thricecursedpod
- Jan 13, 2022
- 3 min read

21 Solved in ‘21 : Day 13 : Barbara ‘Bobbie’ Jo Oberholtzer and Annette Kay Schnee

On January 6, 1982, 2 women vanished from Breckenridge, Colorado. 29-year-old Bobbie Jo Oberholtzer went from work to the village pub in Breckenridge to celebrate a promotion with her friends. At 6:20p she called her husband, Jeff, to tell him where she was, and that she had a ride and would be home soon. Before leaving the bar, she told her coworkers she would hitchhike home. Around midnight, Jeff awoke to discover that his wife still hadn’t made it home. When the bars closed at 2am and she still wasn’t back, he went into town to search for her. According to her friends, Bobbie had left the bar around 7:30pm. She was reported missing to the Breckenridge PD, but it was too early to file an official report.

The next morning a farmer 30 miles outside Breckenridge found her driver’s license on his property. When Jeff and his friends went to retrieve her license, they discovered her backpack, a bloody glove, and bloody tissues in an open field. A search party was organized, and within 2 hours, the body of Bobbie Jo Oberholtzer was discovered at Hoosier’s pass. A single orange sock not belonging to Bobbie was found at the scene.

That same day, 22-year-old Annette Kay Schnee was reported missing by her employer.

The day of the 6th, Annette left her job at the Holiday Inn early, complaining she didn’t feel well. She was last seen leaving a Breckenridge pharmacy at around 4p. She was supposed to work at her Flip Side waitressing job that evening, but never showed up.

6 months later, on July 3, 1982, Annette’s body was discovered face-down in a stream. Annette was wearing only one sock at the time of her death, and it matched the sock found at Bobbie’s crime scene.

This year, authorities have finally identified the man responsible. This man had actually had a run-in with authorities the night of both the murders. He’d gotten his vehicle stuck in the snow and had to be rescued by an officer, who was unaware of the murders at this time. The close proximity of this incident and a DNA match to blood found on Bobbie’s glove led to the arrest of this man in Feb. 2021.The alleged killer has been charged with 2 counts of 1st deg. Kidnapping, 1st deg. Assault, and 1st deg. homicide.

A man had been stranded in the snow nearby on Guanella Pass that same January evening, and was rescued by a police officer, who was obviously unaware of the murders. This close proximity and a DNA match to blood found on Bobbie’s glove with the help of genetic genealogy led to the arrest of this man in February 2021. The alleged killer has been charged with kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and murder after deliberation. He is awaiting trial.

Just days before her death, Bobbie Jo Oberholtzer and her husband had decided they were going to start their family and try for children. For 39 years, her husband Jeff remained the prime suspect in both murders.

Annette Kay Schnee had been planning a trip home to Iowa to visit her mother. She had dreams of becoming a flight attendant. Upon news of the arrest, Annette’s mother said ,”I thought maybe I’d be gone before I had closure.. I’m ready to go when it’s my time now.”

Too many family members pass on without ever knowing the truth about what happened to their loved ones. You can help by submitting your DNA data to dnasolves.com, a website run by Othram Inc , or you can make a financial contribution to assist with the cost of genealogical testing for cold cases.