When police in Arizona discovered the body of a young girl in 1960, they didn’t know who she was. Because they couldn’t identify her, they began calling her “Little Miss Nobody.” Sixty years ago, a child’s body was discovered in Yavapai County, Arizona. The identity of the murdered child remained unknown until now. Through authorities’ efforts, they have determined that the little girl was a four-year-old who disappeared from her grandmother’s garden in New Mexico.
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office recently announced that the body of Little Miss Nobody is four-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos of New Mexico, providing much-needed closure to her family. Gallegos went missing decades ago and was never seen again until now.
The child’s remains were discovered partially buried in Sand Creek Wash, close to Congress, Arizona. The authorities believed she had been killed at an earlier time and her killer had dumped her body hurriedly as they tried to get away from the law.
Over the years, experts’ estimates for the victim’s first age have varied between six and eight years old, but they currently believe she is between three and six. The clothing discrepancy and the confusion over her potential age made it challenging for law enforcement to make the connection.
Prescott, Arizona residents held a funeral for an unidentified little girl who died near their town after police said they would not be able to identify her. Furthermore, they donated money for the child’s funeral and named her “Little Miss Nobody.”
The deceased’s initial gravestone read, “Little Miss Nobody. Blessed are the Pure in Heart… St. Matthew 5:8.”
According to a news report from 1960, a local radio announcer and his wife took the place of the girl’s parents at her funeral so she would have people there for support.
“I guess I just couldn’t stand to see a little child buried in boot hill,” said KYCA announcer Dave Paladin in an August 11, 1960 article by The Associated Press.
Sharon was kidnapped from her grandmother’s garden on July 21, 1960 in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Her body wasn’t found until ten days later.
The Alamogordo Police Department, the FBI, the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System have all been conducting independent investigations over the years. Despite this, the case went unsolved until investigators were able to use DNA evidence in 2015.
In 2022, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office and Texas DNA company Othram raised thousands of dollars to do specialized testing on a sample of exhumed DNA from the girl. These efforts finally helped authorities identify Little Miss Nobody as Sharon Lee Gallegos.
Sharon’s parents have both passed away, but her nephew Ray Chavez was recently made aware of his aunt’s death.
“We were amazed how the people rallied around her,” Chavez stated. “Thank you for keeping my aunt safe and never forgetting her.”
