Cindy Lee Mellin

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Cindy Lee Mellin Case #869DFCA Ventura Police Department 805-339-4400

* Posted by Nancy on April 15, 2010 at 9:12pm
* View Nancy's blog

Cindy Lee Mellin was a 19 yr old College Student Ventura California working part time at the
Broadway Department Store at Mills and Main in Ventura Ca. ( The mall is how the Pacific View Mall
and the Broadway is now Macy's)

She left her job at about 9:20 P.M. January 20, 1970 never to be heard of again.

Her case has never really been profiled except in a Ghost Haunting Book done by
author Richard Senate. Everyone seems to claim her case toward the Killer
ZODIAC.

But why has her case stopped at 1970. Her family has since passed away.

The night she was standing by her car a light colored car was seen by her and
a 25-30 year old man was seen some say it was Edward Nelson Cole aka: Sam Roper
he was questioned by the Ventura Police Department let go and never seen or heard of
again.

She loved red and was wearing a red ribbon with her dress in red and blue courduroy coat
blue shoes with a buckles. A pearl ring gold.


So where is she today why hasn't anyone been her voice her hands in helping find out what
where and who happened to her.

Well I am those eyes and I am those hands and ears.

Cindy Lee Mellin did not just leave the parking lot.

Cindy Lee Mellin was taken that night.

Someone knows about it


Cindy Lee Mellin is known for her spirit on cold and foggy nights at the mall.

I wonder if that is true. I plan to find out very soon.


Maureen-Peace4 Admin Comment by Maureen-Peace4 Admin 1 day ago
Ah, so sad that her parents are deceased and how heartbreaking they died before getting answers. Let us know what we can do to help bring awareness.

Maureen

Patty Beeken Comment by Patty Beeken 18 hours ago
I have entered her information into the NamUs system.

eve carson Comment by eve carson 14 hours ago
There are answers in every case, and victims deserve their truth to be known. It's important for everyone not to let these cases get shelved without explanation. These are real people, real lives, and someone knows what happened. Cindy Lee Mellin's case has a similarity with the case I am pressing. One theorist connected Joan Webster's murder to the Zodiac. She was murdered in 1981 in Boston, and no real connection can be made. The Zodiac was real and had real victims, and whether a connection can be made in Cindy Lee's case, I don't know. There needs to be caution not to let authorities just answer with this explanation without the substance to support it. Authorities today are attempting to explain away other unresolved murders in Boston to a named suspect in Joan's case, and label him a serial killer posthumously. There was no real evidence to connect him to Joan, and recovered documents support he was wrongly convicted in another murder. It's the height of irresponsibility and disregard for the victims to explain them away in this fashion to get them off their books so to speak. I pray you find answers. Eve

Sara Huizenga Comment by Sara Huizenga 13 hours ago
Shared on Twitter ... Thanks for adding this here, Nancy ... xoxo

Nancy Comment by Nancy 12 hours ago
Hi Eve: I feel the same about Cindy's case. There is newspaper info that the Police blamed the Father. The newspaper took it to another level about the Zodiac Killer. Everyone thought it was him and still do. She was with a person that night Edward Nelson Cole aka Sam Roper her friends came back to see if she was o.k. they thought the person was her Dad. One said it was
Edward. Police questioned Edward and let him go never to be seen or heard again, meanwhile the Father Mr. Leonard Mellin lashing out at the Police for doing such a horrible job. Maybe they did. Ventura Police back then were not the best. Ventura did not have many or any cases like Cindy.
So her case just sat, someone did a Ghost Haunt on her and labeled her as one of the Zodiac Killers person. But I feel in my heart she went with someone she knew. Who promised her a ride home.

Some say she was seen in Fresno-her Uncle saw her: Drugged up? That ever got anywhere.

I hope in the next years to find out.

Thank you all for keeping her memory alive.

I know she is thanking you all for that.

Just like the millions of other lost Women and Men, Children of the world.

There memories should not go dark.

Cindy Lee Mellin the girl, the Broadway Co-ed
that never made it home that cold foggy wet night in Ventura Ca.
January 20, 1970.

