Ada County Sheriff's Office resolves cold case murder from 1980

After over 40 years, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office announced the resolution of a 1980 cold case involving the murder of Mary Tracy.

On the afternoon of June 26, 1980, a highway crew working on Highway 55 near Milepost 50, found a deceased young woman on the west side of the road. She was lying on an incline in the tall wheat-like grass, just a few feet off the pavement near an irrigation ditch. She had what appeared to be stab wounds on her neck and chest, as well as dried blood on her head, according to ACSO. The woman was later identified as Mary Tracy.

Mary was last seen on June 24, 1980, on Chinden Boulevard in Garden City, but after extensive interviews and follow-up, detectives were unable to locate a potential suspect and Mary’s case went cold.

In August 2023, ACSO reopened Mary’s case, and after investigating several leads from the initial investigation, the ACSO cold case investigator identified a possible suspect — Charles Nicholas Strain.

Strain died while incarcerated in the Utah Prison System in 2007. Strain was serving time for the 1981 murder of his stepdaughter, Deeana Dean. The Ada County Sheriff's Office obtained a sample of Strain’s DNA and sent it in for comparison testing with the state lab.

In June 2024, a report from the state lab indicated that Strain was a probable contributor to the male DNA taken from Mary’s body during her autopsy.

Based upon these recent developments in our investigation and given that our suspect is deceased, we are closing this case. Though Mary’s case is now solved, we are still hoping to find some answers.

ACSO would like to talk to anyone who worked at the Sunliner Motel during the summer of 1980. They are also attempting to locate a friend of Mary’s, known only as Lisa, who may have been one of the last people to see her alive.

If you have information about Mary’s case, please call 208-577-3102 or email Deputy L. Montague at lmontague@adacounty.id.gov.