EastTexasRadio.com Powered by Ten Stations
DPS Seeks Information in 1979 Slaying of Dallas Child
AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is seeking leads in the 1979 homicide of seven-year-old Elizabeth Lynne Barclay, increasing the reward up to $6,000 for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for her death. The tip needs to be received before the Texas Rangers announce the next cold case. The Texas Rangers routinely offer a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest on all cases on their Texas Rangers Unsolved Homicides website.
Just over 40 years ago, on Oct. 23, 1979, Barclay walked with her younger brother and a friend in the 2900-block of West Northwest Highway in Dallas. It was the last time she was seen alive. The trio was approached by a black male, who was approximately 30 to 35 years old, driving a dark-colored vehicle with a trunk lid not completely closed. The car stopped, and the male suspect exited the vehicle. Witness says the man grabbed Barclay and struck her several times as he carried her back to his car.
In December 1979, officials found Barclay’s remains on the side of a rural road in Van Zandt County. After a lengthy investigation by the Dallas Police Department, the case stalled. About a year ago, the Texas Rangers reopened the investigation. The Rangers urge anyone with information about the homicide or the identity of the offender to come forward. Today, the offender would likely be over 70 years old.
To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477). All tips are anonymous.
Individuals can also submit information through the Texas Rangers cold case website or by phone at 1-800-346-3242 (Missing Persons Hotline).
The DPS Texas Rangers Unsolved Homicides website provides more than 125 cases to garner public interest in unsolved or cold cases. Texas Crime Stoppers offers rewards (funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division and administered by DPS) of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for any Rangers cold cases listed on the website. For more information, visit the Texas Rangers cold case website.
As part of a DPS public awareness program, one case from the Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation (Cold Case) Program features bi-monthly to generate new investigative leads and bring attention to these cold cases. The Texas Crime Stoppers reward is now up to $6,000 for the featured case in hopes that the higher reward money will generate additional tips. The program pays the higher reward amount if the tip is submitted before the next case is featured.
They created the Texas Rangers Unsolved Crimes Investigations Program to assist Texas law enforcement agencies investigating unsolved homicides or violent serial crimes. Since there is no statute of limitations for murder, investigators pursue these cases to a successful resolution or until no viable leads remain.