Carol Joyce Deleon was 18 when she graduated from Thomas A. Edison High School in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, United States on May 28, 1981. She was a resident of San Antonio.

Days after Deleon’s high school graduation, her family tried to report her missing. However, a report was not taken because she was 18 and no foul play was noted at the time.

Also, Deleon had told her family she would be moving away once she turned 18. Her family assumed she had followed through. 

On June 4, 1981, Deleon was found dead along Interstate 35 in southern Comal County, Texas. She was partially nude.

The autopsy determined Deleon died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators tried to identify her using fingerprints and a composite sketch released to local media but to no avail so she was buried as a Jane Doe. 

In 2007, Deleon was reported missing by her younger sister to the San Antonio Police Department. In May 2008, the Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program (UCIP) of the Texas Rangers reviewed the case file and found only one missing person similar to her description from the 1981-time frame.

The Texas Rangers met with Deleon’s family and provided a photo, which helped them recognize her. Further family deoxyribonucleic acid testing confirmed her identity.

In 2010, the Texas Rangers continued pursuing the case with forensic DNA advancements. An unknown DNA profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) but no matches were found.