In 1982 Sandra McGee went missing after giving a ride to a male hitchhiker. Her case went cold for years, but last September her skeletal remains were found in the yard of a Monterey home, giving new leads to authorities.
McGee’s remains were found by landscapers digging in the backyard of a Third Street home in Monterey. Her bones were found buried in a makeshift grave on the property, where now-60-year-old Alfred Powell resided at the time of her disappearance.
Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo announced Tuesday that Powell, who is currently serving a life sentence at Solano State Prison for the 1983 murder of a Pebble Beach woman, has been charged with the murder of McGee.
Powell was linked as the suspect in the case because witnesses identified Powell as the hitchhiker whom McGee picked up.
A year after McGee disappeared, her car was found abandoned in Monterey near the house where Powell lived. But no charges were sought against him for McGee’s disappearance—until now.
Powell is set to be arraigned at the Salinas courthouse on Wednesday, June 1, on one count of first-degree murder for McGee’s death.