Donna Ann Lass (25) The one thing that could change everything about the disappearance of Donna Lass on September 6th 1970 is knowing whether she drove her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel in the late afternoon of September 5th 1970. Earlier that day she had been given an inspection tour of the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road apartment by the landlord Nick Davis and agreed to sign the rental agreement. As her shift time approached, Donna Lass had the choice of ignoring her vehicle in the parking lot of the apartments and walking the near mile journey to the casino (a journey of 17 to 20 minutes) or opting to drive to the casino, which would have taken approximately 3 minutes. We have to bear in mind she would have been finishing her shift at 2am in the morning on September 6th 1970, traveling back to her apartment in less than familiar surroundings, so using her vehicle may have been the wise choice. Because nobody saw Donna Lass leaving the casino that morning we don't know for certain whether her vehicle was parked in the grounds of the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. If it was, it completely changes the potential pool of suspects.
When the sister of Donna Lass, Mary Pilker, arrived at South Lake Tahoe after Donna's disappearance she was given access to apartment 6 at 3893 Pioneer Trail Road. This is where the locked car of Donna Lass was found after she had been reported missing. When the family returned to South Dakota they drove the Chevrolet Camaro of Donna Lass back to their home state. This means they must have located her car keys inside the apartment, suggesting that if Donna Lass had traveled by car to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 5th 1970, she must have arrived back at her apartment in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970, negating any idea of a stranger abduction from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel parking lot or on the way home, because her keys would be missing and not inside the apartment.
When the sister of Donna Lass, Mary Pilker, arrived at South Lake Tahoe after Donna's disappearance she was given access to apartment 6 at 3893 Pioneer Trail Road. This is where the locked car of Donna Lass was found after she had been reported missing. When the family returned to South Dakota they drove the Chevrolet Camaro of Donna Lass back to their home state. This means they must have located her car keys inside the apartment, suggesting that if Donna Lass had traveled by car to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 5th 1970, she must have arrived back at her apartment in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970, negating any idea of a stranger abduction from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel parking lot or on the way home, because her keys would be missing and not inside the apartment.
Let's ignore part of the statement used by the sinister caller to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on either September 7th or 8th, when he made the claim that Donna had to leave the city because of an illness in her family. This could have implied a close knowledge of Donna Lass and her family circumstances, suggesting a previous interaction with the young nurse, or on the flip side, her murderer could have rang the casino and used the "out of town" illness ruse without knowing anything about her. The person who made the phone call knew that the casino wouldn't have known all of Donna Lass' family members, so claiming she had been called "out of town" for one of them wasn't really going to arouse suspicion, and does not necessarily mean he was knowledgeable to the fact they lived in South Dakota. He just said it to delay any immediate worries over her absence and buy a little extra time.
If Donna Lass was murdered in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970 at her apartment or elsewhere, why didn't the killer just distance himself from the crime scene and do nothing? Why would he wait approximately one or two days to ring the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and make a seemingly pointless excuse for her absence? If the killer only knew the limited information that she worked at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, then he probably made the phone call to the casino immediately after murdering her, to prevent somebody coming to the apartment to check on her when she didn't turn up for work. He didn't need to know her work schedule, he just needed to quickly buy some time to remove her body from the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road apartment and dispose of her remains at Yuba Gap in Placer County. This means she was probably murdered on September 7th or 8th, shortly before security guard Gordon Petrovich received the phone call at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. This supports the notion that she arrived home in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970 from the casino, because her car keys were found in the apartment.
It also brings back into play the sighting of Mrs. Dorothy Cullison, who stated that she observed Donna Lass (who she recognised from a later photograph) in the company of a clean shaven, blonde haired man, traveling southbound on Pioneer Trail Road away from the Tahoe Bottle Shop at 3950 Lake Tahoe Blvd, South Lake Tahoe on September 7th 1970 at about 3pm to 4pm. Donna Lass and the mystery man would have been traveling towards the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road apartments, quite possibly hours before she died. Was he a resident of the apartment complex? If Dorothy Cullison was correct, this also supports a possible murder and phone call on either September 7th or 8th.
If Donna Lass was murdered in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970 at her apartment or elsewhere, why didn't the killer just distance himself from the crime scene and do nothing? Why would he wait approximately one or two days to ring the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and make a seemingly pointless excuse for her absence? If the killer only knew the limited information that she worked at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, then he probably made the phone call to the casino immediately after murdering her, to prevent somebody coming to the apartment to check on her when she didn't turn up for work. He didn't need to know her work schedule, he just needed to quickly buy some time to remove her body from the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road apartment and dispose of her remains at Yuba Gap in Placer County. This means she was probably murdered on September 7th or 8th, shortly before security guard Gordon Petrovich received the phone call at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. This supports the notion that she arrived home in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970 from the casino, because her car keys were found in the apartment.
