POLICE have reopened a probe into the mystery disappearance of a young woman snatched and murdered more than four decades ago.
Cops are looking into the cold case of the young 7-Eleven worker who was abducted and found dead on the side of the road 43 years ago.
Delores Bailey, a 7 Eleven worker, vanished during her night shift before being found almost a year after her disappearanceCredit: Broward Crime Stoppers
Her murder has gone unsolved for more than four decadesCredit: Davie Police Department
Delores Bailey was 25 when she mysteriously went missing from Hollywood, Florida after reporting for her overnight shift at the convenience store in January 1982.
She never returned home to her husband and baby soon, and instead was found on the side of the road a whole year later after desperate searches and appeals were made.
No arrests have ever been made in the case, with not even a suspect named in the hunt for the young mum’s killer.
But now police have vowed to look into the tragedy again – saying they believe advanced DNA technology could now help them to hunt down the killer.
Bailey’s family said they are praying they will soon get justice.
“My family and I are very happy that her case is open and getting the attention it needs,’ said her niece Melissa McBride.
“We hope that we may finally get the closure we have been longing for.
“It’s like an open wound that has never healed for our family.”
Lead investigator Detective Eddie Velazquez will take DNA from the scene and from the body found to determine whether it could be a clue to the killer.
He revealed Bailey’s son is set to also provide a DNA sample so investigators have something to compare it to.
“Once we get that DNA tested, it’s used to eliminate whether it’s her DNA. Whatever it is we have from the crime scene, it would eliminate it being her and possibly link to a suspect,” Velazquez told CBS News.
Cops say Bailey was taken at some point during her night shift where she worked as a desk clerk.
They do not know when or who by, and no witnesses have ever come forward with information, despite appeals.
“Bailey was reported as missing and was never located, leaving behind a husband and a young son,” officers at the Davie Police Department said.
“Almost 11 months later, a landscaper working in the wooded area of Griffin Road and the Florida Turnpike discovered skeletal remains.”
Detectives at the time from the force combined with experts from the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office to use dental records to identify the body as that of missing Bailey.
A post mortem ruled the case a homicide, confirming that Bailey was shot multiple times, which ultimately caused her death.
Investigators at the time “worked on this case for as long as they could and exhausted all leads”, say police, but no leads came forward.
Cops still do not know who killed the store workerCredit: WFOR-TV