worked. After the date, Robin was dropped off at her car. “They said goodnight, and she got in her car. She got on the freeway to go home.”
“The story was that she ran out of gas,” Marsha said. “So she was stranded on the freeway.”
Things in the ‘70s were a bit different from what they are today. “We didn’t have cell phones, but there were call boxes,” Marsha said. “So she got out of her car and went to the call box and called home.”
Marsha says that after Robin called her family for help, she went back to her car to wait. “A CHP [California Highway Patrolman] came by, and they said, ‘Can we help you?’ And she said, ‘No, help is on the way,’” Marsha said.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a national repository for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases where information is shared among law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, and the public, has Robin’s case featured on their site.
According to NamUs, Robin was “stalled on U.S. Highway 101 southbound near the Santa Monica Boulevard offramp.”
“Then the next time the CHP passed by, they saw a Corvette parked near her,” Marsha continued. “CHP assumed that was the help she was waiting for.”
NamUs reported that “the officer noticed a white male, 25-26 years of age, 5’8” with dark hair, wearing bell bottom trousers and a white turtle neck top talking to her.” They also state that a “1958-1960 light blue Corvette hardtop was observed parked behind her vehicle at this time.” It is unclear who that Corvette belonged to or whether the driver was ever identified.
That was the last time anyone saw 18-year-old Robin Graham. According to NamUs, when Robin’s parents went looking for her, they “found her car, locked up and abandoned on the side of the freeway where she was last seen.”
“When a year went by, it was once again — it was on the news,” Marsha said. That continued on future anniversaries. “They kept saying that they have no idea what ever happened to her.”
But Marsha knew one thing for certain: “I know that she didn’t run away. I mean, that’s for sure,” Marsha said. “She was close to her family.” Dateline attempted to contact Robin’s siblings but was unable to get ahold of them.
As Dateline was talking to Marsha, she pulled out her yearbook. “I see her picture. I just opened up a yearbook, and I see her picture on the drill team,” she said. “It brings back memories.”
Barbara Wolke still hopes for answers. “I think all of us who went to school with her, all of us would like resolution,” she said. “There’s just no closure with it.”
“I hope that someday, someday maybe — maybe we’ll see Robin again,” Marsha said.
Robin’s case is listed on the Attorney General’s website. They don’t share much information, but they detailed what Robin was last seen wearing. “Red blouse, blue jeans, red clog shoes, dark blue corduroy jacket,” the site states. She was 5’6” and 125 lbs. at the time, with brown hair and brown eyes. Robin would be 73 years old today.
Dateline reached out to the California Highway Patrol. A spokesperson for the department told Dateline that the Los Angeles Police Department has always handled Robin’s case, and they directed anyone with tips or information about it to contact the LAPD.
A representative from the LAPD Media Relations Division told Dateline via email that it is “still an active missing person case” and “there is no further information to provide.” If you have information about Robin’s case, please contact the department at 213-996-1800.
If you have a story to share with Dateline, please submit it here.