It also brings back into play the sighting of Mrs. Dorothy Cullison, who stated that she observed Donna Lass (who she recognised from a later photograph) in the company of a clean shaven, blonde haired man, traveling southbound on Pioneer Trail Road away from the Tahoe Bottle Shop at 3950 Lake Tahoe Blvd, South Lake Tahoe on September 7th 1970 at about 3pm to 4pm. Donna Lass and the mystery man would have been traveling towards the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road apartments, quite possibly hours before she died. Was he a resident of the apartment complex? If Dorothy Cullison was correct, this also supports a possible murder and phone call on either September 7th or 8th.
So who did Donna Lass engage with from the time she signed the contract for her apartment on September 5th 1970 to the time of her potential murder on September 7th or 8th, just before the phone call was received using the name of her landlord "Mr. Davis"? A friend or acquaintance who she confided in about her move, who didn't live at the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road complex, could have murdered her at the apartment or elsewhere and just left the scene, with little reason to buy time. But who had the most to lose had Donna Lass been found murdered in her apartment, who would also have known the name of her landlord when making the phone call? Somebody who lived at the apartment complex.
This wasn't a normal row of houses on a street - these apartments were in a shared space, where people could easily engage with each other. Individuals living at this apartment complex would have been some of the first people that police investigated. To alleviate this worry and move the focus away from the complex, it is possible the killer chose to not only relocate her body, but decided to bury Donna Lass 70 miles away in Yuba Gap to prevent a murder investigation. Somebody who lived at the apartment complex from September 5th 1970 when Donna rented the property, through September 6th 1970, and at least some of September 7th 1970, who engaged with her and knew where she worked, who obviously would have known the name of her landlord, who had every reason to relocate her body to deflect suspicion away from the complex, is a prime candidate for her murder. Unfortunately, by invoking the name of the landlord to add validity to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel phone call, they may have inadvertently drawn the focus back onto the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road address.
However, by piecing together the private investigator's report we can confidently establish that John Schott of Sahara Tahoe security didn't ring Nick Davis until September 11th 1970 enquiring on the whereabouts of Donna, shortly after he had reported the "family illness" story received at the casino on September 7th/8th to Sergeant Tucker of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (but no accurate record was made), who must have then contacted the Douglas County Sheriff's office and relayed this information. So when Nick Davis rang the South Lake Tahoe Police Department on September 11th 1970 and spoke with dispather Bob Morgan, he told Nick Davis that he had received a call from the Douglas County Sheriff's office about Donna Lass and the "family illness" story. This is when he informed Nick Davis. It appears that the sinister phone call had the desired effect of delaying any serious concern for Donna Lass for at least two to three days. Enough time for the killer to dispose of Donna Lass many miles away. Find the residents of the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road complex in early September 1970 (and/or their associates) and you may identify the murderer.
READ THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR'S REPORT INTO DONNA LASS
This wasn't a normal row of houses on a street - these apartments were in a shared space, where people could easily engage with each other. Individuals living at this apartment complex would have been some of the first people that police investigated. To alleviate this worry and move the focus away from the complex, it is possible the killer chose to not only relocate her body, but decided to bury Donna Lass 70 miles away in Yuba Gap to prevent a murder investigation. Somebody who lived at the apartment complex from September 5th 1970 when Donna rented the property, through September 6th 1970, and at least some of September 7th 1970, who engaged with her and knew where she worked, who obviously would have known the name of her landlord, who had every reason to relocate her body to deflect suspicion away from the complex, is a prime candidate for her murder. Unfortunately, by invoking the name of the landlord to add validity to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel phone call, they may have inadvertently drawn the focus back onto the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road address.
However, by piecing together the private investigator's report we can confidently establish that John Schott of Sahara Tahoe security didn't ring Nick Davis until September 11th 1970 enquiring on the whereabouts of Donna, shortly after he had reported the "family illness" story received at the casino on September 7th/8th to Sergeant Tucker of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (but no accurate record was made), who must have then contacted the Douglas County Sheriff's office and relayed this information. So when Nick Davis rang the South Lake Tahoe Police Department on September 11th 1970 and spoke with dispather Bob Morgan, he told Nick Davis that he had received a call from the Douglas County Sheriff's office about Donna Lass and the "family illness" story. This is when he informed Nick Davis. It appears that the sinister phone call had the desired effect of delaying any serious concern for Donna Lass for at least two to three days. Enough time for the killer to dispose of Donna Lass many miles away. Find the residents of the 3893 Pioneer Trail Road complex in early September 1970 (and/or their associates) and you may identify the murderer.
READ THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR'S REPORT INTO DONNA LASS