Summary
Overview
This episode covers the 1980 double homicide of 4-year-old Martha 'Marty' Mezzo and 5-year-old Teresa 'Terry' Flores in San Miguel, California. The girls vanished in broad daylight from a small town of 800 residents and were found murdered days later. Despite numerous suspects and DNA evidence, the case went cold due to investigative missteps. Now, 45 years later, Detective Clint Cole—who solved the Kristen Smart case—has come out of retirement to pursue fresh leads and DNA testing, racing against time as the victims' families age.
The Girls' Disappearance
On May 17, 1980, five-year-old Teresa 'Terry' Flores and four-year-old Martha 'Marty' Mezzo vanished from Mission Street in San Miguel, California during a normal morning outing. The girls had spent the night at Terry's house and were running errands with Terry's aunt Virginia before heading to a birthday party. After stopping at the post office and market, they walked toward Marty's house, making a pit stop at the local Elkhorn bar where a patron bought them a Coke. Their last known interaction was around 11:30 a.m. when they spoke with Terry's uncle on the sidewalk, after which they simply vanished despite the busy main road and numerous witnesses.
- The girls disappeared on Saturday, May 17, 1980, around 11:30 a.m. from Mission Street in San Miguel, a town of only 800 people
- Terry's aunt Virginia took them into town at 10:45 a.m. to run errands and buy items for a birthday party
- The girls stopped at the Elkhorn bar where a patron bought them a Coke before they left to head to Marty's house
- Their last known interaction was with Terry's uncle on the sidewalk at approximately 11:30 a.m.
- When the girls didn't arrive at Marty's house, both families initially assumed they were with the other family, causing a delay in reporting them missing
" Everybody did know everybody. The little kids would go places by themselves once in a while if there was somewhere they needed to be and no one available to take them there. "
" On this busy main road at 1130 in the morning with witnesses everywhere, they just vanish. "
The Massive Search Operation
After the girls were reported missing, law enforcement launched an enormous search operation involving approximately 150 people, including National Guard members from nearby Camp Roberts, multiple helicopters, and people on horseback. The sheriff's office borrowed agents from neighboring departments and set up a command post at the girls' school. Despite searching the entire town of San Miguel three times over, including the Salinas Riverbed, no trace of the girls was found for nearly two weeks.
- Within a couple of hours of being reported missing, about 20 officers arrived in San Miguel to begin searching
- By the next day, 150 people were searching, including National Guard members from Camp Roberts, plus multiple helicopters and people on horseback
- Investigators conducted searches that wouldn't be allowed today, including searching homes without warrants
- On May 19th, Sergeant Joe Little publicly stated that everything pointed to the assumption that their disappearance was not accidental
- Terry's father Michael was initially suspected but was cleared after he was found with a strong alibi and passed multiple polygraphs
" A town where she said you could walk around with a shotgun in your hand and nobody would say anything became then the command center for a massive police operation. "
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