God bless you all
thank you

eve carson Comment by eve carson 8 hours ago
Nancy, the case is old enough you might have success with an FOIA request. Check the requirements on line for CA. States vary. The process isn't easy I've discovered. Sometimes it takes an appeal process, but it is worth it to get information. Start putting together a timeline. I included some Zodiac dates in mine as they pertained to Joan's case. Include everything until you can cross something off. It's amazing how things begin to come to light. Then going back to the documentation you have, you might be able to fit more pieces. Every life deserves the answers why it was taken. Eve

Nancy Comment by Nancy 2 hours ago
The case was in California Ventura what is a FOIA and how do I get it on line? I would do it no questions. I don't know if any family member is still around. I have a face book of her and a personal blog of her. Just put it all on yesterday. So I am hoping something someone comes forward. Her Dad realized she was gone after a year of looking is what the paper said. I am requesting micro film from Fresco Ca cause her Uncle thought he saw her up there in February 1970. I don't think her case was the Zodiac, I think it was someone else.
But who knows. Thanks for the support and info
I am so glad I found this site for her.

Her memory will live on
and I am her voice and hands until we find out what happened to her.
thanks again blessings always
nancy m
Cindy Lee Mellin
Ventura's Fallen Angel

Maureen-Peace4 Admin Comment by Maureen-Peace4 Admin 2 hours ago
Nancy----FOIA is the Freedom Of Information Act.

For more information see:

http://www.nfoic.org/foi-center or http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/foiamap.htm

eve carson Comment by eve carson 2 hours ago
Nancy, if you go online and google in Freedom of Information, you will find requirements and often forms to make a request for documents. States have different parameters, but they each have a process. Once the request is made, the state has to respond. If they don't or deny records, there is an appeal process. You can do the same thing with the FBI. In Cindy Lee's case, there may already be some information online. There are FBI Zodiac documents that have been released in the Zodiac case. They are voluminous, I warn you, but there may be things in there related to Cindy Lee. I found documents related to Joan's case in them. I damn near fell off my chair when I saw a couple of them. The content was helpful, but the shocker was who wrote them. Even though Joan's case wasn't related to the Zodiac, I have been able to gather information because it was a theory at one time. Actually, the guy who published a book about it still believes that is what happened.

I actually gathered information on the Zodiac disussion boards when I first started. A word of caution, there are theorists who try to solve these cases with unusual and sometimes obsessive fervor for their concept. It is different than dealing with someone with a relationship to the victim and knowledge of the crime. Nevertheless, they post articles, often have times established for certain things, and can shed light in an overall sense. It may help to be able to cross the Zodiac off the list of possibilities. That is what happened for me. Use something like that as a resource for information. I'll check and see if Cindy Lee's name is mentioned by the author that thought Joan was a Zodiac victim.




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eve carson commented on Nancy's blog post 'Cindy Lee Mellin Case #869DFCA Ventura Police Department 805-339-4400'
Nancy, if you go online and google in Freedom of Information, you will find requirements and often forms to make a request for documents. States have different parameters, but they each have a process. Once the request is made, the state has to resp…
2 hours ago
Maureen-Peace4 Admin commented on Nancy's blog post 'Cindy Lee Mellin Case #869DFCA Ventura Police Department 805-339-4400'
Nancy----FOIA is the Freedom Of Information Act. For more information see: http://www.nfoic.org/foi-center or http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/foiamap.htm
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Nancy commented on Nancy's blog post 'Cindy Lee Mellin Case #869DFCA Ventura Police Department 805-339-4400'
The case was in California Ventura what is a FOIA and how do I get it on line? I would do it no questions. I don't know if any family member is still around. I have a face book of her and a personal blog of her. Just put it all on yesterday. So I am…
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How Joan lived may be the best clue to how and why she died. There are factors that were never examined, and reveal some of the problems getting to the truth is the case. There are a combination of things that are well beyond the scope of what any…

Zam I posted about Cindy Lee Mellin in the thread called "Southern CA victims, with possible Zodiac MO"

Of course you wouldnt know that even if you did a search because the search box feature on this site blows.

But Cindy Lee Mellin was very interesting case. Her Father said that her tire was cut on purpose, not simply a flat

About three years ago I contacted Ventura PD about Cindy. I wanted to ask if they had ever been in contact with Sonoma County about the possibility that the 1979 Jane Doe might be Cindy. The woman I spoke to could not find anything in Cindy's file relating to Sonoma County. Although the estimated time of death on Jane Doe was five to seven years before she was found in July of 1979, I did see a couple of similarities between the two. I personally wonder how accurate the dating of how long the body was there really was. Did Sonoma give that estimate because of the 1972/3 murders or could she have been there a little longer???

A contact lens was found along with Jane Doe's remains, Cindy Millen wore contact lenses. Fragments of brown thread were found with Jane Doe, Cindy Millen was wearing a brown coat when she disappeared. The final victim in the SRHM was Therese Walsh who was last seen in Southern California in the coastal community of Zuma Beach, so a Socal/Norcal scenerio would not be out of the question.

