On December 27th, 1986, 20-year-old Cara Knott set out on what should have been a routine 40-minute drive home through San Diego County, but she never arrived. By morning, her car was found abandoned off the interstate, launching a search that would uncover unsettling clues and raise disturbing questions about what happened along that stretch of road. 

Sources: 

Moorhouse, Drusilla, “A Cop Who Killed A San Diego College Student In 1986 Gave 'Safety Tips' In A TV News Ride-Along Days Later”, Huffpost, December 27th, 2023, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cara-knott-craig-peyer-murder-san-diego_n_65837f5ce4b04da98425aa68, Accessed January 4th 2026 

Interesting Facts, “The truth behind the murder of Cara Knott”, Weekly Recess, August 19th, 2023, https://weeklyrecess.com/article/murder-of-cara-knott/, Accessed January 4th, 2026  

Zotter, Frank Jr, “Judicial Follies: Murder on the highway”, The Mendocino Beacon, March 27th, 2025, https://www.mendocinobeacon.com/2025/03/27/judicial-follies-murder-on-the-highway/, Accessed January 4th, 2026.