Please note the first part of this writeup was originally posted on r/UnresolvedMysteries earlier this year, but locals have chimed in to clarify some points and answer some questions. More importantly, Marilyn’s sister reached out and provided new information that paints a very different story than existing media coverage, and also enlightens the El Dorado County DA's renewed call for information, which had mystified many people. If you recall the previous post you may wish to skip to the “New information” section.

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 Tuesday, 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. Gore 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. This seemed odd at first, but locals have clarified there was a snowstorm around that time. It was not uncommon for cars to be buried for long periods of time, and tires can go flat. There was no sign of the missing women, however.

An article from February 18, 1982, in the Reno Gazette-Journal stated: “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.”

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.

New information from Marilyn Putt’s sister

Marilyn’s sister responded to the original above and provided valuable information and her recollection of events, many of which contradict roommate Colleen Gore’s narrative.

First, her sister noted that something had gone down in between Gore and Putt. “On Monday, my sister called me and told me she had to move as soon as possible. I asked why would she need to move out of the cute cabin she was so thrilled to rent. She told me that I wouldn’t believe what her room mate and her boyfriend are doing. She wouldn’t give me details over the phone because they might hear, just that it was very bad and she wanted no part of it. She told me that she no longer trusted her room mate to watch her son and just needed me to come help her move on Wednesday. She didn’t even want them to know she was moving.”

The women went out on Tuesday night and were last seen on Tuesday night. Marilyn's sister said that their mother had called Marilyn and talked to her at her home around midnight on Tuesday. It seems important to clarify when eyewitnesses saw Putt and Schossow out--Tuesday night, or in the early hours of Wednesday.

No media reports that I came across suggested that Gore was behaving in a shady manner, although it was odd why it took four days for her to report the women missing—particularly given Gore was taking care of Putt’s son. The fact that Putt would come back to retrieve her car (after allegedly leaving at 1 AM according to Gore’s account) never made much sense—but it seems the only source for this claim is Gore.

Marilyn’s sister drove in from Sacramento on Wednesday to help her sister move: “When I arrived Wednesday morning, I had my boyfriend and another couple with me to help. When I knocked on the door, her room mate answered but only opened the door about an inch. She said my sister had gone to work and she was indisposed.”

Marilyn’s sister went to Harrah’s, found out Marilyn didn’t show up for her shift, and searched for her sister at Harrah’s. Unsuccessful, she called Gore. “We hung out there for a bit and finally I called the room mate back and told her the situation. That’s when the room mate told me that my sister had just called to tell her to watch her son because she had spent the night with some rich guy and now they were going to San Francisco. I was so confused! Why would she go to San Francisco when she wanted to move and she knew I was coming? Why did she leave her son with the person she just told me she didn’t trust especially when she knew I was coming up and she could just hand him off to me. Why would she take off with someone she barely knew? None of it made sense.” Indeed, the inconsistency in the stories makes Gore seem very suspicious. Why the sudden change in stories?

Marilyn’s sister returned to the house, where Gore let her in. Marilyn’s sister found all of Marilyn’s stuff packed up in boxes in the closet in her room, including an overnight bag. If Marilyn had come back to pick up her car before running off to San Francisco, why wouldn’t she have picked up her pre-packed overnight bag? Gore was convincing, however, and Marilyn’s sister went back to Sacramento.

Marilyn’s sister continued checking in with Gore. It wasn’t until she threatened to drive to Tahoe and file the missing person report herself that Gore finally reported it to the police.

One last thing Marilyn’s sister pointed may be a clue as to why the 2016 revival of the case by the DA asks about Scientologists: “As a side note, Marilyn’s room mate used to live with Marilyn’s babysitter until there was a falling out and she moved in with Marilyn. The babysitter, the room mate and the babysitter ‘s ex husband all belonged to the Church of Scientology.”

Marilyn’s sister ended her story on a heartbreaking note: “There are many more unexplained details to this case but I’m sure none of it will make a difference now. I have come to the agonizing conclusion that we will never get the whole story as probably many of the people involved may have died themselves or have no memory left.”

One small piece of good news in the wake of this tragedy: Marilyn’s sister reported that her son Jason “has managed to overcome all and leaves a happy and successful life.”

I think the sister's information puts an entirely new perspective on this case. 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/