The biggest part of the problem to finding answers is that Sonoma County has not been able to get the DNA testing done on Jane Doe because of funding. They have applied for two grants to work on the cold cases, but one was turned down and the other is still pending.

Also, when I spoke to the woman at the Ventura PD about Cindy, she told me that Cindy's mother was still alive and she would very much like to see her daughter's case resolved. Ventura PD hasn't forgotten about Cindy, nor is her case closed. I only had to say Cindy's name once and the PD knew exactly what I was talking about and was quite familar with her case.

Good to see they are on top of the Mellin case, and havent left it buried someplace

I'm a little annoyed with the Ventura PD right now! Partly because of this thread and partly because of an email I received at my site asking me about Cindy Mellin and whether or not she had any siblings I decided to do an ancestry.com search on Cindy.

I found that Cindy had four sisters, three older and one younger. all of the Mellin girls were born in Minnesota. What I also discovered is that Cindy's mother died in 1975 in Riverside County. Her father remarried in 1977, also in Riverside County and then passed away in 1981 in Orange County, CA.

I can't imagine why the woman I spoke to at Ventura PD told me Cindy's mother was still alive. I'm sure of what she said because I took notes when speaking with her. I found that both of Cindy's parents were born in 1912, which made me question what Ventura PD said. Cindy's oldest sister was born in 1936, so giving the PD the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they thought the sister was her mother....

And hopefully Cindy's case is really still open.

First of all ... Seagull, YOU are the best. When I read your posts on your research on the victims, I can actually feel your compassion. You do some really good research, and I'm sure we are all thankful for it, and also for your site.
I feel sadness for all the victims. But when I read The Article on Cindy last nite, it really pulled on my heart strings.... so sad....
Please keep us updated if you learn anything new. I will continue to follow her site, also.

Zamantha wrote:

First of all ... Seagull, YOU are the best. When I read your posts on your research on the victims, I can actually feel your compassion. You do some really good research, and I'm sure we are all thankful for it, and also for your site.
...

I could not agree more!! Seagull is a very fine researcher and a very fine person!

-Nin

Here's an article about Cindy Lee Mellin:

http://www.datafilehost.com/download-793b07e7.html

Found this on an old archived ZK message board-


"On Jan 20, 1970 Cindy Mellon left the Broadway Department Store in Ventura, Ca. The pretty 19 year old was last seen talking to Edward Nelson Cole (aka Sam Roper) who was helping her change a flat tire. Cindy was never heard of again. Nelson was interviewed and supposedly left town, whereabouts unknown. According to retired Santa Barbara police detective Johnson, Cindy's case has similarities to Zodiac crimes. There is now an investigation to compare photos of Cole in 1970 to Zodiac composites"


I have read a few articles about her case, and never knew that the man seen changing her tire was identified.Anyone have more info on this COLE/ROPER character?

BUMPING due to recent interest-

http://www.cityofventura.net/files/file/police/crime%20prevention%20-%20info/missing-wanted-unsolved%20docs/MellinCindy_Missing.pdf

Anyone have anymore info on this Cole,AKA 'Roper' guy? Seems crazy that the guy would just get lost by police. The KEYT news video stated that police are doing some photo comparisons between him & Zodiac.

I am also shocked that there is no publicly avail sketch of the perp in her case since multipls witnesses saw the guy.

Seagull wrote:

I'm a little annoyed with the Ventura PD right now! Partly because of this thread and partly because of an email I received at my site asking me about Cindy Mellin and whether or not she had any siblings I decided to do an ancestry.com search on Cindy.

I found that Cindy had four sisters, three older and one younger. all of the Mellin girls were born in Minnesota. What I also discovered is that Cindy's mother died in 1975 in Riverside County. Her father remarried in 1977, also in Riverside County and then passed away in 1981 in Orange County, CA.

I can't imagine why the woman I spoke to at Ventura PD told me Cindy's mother was still alive. I'm sure of what she said because I took notes when speaking with her. I found that both of Cindy's parents were born in 1912, which made me question what Ventura PD said. Cindy's oldest sister was born in 1936, so giving the PD the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they thought the sister was her mother....

And hopefully Cindy's case is really still open.

Seagull, dont know if you ever found anymore on this, but I know she had a sister named Paula. And yes, it is scary when people on message boards need to fill in the police regarding their own case.

Morf13 wrote:

And yes, it is scary when people on message boards need to fill in the police regarding their own case. Rolling Eyes

You know, I don’t think it’s as bad as it seems. There may be a few inspectors working on big cases, but on the internet, think tanks of thousands are the norm.

Inspectors must follow the leads. They cannot afford to lose time on a wild goose chase. However, people on the internet can.

