Tina Michelle Migis
Tina Migis was a 17-year-old runaway from the Portland, Oregon, area at the time of her death. On October 3, 1975, at about 1:00 p.m., she boarded a bus at Yreka, California, en route to Portland. She was not on that bus when it arrived in Portland late in the evening of October 3, 1975. Investigators have determined that she remained on the bus at least as far as Roseburg, Oregon. A witness reported seeing Migis hitchhiking at a Eugene, Oregon, ramp to northbound I-5 on the afternoon of October 6, 1975. That witness observed Migis enter an older (perhaps mid-1960s) dirty green or blue Ford or Chevrolet van. The van had covered windows and may have had areas of primer paint on the vehicle body. The van was driven by a white male in his mid-twenties, approximately 6 feet tall, weighing approximately 165-175 pounds, having light brown hair and a mustache. A second occupant of the van was described as a slender white male with shoulder-length black hair. Investigators do not know whether the second occupant was an associate of the driver or was another hitchhiker.
When she was last observed, Migis was believed to be wearing a heavy-knit cream-colored sweater that had a two-inch horizontal stripe, calf-length brown lace-up boots, and possibly blue bell-bottom pants. Migis was of Caucasian and Hispanic descent, approximately 5'2" tall and weighed approximately 105 pounds. She had black over-the-shoulder hair; her most noticeable feature was a missing upper front tooth.
At 3:51 p.m. on October 7, 1975, the nearly nude and decapitated body of Tina Migis was found beside River Road North, north of Salem, Oregon. The following morning, her severed head was found in a field adjacent to Labish Center Road northeast of Salem.
Anyone who believes that they may have seen or had contact with Tina Migis during the hours or days preceding her death, or who believes they may have other pertinent information about this crime, is asked to contact the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Squad at 503-540-8006 or 503-540-8096 or use the
Cold Case Squad tip form.
