I searched Reddit and was surprised not to see a writeup of this case, particularly when it has been mentioned with serial killers including Leonard Lake and Zodiac (although, IMO, both seem unlikely suspects). Much of the accessible coverage (e.g., from the El Dorado DA) lacks details about the circumstances of their disappearance. I apologize in advance that this isn’t the smoothest writeup, but I’m trying to weave together details from a couple of different sources into a cohesive and accurate account.

The Disappearance

Julie Schossow, 25, and Marilyn Putt, 27, were close friends. They had both worked as blackjack dealers at the Harrah's Casino in South Lake Tahoe, on the border of Nevada and California, since May 1980. Marilyn had a 5-year-old son, Jason, and they had lived in a rented house at 725 Los Angeles Avenue since October 1981. The Putts shared the house with a roommate, Colleen Gore, who often helped take care of Jason. Schossow was in between apartments and temporarily living in the home as well. Neighbors recalled there were often many cars at the house, although there weren’t wild or noisy parties there. Jason was often seen playing in the snow with other neighborhood children.

On January 12, 1982, Schossow and Putt had both worked at Harrah’s and then returned home after their shift. What is known about the intervening hours seems to come largely from their roommate, Colleen Gore. Schossow and Putt told Gore they were going “to party,” and at approximately 1 AM, a car horn sounded outside of the house and the women left.

Both victims were seen drinking together at the Rendezvous Bar inside Harrah’s and leaving a bar with some men that evening, however I do not know if this happened before they returned home or after they went out again to party. Colleen told police that sometime during the night, Schossow came back to pick up her car. Putt called 11 hours later (unclear if this is at noon on January 13, or 11 hours after Schossow returned for the car) and said they had “met a couple of rich guys” and were headed to Sacramento or San Francisco. Putt asked Gore to babysit her son.

Gore did not report the women missing for four days. This would have been approximately January 17.

On February 2, police found Schossow’s brown Honda in the Harrah’s parking lot, covered in snow and with flat tires. Police said this indicated the car had been there since the day the women went missing, January 13. (What is mystifying is why the police knew the women were missing since January 17, knew Schossow’s car was missing, and knew both women worked at Harrah’s—yet apparently didn’t check that parking lot until February 2.)

Note this interesting passage in an article from February 18, 1982, in the Reno Gazette-Journal: “The neighbors and some of the women’s co-workers from Harrah’s are reluctant to talk about Putt and Schossow. One Los Angeles Avenue woman said she was worried about retribution from the ‘two men the girls were with that night,’ and the Harrah’s workers have been ordered by casino officials not to talk about the missing dealers.”

Discovery of the Bodies

On June 6, 1982, almost six months later, the body of Marilyn Putt was discovered in the South Fork of the American River, one mile west of an area known as Chili Bar off of Highway 193. Her body was nude and had been weighted down with chains and binding material and the cause of death appears to be ligature strangulation, with the time of death being estimated at 6-8 weeks prior to her body being found.

One month later, on July 9, 1982, the body of Julie Schossow was discovered also in the South Fork of the American River, approximately 150 yards from where Marilyn Putt's body had been discovered. She had a cord tightly wrapped around her neck two times and the coroner could not rule out the fact that she may have been bound together with Marilyn Putt. The cause of death appears to be ligature strangulation, with the time of death being estimated at 6-8 weeks prior to her body being found.

Given the discrepancy between the time the women went missing and the estimated time of death, it is believed that the women were held captive for approximately three months, believed to be somewhere in between South Lake Tahoe and Placerville.

Other events or potential leads

*Notably, another woman, Debney Lynn Lobanoff, 28, went missing not long before these women in December 1981. Her nude body was found floating in the Slab Creek Reservoir on July 3, 1982, in between the discoveries of Putt’s and Schossow’s bodies and approximately 7.5 miles upstream. According to her husband, Debney left with two “biker-type” men. This case also remains unsolved.

*In 2016, the El Dorado District Attorney’s Office launched a campaign to revive this cold case and made a specific request: “If there’s anyone out there that’s directly involved with or associated with the Church of Scientology in South Lake Tahoe, you may or may not know you have information that could be helpful, so please contact us.” The DA’s website further notes, “Although not a member herself, Marilyn Putt was closely associated with several leading members of the Church of Scientology.”

*In February this year, the El Dorado DA’s office announced they had used genetic genealogy databases to identify Joseph Holt, a local real estate worker, as the man who kidnapped and killed a woman, Brynn Rainey, in 1977 and a teenaged girl, Carol Andersen, in 1979. Rainey was last seen at a bar just before her 2 AM shift at a South Lake Tahoe Casino; her body was found in a shallow grave and her cause of death was believed to be strangulation or suffocation. Andersen disappeared on her way home from a party near a South Lake Tahoe ski resort. Her body was found dumped by the side of the road a few miles away; she had been bound and strangled. Unfortunately, justice evaded Holt as he died in 2014.

Questions

--How is it that the women weren’t reported missing for so many days? January 13, 1982, was a Wednesday—it seems, especially during ski season, that it’s unlikely that both of them would have had multiple consecutive days off of work and over a weekend, but it appears that no one (Harrah’s or the roommate) reported the women missing until Saturday or Sunday.

--The quotation from the anonymous neighbor is also odd—why would they be worried about retribution? Were these two men known to locals, but perhaps not to the women? Although they had both been there for some time, they were both transplants.

--Were they held captive for months, or is there another explanation for the discrepancy in between their date of disappearance and apparent times of death?

--Why is the DA currently inquiring about the Church of Scientology?

--Holt’s MO doesn’t sound dissimilar from the circumstances of Putt and Schossow’s case except that evidence is pointing towards two men. Could Holt have had or later taken on a partner? It’s interesting to note that he worked in real estate given it appears the women were held captive.

What do you think happened to Julie and Marilyn?

​

Sources

Julie Schossow & Marilyn Putt’s case info:

https://www.eldoradocoldcase.com/victim/index.html?NewsID=45648

https://blog.edcda.com/2016/07/07/1982-cold-case-homicide-revisited-marilyn-putt-and-julie-schossow/

Brief video by the El Dorado County Cold Case Task Force about the case:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO5PxH6rFeE

Debney Lobanoff:

https://www.eldoradocoldcase.com/victim/index.html?NewsID=45649

https://newspaperarchive.com/placerville-mountain-democrat-apr-18-1984-p-16/

Joseph Holt case:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/investigators-solve-1970s-cold-cases-with-emerging-dna-technique-today-2019-02-25/?fbclid=IwAR1CfHq6zwmNSTPPVpnnPp6D517L9zU3RG_RqvlakgaSL6tdWmxz161BzNI

https://www.kolotv.com/content/news/Two-decades-old-El-Dorado-County-cold-cases-solved-506390741.html

Other sources:

https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/06/08/cold-case-murders-reopened-with-questions-for-church-of-scientology/

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article88292277.html

https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/information-sought-in-1982-south-lake-tahoe-killings/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=9776368&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjE0OTY1OTIwNCwiaWF0IjoxNTYxNDc5MjI5LCJleHAiOjE1NjE1NjU2Mjl9.jK1hrxhcfwdV9JM0ox6wUKsOQObiUm7g1tniwDtNL3E

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9556461/julie_schossow1/