Arrest made in 1986 disappearance of Modesto teen Susan Robin Bender
MODESTO – An arrest has been made in the decades-old disappearance of 15-year-old Modesto girl Susan Robin Bender.
Bender disappeared on April 25, 1985. She was reportedly seen getting into a green van at the Greyhound bus depot in Modesto.
On Thursday, the Modesto Police Department announced the arrest of Raymond Lewis Stafford.
Detectives got an arrest warrant for Stafford earlier in August, but it wasn't until Tuesday that members of the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Department in Texas showed up at his home and took him into custody.
Stafford has been booked into jail and is facing charges of murder with special circumstances.
Exactly how detectives zeroed in on Stafford as a suspect has not been detailed. Modesto police are differing questions to the Stanislaus County district attorney's office, saying there was no other information they could release.
However, back in 2021, Modesto police re-opened the case -- counting on new technology for a big break. Two years later, it seems that detectives have gotten it.
