Wanda Gail Loe

Loe, circa 1968

  • Missing Since 07/26/1968
  • Missing From Tahoe City, California
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Age 26 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'2, 135 pounds
  • Associated Vehicle(s) Green 1969 Buick with a black vinyl top and Washington license plates (accounted for)
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Loe wears hippie-style round-rimmed eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance

Loe was last seen in Tahoe City, California on July 26, 1968. She had been working as a waitress at the Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge in North Lake Tahoe, California for about six weeks weeks, when she suddenly stopped showing up for work and disappeared, without collecting her last paycheck or any of her mail.

Her vehicle, a green 1969 Buick with a black vinyl top and Washington license plates, was found in the parking lot of the restaurant. Her mother reported her missing in August. She has never been heard from again.

At the time of her disappearance, Loe was staying at a campsite in the Blackwood Canyon area near Homewood, California. Around the time she went missing, her campsite was dismantled and her property stolen. A Volkswagen Bug had been seen in the area, but it's unclear whether the vehicle had any connection to her.

Loe had attended Pepperdine College, and spent a time studying abroad in Heidelberg, Germany. She was reportedly dating a local man, Dennis Finn, at the time of her disappearance, and they had a stormy relationship with him, with many fights. While extremely intoxicated, Finn reportedly confessed to a cousin that he had murdered her. He died in 1982 without ever being charged in her case.

Loe's father died in 1975 and her mother died in 2002. In her mother's obituary, Loe is noted as having predeceased her. Authorities believe she may have been the victim of a homicide and that her remains may be in the Carpenter Valley area, near Truckee, California. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Placer County Sheriff's Office 530-581-6369

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 25, 2018; casefile added.