People on the internet can pick a POI at random, for whatever reason, and reach out far beyond what inspectors could dream of. Most of the time the chase doesn’t yield any usable result, but when it does… and this is a very likely event…

Never underestimate the power of thousands of minds. The police shouldn’t hesitate to consult us, particularly for cold cases. The results aren’t guaranteed, but they should be much better than a consultation with a medium!

These two links are primarily about the Domingos/Edwards murders but there is also a portion about Cindy Mellin and I feel it's rather revealing in regards to how much effort has been put into the case since the initial crime occured.

Part I: http://www.keyt.com/news/key-news-investigates/4657481.html
Part II: http://www.keyt.com/news/key-news-investigates/4670276.html


Howard also has vintage articles about Cindy at his site. The article written upon the one year anniversary of Cindy's disappearence has Cindy's father quite angry at LE for how they had worked the case. Scroll down to Cindy's info and at the bottom of that there's a link to more articles.

http://www.thezodiacmansonconnection.com/car_abductions.html

Cindy Lee Mellin, 19 Missing since January 20, 1970 from Ventura, CA

Cindy Lee Mellin
Missing since January 20, 1970 from Ventura, Ventura County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: December 3, 1950
Age at Time of Disappearance: 19 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6" (168 cm.); 105 lbs. (48 kg.)
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; blue eyes. Mellin wears contact lenses.
Clothing/Jewelry: She was last seen wearing a navy blue dress with red buttons, a brown corduroy coat and blue shoes with gold buckles. She was also wearing a gold ring with a single pearl.
Dentals: Not available
DNA: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance

Mellin was employed by the Broadway Department Store in the Buenaventura Shopping Center. She left work shortly after closing on the night of January 20, 1970.

She was last seen standing next to her car in the shopping center parking lot while an unidentified male changed her tire.

When she failed to return home that night, her father went to the shopping center looking for her and found her car still up on a jack with the flat tire still attached.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Ventura Police Department 805-339-4400

Agency Case Number: CR50785

NCIC Number: M-654977212

Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

California Department of Justice
Ventura Police Department
KEY News
NamUs
The Doe Network: Case File 869DFCA

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/869dfca.html

Cindy Lee Mellin
Missing since January 20, 1970 from Ventura, Ventura County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing

The disappearance of Cindy Lee Mellin is a case with possible ties to the infamous Zodiac killer. But Ventura cold case detectives say the evidence points to another killer.


Missing on a Tuesday 2 days before a full moon.

I am taking a fresh look at the Mellin case, and other cases in the state of CA in which the victim may have been attacked by somebody offering help with car trouble.

I know that EDWARD NELSON COLE, aka 'Sam Roper' was a suspect in her case, but police lost track of the guy shortly after questioning him, which is pretty scary. Did anybody ever ID and verify who this Cole guy was and his backstory? The ONLY Edward N. Cole I can find in CA is in Riverside, very sketchy details:

Name: Edward N Cole
Birth Date: 2 Mar
Address: 1163 Tulip St, Corona, CA, 92882-3943

7900 Limonite Ave
Riverside, CA 92509

The ONLY Edward Nelson Cole in the country around the right age , seems to be a politician in North Carolina .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Nelson_Cole

Also, this guy-
Name: Edward Nelson Jr Cole
Publication Date: 9 Feb 2005
Publication Place: United States
Death Date: Abt 2005
Death Place: Kissimmee, FL
Age at Death: 69
Birth Date: abt 1936

Age 4, born abt 1936
Birthplace New York
Gender Male
Race White
Home in 1940 100 Grant Place
Syracuse,
Onondaga, New York


Name: Edward N. Cole
Last Residence: 34759 Kissimmee, Polk, Florida
Born: 16 Nov 1935
Died: 5 Feb 2005
State (Year) SSN issued: New York (1951

Name: Edward N Cole
Birth Date: 16 Nov 1935
Address: 414 Valley Dr, Syracuse, NY, 13207-2240


Name: Edward N Cole
Birth Date: 16 Nov 1935
[15 Nov 1935]
Address: 645 Midiron Dr, Kissimmee, FL, 34759-4121 (1992



If i was a betting man,assuming the Politician isnt the guy, I would guess that the guy born in 1935, and dying in 2005, was the right guy,but I have no verification, Maybe Seagull or Foreigner can chime in?


