News Scrapbook 1984

La Mesa, CA {San Diego co.) La Mesa Courier (Cir. W. 5,500)

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nvestiga ·o~ . - I and ~n empty as flashhgh t at the rear - n and et the intersection. of Parkway B;nd Jackson Drive. A witness later reported seeing her walking on Jackson Drive at abou~ 1:1!5 a.m. with a gas can. According to the autops} report, Swanke died from hemorrhaging from e~rnal neck lacerations. Further lab tests to determine if she had been sexually assaulted were pending at presstime. Swanke's fully clothed body was found near Elevator Road on a Spring Valley hillside. A hiker sighted the body at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday and called the San Diego Sheriff's Depar< (Confuecl on P-,e suggests donationa to the ft 1d' in· lieu of flo ets. Prior to the discovery of Anne's body, Mrs. Swanke had said the family was holding up "remarkably well," and at- tributed part, of that to the out- pouring of support family members have received frap the public. "It's been unreal, just in- credible," said Mrs. Swanke of the support. "I don't think we'd be doing BO well without.it." Swanke was an honors stu- dent at USD, and was also listed in the Who's Who of American University Students. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and the Catholic Daughters of America. She was also a member of the National Scholastic Honor Society. Swanke is survived by her mother and father, Kathleen and John, three brothers, John J., Thomas A. and Hugh E., all of San Diego, and t.wo sisters, Julia, of San Diego and An- drienne Robbins of San Diego, and her grandfather, Charles H. Swanke of Denver.

Debra W. Buehn Oouriar l'.diw

friends

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As

mourn the death of Anne Cat}lei-ine Swanke, officials continued their investigation into her murder. The body of Swanke, a 22-year-old honors student from San Carlos, was found on a Spr- ing Valley hillside Saturday morning by a hiker. Swanke had been miesing Since the early morning hours of Nov. 20, when she apparent- ly ran out of gas in La l',fosa while en route home from visiting a friend. La J.\1esa polic_e later found her car - with her purse inside .- .- (-;;}i,

Anne Catherine Swanke

Hundreds of mourners at- tended a service for Swanke on Monday at the University of San Diego. A rosary was said on Tuesday at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, and the tuneral mass was Wednesday. As friends and family mourned Swanke, the in- vestigat10n continued, with the San Diego Sheriff's Depart- ment involved because the body was found in the county. Anyone with any informa- tion about Swanke is asked to call the Sheriffs Department _,omic1de division during business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at 236-2944, or after hours, 565-5200. ·In La Mesa, police Tuesday a~ain set up road,blocks at the 1 intersection where Swanke disappeared. Motorists were asked if they had seen or heard anything the morning Swanke disappeared from around Flet- cher Parkway and Jackson

Drive. A similar roadblock had been set up Saturday ./

El Cajon, CA (San Diego Co.) Dally Callfornl • n {D. 100,271) 30

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Swa :,q5,s- By Jo Moreland of The Daily Californ,an

er sparl~s program

another crime such as the kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Anne Swanke of San Carlos. "We don·t want to be in the busine"ss of running a cab service and that's not the purpose of it " Beatty said of the new assistance program ''But certa,nly we'll bnng the women back (to the station) and let 'em wait in the lobby for a ride." Investigators are still trying to de- termine who killed the llniversit:t: of San Q_ie@ senior after her car ran out of gas about l 30 a.m. Nov. 20 at Fletcher

Parkway and Jackson Drive in La Mesa . The car and her personal effects were found abandoned less than an hour later at the intersection. A hiker discovered Miss Swanke's body, partially clothed and with the throat slashed, last Saturday on a remote Spring Valley hill. Sheriff's homicide detective Sgt. Dennis Hartman said today he didn't want to comment on whether the slaying might be related to any other East County crimes, Someone slashed the throats of Rhonda Strang, 24, and the child she was baby- sitting, Amber Lynn Fisher, 3, on Oct 23 at

a Lakeside home. No suspects have been arrested. "We do have a number of legitimate leads," Hartman said today, expressing confidence in ultimately finding who killed Miss Swanke. "A number of people have called in with information. We don't have a definite sus- pect yet, but we're working on it." The FBI is doing a psychological profile of Miss Swanke's slayer. That will be used in studying other unsolved cases in the county, according to John Douglas, a spe. cial agent for the FBI. --~-

La Mesa police started a program Thur~- day to help women who have car trouble after dark in that city. Police Chief Don Fach instructed his officers to a,k the operators of service stations open late at night to call police if any women come in and need an escort back to a disabled or out-of-gas car. "In any event, we're not to leave a female alone after dark ·• said police Lt Wayne Beatty. He said police are trymg• to prevent