Daniel Lauer and Annamaria Phelps were headed to Lauer’s brother’s house in Virginia Beach, VA, on Sept. 5, 1989, when they disappeared. Lauer’s 1972 Chevrolet Nova was found at the I-64 New Kent rest stop, but it was on the westbound side of the interstate, headed away from Virginia Beach. Phelps’s purse was inside the car, and she and Lauer, 21, were missing. About six weeks later, hunters walking down a logging road one mile from the rest stop came across two skeletons covered in a blanket, which had been taken from Lauer’s car. The remains were identified as belonging to Phelps, 18, and Lauer.
The advanced state of decomposition made it impossible to determine how the pair died. However, there appeared to be stab marks on Phelps’ bones. This led investigators to theorize the murders were related to a string of area killings known as the Colonial Parkway murders, which took place from 1986-1989 and were thought to have been perpetrated by a serial killer. However, with little else to go on, none of the murders have been solved.