Recognize these women? Deputies believe they could have information in 1984 cold case murder

New clues being sought in teen’s disappearance, death

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.UPDATE: Deputies say they’ve identified all four women in the photos and they believe the pictures were likely just the contents of a lost wallet and not pertinent to the investigation.

Original story below:

Authorities said they have located three of four women seen in old photos who they believe could have information about a teenage girl’s disappearance and death in 1984, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said 15-year-old Colleen Orsborn went missing in Daytona Beach in 1984 and a month later, her body was found in a field in Orange County but due to technological limitations at the time, it wasn’t identified as Orsborn until 2011.

Records show Orsborn is believed to have been murdered by Christopher Wilder, a serial killer known as the “Beauty Queen Killer” who fatally shot himself in April 1984 during a confrontation with police in New Hampshire.

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I practically raised her for three years,” said Bruce Orsborn, Colleen’s older brother. “She was the first kid I ever had.”

Decades later, Orange County deputies were taking another look at Orsburn’s case, which has since gone cold, in hopes of generating new leads and found photos of four young women in the file.

“My sister and I looked at some of them, but it was nobody we recognized,” Orsborn said.

“If it was Wilder, did he drop these photos while he’s burying Colleen?” asked Cpl. David Nutting with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office cold case unit. “How or why are they even in the case file?”

Deputies teamed up with police in Quincy, Massachusetts, to identify the women. All four photos were addressed to a woman named Jen or Jennie, and authorities are trying to locate her, too.

Within hours of posting the photos on social media, authorities said they identified three of the women, and they’ve spoken to at least one of them.

Nutting said she knew nothing about Colleen or Wilder.

All four photos were taken by Miller Studio Photographers in Quincy in the early 1980s and had messages written on the back, which were enhanced with modern technology.

The messages on the back were as follows:

Female pictured top left: “Would never be the same without you! Haha! I still getting used to the idea that we are all Seniors now can you believe it. Hope we still see each other after school. Love Kathe” (Miller Studio Photographers)

Female pictured top right: “Love Susan” (Miller Studio Photographers)

Female pictured bottom left: “To Jen, I’m glad we became good friends. Let’s stay close. I only live right up the street. Have a real nice future in everything you do. Friends always. Love Michelle”

Female pictured bottom right: “Jennie, We have been best friends since 4th grade and I certainly hope our friendship continues”

Anyone who knows the women pictured or the woman to whom the photos were addressed to is asked to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Team at ocsocoldcase@ocfl.net, call Corp. Dave Nutting at 407-254-7000 ext. 70538 or Detective Sgt. David Pacino at 617-745-5721 or dpacino@quincyma.gov.


About the Authors

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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