Lesia Michelle Jackson was 12 years old when she was murdered. Her body was found in Conroe, Texas, more than 40 years ago, and the person responsible for her death has yet to be brought to justice.
On Sept. 7, 1979, Lesia was enjoying the day with her two older brothers, swimming in a lake at a subdivision off FM 1485 near her home, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
When her brothers decided to leave, she opted to stay behind and enjoy a few more moments in the lake. She told them that she would follow behind them in just a short while.
A witness told the police that they saw Lesia walking alone on Creek Bend Street, but she never made it home.
Her relatives searched the neighborhood and surrounding areas, but there was no sign of her.
The following day, her brother found her tortoiseshell glasses at the intersection of Creekwood and Deep Forest. They were bent and cracked, but there was still no sign of Lesia.
After three days of searching for her, her parents contacted their local police department and reported Lesia missing.
Montgomery County police officers joined in on the search, but they too were unable to find Lesia. Detective Terance Greenwood told ABC 13 that “the hard part is the victim.”
“As a parent, when your child is missing, you can’t find her; you have no idea where she’s at, what happened to her, or what’s going on with her. It makes you want to solve this at whatever expense.”
Their six-day search came to an end on Sept. 13, 1979, when an oilfield worker discovered Lesia dead in a wooded area along Exxon Road in Conroe, Texas, which was about half a mile from where she was swimming.
Her bright blue bikini and her shredded t-shirt were found near her naked body.
An autopsy revealed that she had been raped and strangled to death.
When detectives searched the crime scene, which Detective Kenneth Bivens with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office described as “gruesome,” for evidence, they uncovered tire tracks that could have belonged to the killer’s vehicle.
They made another discovery that was kept hidden from the public for 40 years.
Officials stated that at the time of Lesia’s disappearance, she was wearing a gold butterfly necklace with a matching butterfly ring, but when her body was found, she was only wearing the necklace—the ring was missing.
If the killer took the necklace, it could link him to the murder.
For four decades, Lesia’s clothing and glasses have been stored in a yellow evidence folder as evidence.
Experts tested the items several times for DNA evidence in hopes that it would lead to Lesia’s killer, but each time, the results were inconclusive.
Throughout the years, Montgomery County police officials have received hundreds of tips, including a recent tip from an unidentified man who said he saw “a white station wagon driving erratically through the neighborhood.”
However, that tip, along with the others, led to a dead end.
Investigators said they are running out of time as the suspect(s) and possible witnesses are getting older and dying.
Detective Terance Greenwood with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said: “We have a little 12-year-old who has been murdered, and we need to find out who did it.”
Police officials stated that Lesia’s murder became one of the “highest-profile unsolved murders in Montgomery County.”
Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of Lesia Michelle Jackson is encouraged to contact Montgomery County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-392-STOP (7867).
Visit Montgomery County Crime Stoppers or contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Squad directly at (936) 538-3781.