Homicide - Lincoln County
February 20, 2007

Julie Derrick – 1996

Julie Derrick, 19, was last seen alive October 19, 1995. Some said she ran away. Others claimed to have spotted her in town several months after her disappearance.

Derrick`s mother Pat Garrett made an impassioned plea on videotape that was played on KNOP-TV, and she distributed flyers around the area with pictures of Julie on them.

"Julie, this is Mom," she said on the videotape. "Please come home. I need to talk to you immediately. It is very important. You are not in any trouble, and no one is angry with you. We are all very worried about you and love you. Please call home or call someone else we know."

But there was no answer. By then, Julie couldn`t answer, the police said. She was already dead.

On July 9, 1996, her decomposed body was found in O`Fallon`s sand pit near Hershey by two boys who were swimming. Her body had been weighted down.

Water in the sand pit was usually deep but had been tapped for irrigation, which dropped the level and led to the discovery.

Forensic examination of Derrick`s body indicated she didn`t live very long after she disappeared, but no cause of death was determined.

A task force was formed between the Lincoln County Sheriff`s Office, the North Platte Police Department and the Nebraska State Patrol. The agencies treated the death as a murder.

After eight years of inquiry, investigators speculate that Derrick`s death might have been due to a drug overdose. A major suspect connected with the case has since died.

But investigators have interviewed many familiar with Derrick and her friends and activities at the time she disappeared. Some believe Derrick`s body was disposed of at the pond after her overdose.

If that`s the case, investigators may not have a murder case on their hands, but a case illegal disposal of a body.

Story Courtesy of the North Platte Bulletin