1:55
- ABC News
- February 20, 2019
Man arrested 46 years after 11-year-old's murder
Linda Ann O'Keefe was killed in July 1973 -- and decades went by without leads.
1:55
The police department last year also \"live-tweeted\" O'Keefe's story from her perspective, narrating the final day of her life in real-time, exactly 45 years later.
“Hi. I’m Linda O’Keefe (or Linda ANN O’Keefe, if I’m in trouble with my mom). Forty-five years ago today, I disappeared from Newport Beach. I was murdered and my body was found in the Back Bay. My killer was never found. Today, I’m going to tell you my story.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/G25n2IppZb
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018
“I’m wearing a dress today… It’s white, with light blue flowers on it, and dark blue trim. My mom made it. She makes a lot of my clothes, and my sisters’ clothes. She’s really good at sewing, and we don’t have a lot of money for fancy store outfits anyhow.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/9sucqJsnGg
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018
“Let’s see… What else can I tell you about me?? I’ve always been *really* good at tidying up. Mom says I’m like a ‘little mother’ and always keep my room very neat. Whenever I clean up, I ask her to come see. I like hearing her tell me that I did a good job.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/cYfjJEGnX6
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018
The Twitter campaign did not lead to the suspect's identification, but it did create an emphasis on the case and opened doors for the case to be pursued with renewed efforts, officials said.
According to police, O'Keefe normally rode her bike to summer school. But that day, she was dropped off.
While waiting to use the school phone, O'Keefe went outside. Her friend later told police a turquoise van stopped next to O'Keefe a few times as she walked.
O'Keefe then called her mother from the school office, and her mother told her she was busy sewing and that she should walk home, police said.
A woman later told police she saw O'Keefe standing next to a turquoise van and talking to the driver -- a white man in his mid-20s or early 30s.
“The van is parked along the curb, just before the intersection of Marguerite and Inlet Drive. The front passenger door is open, and I’m standing right beside it. Jannine will remember that she sees the driver: a man, white, in his mid-20s or early 30s.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/Q2A1mTSyYp
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 6, 2018
But O'Keefe never came home. Her family called the police and officers then joined the search for the 4-foot-tall girl with long brown hair and blue eyes.
“Officers are searching everywhere. Back then, there were vacant fields south of Pacific View and east of Marguerite. They search the fields, the reservoir, the neighborhoods, the streets. Nothing.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/zgdl0JfPvr
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 7, 2018
“Officers are searching Fashion Island. The Back Bay. On foot. By car. By helicopter. Jeeps are used in the places the patrol cars can’t get to. Still… nothing.” #LindasStory pic.twitter.com/9LNk8LQ9Et
— Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 7, 2018
That night, a woman who lives in the bluffs above Back Bay heard a voice scream, \"Stop, you’re hurting me,\" police said.
The next day, a man visiting that area found O'Keefe's strangled body, police said.
ABC News' Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report.
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