VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas — An East Texas man has been charged with murder in connection with the case of a California teenage girl who disappeared in 1986.
Ray Lewis Stafford was booked into the Van Zandt County Jail on Tuesday after a warrant was issued last week out of Modesto, California, according to the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office.
The Modesto Police Department said Stafford is a suspect in the cold case of Susan Robin Bender, a 15-year-old girl who disappeared on April 25, 1986.
Van Zandt County deputies found Stafford at his home near Wills Point and he was taken to the Van Zandt County Justice Center, where he remains until officials from California can take him into their custody.
Bender was last seen getting into a green van at a Greyhound bus depot on April 25, 1986, in Modesto. Today, she would have been 52 years old, according to the California Department of Justice.
The Modesto Police Department thanked several agencies for their support during this challenging investigation: the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office (California), the California Department of Justice, the Texas Rangers, the Rains County Sheriff's Office, the Hopkins County Sheriff's Office, the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office and the recently retired Texas Ranger John Vance.
"The collaborative efforts of these agencies have been instrumental in bringing closure to Susan Robin Bender's case," the department's statement on social media read.
Modesto police added the investigation is ongoing.