Full Name: Christine Ann Gross

Alternative Name: Christy or Chris

Case Status: Unsolved Homicide

Record ID#: 3651

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*: March 30, 1955
Birthplace:
Age at the time of Disappearance: 19
Age Group: Teenager
Gender at Birth: Female
Hair: Dark Brown Hair
Eyes: Brown
Skin Complexion: Olive
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Nationality: United States
Languages Spoken: English

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build:

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

• Unknown

Medical Condition: Unknown
Physical Abnormality: Unknown
Dental Condition: Unknown
Scars & Other Marks: Scar on the front of the left shin (dime-sized)
Piercings: Unknown
Tattoos: Unknown

Other Descriptors: Unknown

Clothing

• Unknown

Possessions:

• Ring

Date of the Disappearance*: July 4, 1974

Carlene Brown & Christy Gross

On Independence Day 1974, 19-year-olds Carlene Brown and her friend Christine ‘Christy’ Ann Gross vanished while enjoying the holiday celebration held with the Little Britches Rodeo at the local fairgrounds.

Carlene was a local girl, having graduated from Rawlins High School in May that same year. Her parents were divorced and Carlene was living in Rawlins with her dad and brother at the time though she often went back and forth between her parents. Carlene is remembered by her high school friends as being successful in school, a member of many extra-curricular groups (sports, band, debate) and graduating with good grades.

Christy was from out of town, vising on vacation from Bowdle, South Dakota. Prior to her graduation the year before, Christy was known to be very active in her high school’s extra-curricular activities including the school band, choir, track team, and cheer-leading.  It is unclear how Christy had ties to the Rawlins area, but reports say she was in town visiting friends during the summer break.  It is also unclear where Christy was staying while in town.

Christy, Carlene, and a third friend had planned to meet up and celebrate the Fourth of July festivities together, starting with the Little Britches Rodeo.  It was allegedly the first time in several years that the town had been able to put on a fireworks show, so it is likely they intended to finish their day attending that event.

Both Christy and Carlene drove separate vehicles to the event (Source), arriving at the fairgrounds where they were seen hanging out together.  The third friend became ill and did not come that day.  By the time the festival wound down later in the evening, there was no sign of the girls.

*Some sources suggest they were riding in a single vehicle; who’s is not clear.

Carlene was a relatively independent young woman, who sometimes quarreled with her parents and shifted between their homes.  Her family was not initially surprised when she failed to return home, assuming she was heading to Colorado to visit her mother or just running around with Christy. Christy had already planned a long-term trip and spoke of visiting friends in the northern towns of Worland (about 200 miles away) or Sheridan (about 260 miles away). [see the map under the More Details tab]

When the girls did not return, their parents became worried. Neither friends nor family (including friends in Worland) had heard from them since the Fourth of July, and no one knew where they might have gone. Missing persons reports were filed, and eventually, their vehicles were found. Some reports indicate a vehicle was discovered at the fairgrounds, while others mention it was found in Worland. It’s unclear whether this means there were two separate vehicles (one in each location) or if the reports are inconsistent. This confusion makes it difficult to determine whether the girls disappeared directly from the fairgrounds or after leaving the rodeo.

The car was later recovered abandoned and empty, located at either the fairgrounds or in Worland, a town about 200 miles north (sources are inconsistent).

Although the case was initially tagged as a runaway, the disappearance of two other young women shortly afterward helped raise concerns of foul play.

Several years later, in the fall of 1983,  Christy’s skeletal remains were unfortunately found about 3 miles south of the neighboring town of Sinclair.  The cause of death was determined to be homicide, Christy had been struct twice on her head.

There is no sign of Carlene at the crime scene; however, DNA testing may be complicated in her case.  Carlene was adopted and her birth parents are unknown. It does appear however that her dental records may be on file.

Multiple Victims?: Yes

Rumored or Actual Sightings: Unknown

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered*: October 27, 1983

Description:

On October 27, 1983, two young siblings were having fun testing out their father’s new truck in a rural field about three miles south of Sinclair, Wyoming (a town neighboring Rawlins). While there, they uncovered partial skeletal remains and contacted police.

The victim was wearing a ring that was later identified as that of Christy Gross. The dental records were a match and the victim was positively identified as Christy’s. It appeared that she had been killed after suffering two heavy strikes to the head in what was later deemed a homicide.

There was no sign of Carlene in the area.

Possible Signs Of . . . : Physical Assault, Use of a Deadly Weapon (Other)

Time of Death:

Cause of Death: Two heavy blows to the skull (Blunt-Force Trauma)

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: Yes

Multiple Victims?: Yes

DNA Tested (No Match): Unknown

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Description: Unknown

License Plate: Unknown

Description: Royal ‘Roy’ Russell Long, a traveling carnival worker and part-time long-haul trucker would emerge as the key suspect in several unsolved disappearances and murders of young women across the south western United States in the 1970s-1980s.

Description: Caucasian, Male, 40s, Dark Hair & Beard, Mustache.​

Mr. Long had a long history of sexual assault accusations, including his daughter who testified that he had molested her for many years as a child. According to her, she sometimes traveled with him on long-haul trips:

“[H]e would see young girls, give her money to go play the pinball machine or buy a soda, and he would use stuffed animals to lure those girls to the truck. When she would come back, the girls would be gone” — Hearst Television.

Investigators have stated they believed Mr. Long was a repeat offender with potentially more than two dozen victims over the years (Hearst Television).  In addition to Sharon Baldeagle, who’s case is covered here, Mr. Long is also a possible suspect in the disappearance of:

• Four young girls from the Rawlins, Wyoming area in 1974:
  • Christy Gross
  • Carlene Brown
  • Jayleen Banker
  • Deborah Meyer
• Two young girls from the Oklahoma State Fair in 1981:
  • Christine Kinsey
  • Cinda Pallet
• Two young girls hitchhiking in Wyoming
  • S. (survived)
  • Sharon Baldeagle

Several young women disappeared together (Cinda and Christine, Christy and Carlene), suggesting that the assailant was willing to target two victims at once, similar to what happened in Sharon’s case.

Long also pled guilty to murdering Cinda Pallett and Charlotte Kinsey.  Unfortunately, the charges in the Pallett / Kinsey case were all dropped he was never formally tried in connection with the Rawlins disappearances.