Nancy Wilcox's house

This is the former home of Ted Bundy victim Nancy Wilcox.

It is located at 2409 Arnette Drive in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Wilcox disappeared after she left this house on October 1, 1974. Fourteen years later, Bundy confessed to her murder.

At approximately 9 p.m. on the day of her disappearance, the 16-year-old left the house following an argument with her father, Herbert. The dispute began after she told him her high school boyfriend, John Hood, was coming to pick her up. Her father reportedly disliked Hood because his pickup truck leaked oil onto the driveway.

That night, she likely walked to meet Hood at Olympus High School, a five-minute walk from her house. Reports suggest that Hood was at football practice that evening.

Abduction and murder

Bundy said he noticed Wilcox walking along a nearby street. He stated the teenager was walking along a "particularly dark stretch" of a "main roadway."

Based on his recollection, this was likely 3900 South.

He claimed he parked his car, crept up on her, and forced her into a neighboring "small" and "residential" orchard. He then restrained her and placed her in his Volkswagen Beetle.

Once she was in his vehicle, he drove back to his apartment, where he allegedly kept her alive for 24 hours. The following day, he murdered Wilcox and drove more than 200 miles south of Salt Lake City to dump her remains in a rural area.

Investigators and authors have expressed doubt about his claim that he brought her back to his apartment. Bringing a victim to his rooming house would have been risky because a tenant lived directly across the hallway. He also gave a slightly different version of events during an earlier third-person interview. In that "confession," he suggested "the killer" may have murdered the teenager in the orchard after she raised her voice and struggled.

Wilcox was Bundy's first victim since moving to Salt Lake City. In Seattle, the murders and disappearances of local women had attracted significant attention.

The skeletal remains of two victims had recently been discovered at a site in Issaquah. News of this discovery may have motivated him to put more effort into the disposal of Wilcox's remains.

Bundy said he buried Wilcox near Capitol Reef National Park. If accurate, he would have made a 400-mile round trip to dispose of the body. Although authorities discovered three separate sets of bones near the site, they determined the remains were not human.

Investigation

Police initially presumed that Wilcox had run away. As a result, her disappearance did not receive publicity. During his confession, Bundy recalled how local newspapers did not mention the 16-year-old:

"Because nothing came out in the paper about it for some time, as I recall in this particular case, which I later would associate with Wilcox."

Although Bundy attempted to describe the burial site, he was unable to provide a precise location.

Most online sources state that Wilcox disappeared on October 2. However, unsealed records retrieved by Tiffany at Killer in the Archives reveal that she left her home on October 1, 1974, but was not officially reported missing until the following day. This reporting delay led to confusion regarding the actual date of her disappearance.

The orchard where the abduction took place no longer exists. A housing development called Summerspring Court has occupied the land since 1987.

Wilcox's body was never recovered. She remains missing to this day.