Donna Lemon was having a normal summer in 1973, working in Bozeman, Montana and hanging out with friends, until one day she never showed up to ride horses with one of her friends. Lemon, 20, was found stabbed to death on the banks of the Snake River in Idaho. After almost 50 years … detectives are still actively working this cold case.
Courtesy of East Idaho Cold Cases
Episode Info
If you or anyone you know has information about Donna Lemon’s murder, you’re encouraged to call the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office at 208-529-1200.
The original missing person’s poster used in Lemon’s case not long after she went missing in 1973. Photo Courtesy: East Idaho Cold Cases
A poster by East Idaho Cold Cases issued in 2014. Photo Courtesy: East Idaho Cold Cases
A film photo of Donna Lemon’s car from the original case file. Photo Courtesy: Bonneville County Sheriff's Office and East Idaho Cold Cases
A film photo of the front Donna Lemon’s car. Photo Courtesy: Bonneville County Sheriff's Office and East Idaho Cold Cases
A photo taken in the ‘70s of detectives combing the area in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where Lemon’s body was found. Photo Courtesy: Bonneville Sheriff's Office and East Idaho Cold Cases
Another crime scene photo. Photo Courtesy: Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and East Idaho Cold Cases
Close up photos show in more detail what Lemon’s car looked like. After the investigation went cold, detectives at the time gave the car back to Lemon’s family and they sold it. Detectives today wish the car was still in their evidence. Photo Courtesy: Bonneville Sheriff's Office and Idaho Cold Cases
Close up photos show in more detail what Lemon’s car looked like. After the investigation went cold, detectives at the time gave the car back to Lemon’s family and they sold it. Detectives today wish the car was still in their evidence. Photo Courtesy: Bonneville Sheriff's Office and Idaho Cold Cases
A photo from the case file shows the inside of Lemon’s car, which was found abandoned in a parking lot with blood in it. Photo Courtesy: Bonneville County Sheriff's Office and East Idaho Cold Cases
An article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle from February of 1975, declaring Donna Lemon’s murder case “not closed” but getting cold. Photo Courtesy: Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Witnesses say Donna Lemon stopped at Buck’s Bar on July 4th, 1973, at the request of a friend’s mother, so she could drop off her friend’s driver’s license. Photo Courtesy: Crystal Douglas, East Idaho Cold Cases
A photo of the inside of Buck’s Bar, taken in 2020 by Crystal Douglas of East Idaho Cold Cases. The inside of the bar has not changed much since Donna Lemon stopped there in 1973. Photo Courtesy: Crystal Douglas, East Idaho Cold Cases
Witnesses say Donna Lemon stopped here, at Stacey’s Old Faithful Bar, to buy a single can of beer before she was scheduled to go horseback riding with a friend. This might have been the last true sighting of her before she disappeared. Photo Courtesy: Crystal Douglas, East Idaho Cold Cases
A 1976 clip from the Montana Standard. Photo Courtesy: Montana Standard