Janet Callies

Callies, circa 1978

  • Missing Since 11/15/1978
  • Missing From Grand Island, Nebraska
  • Classification Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Age 40 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'1 - 5'3, 115 - 130 pounds
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Red and beige or red and white four-door 1975 Dodge Dart with the Nebraska license plate number 8C4696
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Callies may use the last name Jones.

Details of Disappearance

Callies was last seen in at the Sandbar, a bar near Interstate 80 in Grand Island, Nebraska, on November 15, 1978. At 7:30 p.m., she called her oldest daughter from the Sandbar and they made plans to have dinner together. At 8:30, Callies left the bar to pick up her daughter at her apartment and go to dinner.

Callies never arrived at the apartment and has never been heard from again. She was reported missing by her ex-husband on November 21. Her car, a red and beige or red and white four-door 1975 Dodge Dart with the Nebraska license plate number 8C4696, has never been located.

In 1984, the serial killer Henry Lee Lucas confessed to Callies's murder. He stated he and his partner-in-crime, Ottis Toole, had strangled Callies and buried her body "somewhere between the north edge of Grand Island and the South Dakota border." He said he couldn't remember much about what they did with her car but thought they might have driven it to Canada and sold it to a junk dealer. He remembered personal details about Callies, such at the fact that she had three children.

A photo of Lucas is posted with this case summary. He is also considered a possible suspect in the disappearances of Eva DeBruhl and Elizabeth "Terri" Bishop, and he confessed to involvement in the unsolved disappearances of Cheryl Scherer and a married couple, John and Faye Whatley.

There was never enough evidence to charge Lucas and Toole in connection with Callies's case and both men have since died in prison. Lucas claimed to have killed approximately 600 people, but he confessed to many crimes he did not commit and the exact number of his victims is unknown.

Investigating Agency

  • Grand Island Police Department 308-385-5400

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 24, 2021; casefile added.