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The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help to solve some cold case homicides that occurred in the ’70s and ’80s in Sunol and Dublin following their recent anniversaries.
ACSO Sgt. Roberto Morales told the Weekly that the office regularly posts calls for help on social media regarding their unsolved crimes as part of their “ongoing efforts to solve cold cases.”
“While these cases may span decades, our dedicated detectives continue to actively investigate each one with the goal of bringing the responsible individuals to justice and providing closure to the victims’ families,” Morales said.
One of the cases dates back to Dec. 3, 1973 when Michael Marie Shane, 30, and Kathy Sue Pethel, 27, were found dead on the west side of Fallon Road, north of Interstate 580 in Dublin.
According to an ACSO social media post on Dec. 3, both women were planning to hitchhike to Los Angeles for a custody hearing. They were reportedly last seen between 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. that morning, walking on Oak Street toward Ashbury Street in San Francisco.
Another cold case the sheriff’s office recently posted about is the death of 14-year-old Kellie Jean Poppleton. According to the same social media post from the ACSO, on Dec. 2, 1983, Poppleton’s body was found on the side of Kilkare Road in Sunol.
“Kellie was a student at Conrad Noll School in Fremont and was last seen on the corner of Darwin Drive and Fremont Boulevard,” according to the ACSO. “Witnesses reported seeing a black Pontiac Trans-Am near the crime scene before Kellie’s body was found.”
The death of 24-year-old Juan Mateo was also recently brought to the fore. According to the sheriff’s office, Mateo’s body was found off of Niles Canyon Road on Nov. 28, 1985 — he was wearing nothing but his underwear and socks.
He had been fatally shot but his body hadn’t been identified until 2006 thanks to a DNA match.
“We urge anyone with information, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward,” Morales said. “If you have any details about one of our cold cases, please contact our Cold Case Homicide Unit at 510-667-3661 … Every tip is valuable in helping us seek justice for those affected.”
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