And this guy,too young, but could be his son, a sex offender Edward Nelson Cole III -
http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/flyer.do?personId=43812

The youngest one, the sexual offender was born in October, 1967, but I cant find a birth record for him, if we could, we could maybe match up to his Father if he was the right guy that was the suspect in Cindy's case

Morf look through the posts made by Melody Lee Cole at the Ancestry message board. She is apparently related to the two Nelson Edward Cole's your posting about and there are other names in her posts that can be researched.

http://boards.ancestry.com/authorposts.aspx?uname=melody&uid=&uem=Cov-54W9kvUyIyRzI5zAjAcx1IAETgFJ&rurl=http%3a%2f%2fboards.ancestry.com%2flocalities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.oswego%2f2040%2fmb.ashx

Seagull wrote:

Morf look through the posts made by Melody Lee Cole at the Ancestry message board. She is apparently related to the two Nelson Edward Cole's your posting about and there are other names in her posts that can be researched.

http://boards.ancestry.com/authorposts.aspx?uname=melody&uid=&uem=Cov-54W9kvUyIyRzI5zAjAcx1IAETgFJ&rurl=http%3a%2f%2fboards.ancestry.com%2flocalities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.oswego%2f2040%2fmb.ashx

Thanks!

I think this is his Daugher-



Name: Melody L Cole
Birth Date: 8 Oct 1971
Gender: Female
Mother's Maiden Name: Mallyon
Birth County: Los Angeles



In 1974, they didnt know where he was

Yes, it does seem as if this Nelson Cole has been estranged from his family for a very long time and that would fit with him having disappeared after being questioned in Cindy's disappearence. It does not necessarily mean he had anything to do with Cindy and may just mean he was skipping out to avoid being detained for child support etc. On the other hand he could have had something to do with Cindy but there is reason for doubt.

I remember looking into this a long time ago and believe there are more older children from a different wife. I think he was married at least four times.

Seagull wrote:

Yes, it does seem as if this Nelson Cole has been estranged from his family for a very long time and that would fit with him having disappeared after being questioned in Cindy's disappearence. It does not necessarily mean he had anything to do with Cindy and may just mean he was skipping out to avoid being detained for child support etc. On the other hand he could have had something to do with Cindy but there is reason for doubt.

I remember looking into this a long time ago and believe there are more older children from a different wife. I think he was married at least four times.

I am trying to reach out to somebody that may be able to give us more info, we will see.

morf13 wrote:

I think this is his Daugher-



Name: Melody L Cole
Birth Date: 8 Oct 1971
Gender: Female
Mother's Maiden Name: Mallyon
Birth County: Los Angeles



In 1974, they didnt know where he was

Making a little progress....

Name: James A Cole
Age: 23
Est. Birth: abt 1942
Spouse Name: Claudett J Mallyon
Spouse Age: 19
Est. Spouse Birth: abt 1946
Date: 25 Sep 1965
Location: Los Angeles

I believe James A. Cole is his Brother.

I believe I have found with bear certainty, EDWARD NELSON COLE, the suspect in the case of Cindy Lee Mellin.


Here's what he has been up to:

He is either this guy, DOB 11/16/35,

In 2000- Improper exhibition of a firearm or dangerous weapon

In 2000- Aggravated assault

Date Unknown- Aggravated assaultimproper exhibition of a firearm

or this guy,08/08/1935

1994- Obtaining property by worthless check

1985- Check fraud

These guys are both EDWARD N. COLE, age 77 in the same state. I think they may be the same person, even know there are two separate birthdays for them, what are the odds of two diff EDward N Coles age 77, in one state,both with records?

Also, there is this guy, EDWARD NELSON COLE JR, who is the son for one of the guys above-
http://www.bustedoffenders.com/alabama/brookwood/sex-offenders/edward-nelson-cole/aafb104c-8507-48d1-ad9f-0c8426c870c2

JR has used addresses in various parts of Northern NY, which is where the Edward Nelson Cole suspect in the Mellin case, lived before coming to CA. Apple doesnt seem to fall far from the tree, huh?

The first one with DOB 11/16/35, has used addresses in both FL, and NY, and he IS the one i believe to be the same Cole suspected in the Mellin case...he died in 2005!



An old booking info sheet for him with physical description:

Race: W Sex: M DOB: 11/16/1935
Height: 602 Weight: 240


I know the name of a woman he was married to, and I know that Cole had alot of diff kids

I have been talking with a Family member of Edward Nelson Cole,and they are working to give me more info,and hopefully a photo of him. I also have spoken with a couple investigators in the Mellin case,and the general consenus is that Cindy was likely killed and buried in some sort of oil refinery pipeline. Cole is their prime suspect, and his job at the time was burying this pipe as they laid it,or something along those lines.

Great job, Morf! It's good to know a little more about the case.